CIO influence growing in some organisations: survey

However, business units still go around IT in order to purchase technology or business applications

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The CIO’s business influence has increased in some Australian companies, according to the results of a new survey.

The fourth annual VMware Cloud Index survey was conducted by Forrester Consulting in July 2013 with 268 Australian respondents. Thirty-nine respondents were CEOs while the remaining 229 were CIOs and IT managers.

According to the survey, 38 per cent of respondents said the credibility and influence of the CIO is increasing while 67 per cent viewed IT as a source of business value or catalyst for change.

When asked who purchased cloud computing services for the company, 55 per cent of IT respondents said the CIO did while 44 per cent of business decision makers mentioned the CIO.

Speaking at a VMware briefing in Sydney, Forrester Research Australia vice president Michael Barnes said that the results were largely positive for CIOs.

“CIOs are seen as a centre of influence, driving business value.”

However, 42 per cent of respondents said that business units go around IT in order to purchase technology or business applications.

“If IT doesn’t change, the business is going to find a way to serve customers and transform core processes with or without IT,” said Barnes.

Business priorities

The survey also asked respondents about their business priorities for the next 12 months. One of the top three ranked initiatives was lowering overall operating costs. Eighty per cent of CEOs ranked this as high priority, while 63 per cent of IT respondents indicated this was a priority.

The survey also found that 80 per cent of CEOs ranked growing company revenue as a top priority, while only 55 per cent of CIOs and IT managers rated it highly.

Cloud computing

Turning to cloud computing, the survey found that Australian organisations are using private or a hybrid cloud solution over public cloud offerings.

Thirty-six per cent of respondents indicated that in 2013 and 2014 they were more likely to invest in private cloud, while 34 per cent wanted to buy hybrid cloud offerings. Only 14 per cent were looking to invest in public cloud.

When asked why they considered private cloud, 44 per cent said it was to improve IT operational efficiency and budget performance, while 42 per cent said it was to provide faster access to data and analytics.

When it came to the use of hybrid cloud, 38 per cent of respondents said it was to improve disaster recovery and business continuity.

Follow Hamish Barwick on Twitter: @HamishBarwick

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