IDG CIO Research – State of the CIO

The IDG CIO Research – State of the CIO – has many valuable insights that can be used by B2B account based marketing teams to create a strategic accounts plans.

The goal of the IDG CIO Study what to was to provide insights into how the CIO role continues to evolve. Specifically, the IDG CIO survey dives into the CIO role in the organization, budgetary responsibilities, business and leadership challenges, and the key skills needed for the job today.

Key Takeaways From The IDG CIO Research Include:

CIOs are spending more time on strategic and innovative initiatives – as the importance of security has been elevated and integrated directly into IT strategy
The focus on innovation is creating a shortage of IT talent, especially in the areas of data science/BI & analytics)
Technology budgets continue to rise and direct control of technology investments remains with IT
Even though marketing has a significant budget for technology,marketing executives view the purchase process as a collaboration with IT
LOBs are not perfectly clear on the exact role that IT plays in new business initiatives and that requires CIOs to do a better job of communicating their contributions to the business

IDG CIO Research – CIOs Increasingly Spending Time on Strategic Activities

When respondents were asked, which of the following activities best characterize your focus and how you spend your time in your current role? The responses were:

Focus of Current Role:

Transformational: 50% in 2017, 45% in 2016
Strategic: 31% in 2017, 27% in 2016
Functional: 20% in 2017, 27% in 2016

IDG CIO Research – Security Increasingly Integrated With IT Strategy

When respondents were asked, How tightly integrated are IT security strategy and IT strategy at your organization today? The responses were:

IT Security & Integration Strategy:

Tightly integrated, IT security strategy is an integral part of our overall IT strategy and roadmaps
Somewhat integrated, IT security strategy is loosely incorporated into overall IT strategy
Not integrated, IT security investments are typically reactive in response to existing IT security challenges or events

IT Security as a Percent of Budget:

When respondents were asked, What percent of your company’s total IT budget does IT security represent? The responses were:

51% in 2017, 37% in 2016)
36% in 2017, 47% in 2016
12% in 2017, 16% in 2016

IT security represents an average of 12% of total IT budget

IDG CIO Research – Struggle for IT Talent Increasing

When respondents were asked, Will your organization experience any IT skills shortages during the next 12 months? The response was:

60% of respondents say they are experiencing an IT skills shortage

When respondents were asked, In which areas do you anticipate your organization will have the most difficulty in finding appropriate skillsets? The responses were:

IT Talent Shortages in:

Data science/BI & Analytics – 41%
Security / Risk Management – 34%
Enterprise Software (ERP, CRM) – 23%
Cloud Services- 21%
Project Management – 19%
Mobile Technologies – 18%
Enterprise Architecture – 18%
Internet of Things – 18%
Application Development – 17%
DevOps – 16%

IDG CIO Research – IT/LOB Tech Budget Collaboration Remains Consistent

When respondents were asked, What percentage of the total dollars your organization invests in technology products and services is directly controlled by IT currently? In the next 3 years? The responses were:

Technology investments directly controlled by IT – 54%
Technology investments directly controlled by IT in the next 3 years- 57%

IDG CIO Research – CIOs Show Strong Involvement in MarTech Purchases

When respondents were asked, How are you involved in purchase decisions regarding the marketing technology stack? The responses were:

Type of Involvement:

Meeting with/evaluating potential vendors – 66%
Consulting with marketing team to determine needs and requirements – 65%
Approving the solution purchase – 60%
Overseeing implementation – 60%
Negotiating terms of service and SLAs – 57%
Making final vendor selection – 52%

Overall, 93% report that they are involved in some aspect of MarTech purchases

IDG CIO Research – MarTech Purchase Process is Collaborative with IT

When respondents were asked, Who is involved in each of these activities as they relate to purchase decisions regarding the marketing technology stack? The responses were:

Collaboration Areas:

Determining business needs: Both 52%, Marketing 35%, IT 13%
Making final vendor selection: Both 48%, Marketing 19%, IT 33%
Meeting with/evaluating potential vendors: Both 47%, Marketing 18%, IT 35%
Approving the solution purchase: Both 46%, Marketing 23%, IT 31%
Determining technology requirements: Both 45%, Marketing 11%, IT 45%
Overseeing implementation: Both 45%, Marketing 11%, IT 45%
Negotiating terms of service and SLAs: Both 37%, Marketing 18%, IT 45%

IDG CIO Research – LOB Unsure of IT’s Role in New Business Initiatives

When respondents were asked, When the IT department and LOB work on a new initiative, what role does IT typically play? The responses were:

Is ITs Role:

Recommends technology solutions to address the business initiatives: Head of it – 64%, LOB – 27%
Collaborates with LOB to build business cases for new technology initiatives: Head of it – 59%, LOB – 24%
Develops technical requirements: Head of it – 49%, LOB – 31%
Provides LOB with project management support when implementing a new technology: Head of it – 47%, LOB – 19%
Recommends ways the business processes can run more efficiently: Head of it – 45%, LOB – 23%
Negotiates IT supplier contracts: Head of it – 44%, LOB – 17%
Performs systems testing and QA for new technology: Head of it – 39%, LOB – 25%
Introduces new use cases for emerging technology: Head of it – 30%, LOB – 13%
Provides LOB with a short list of IT suppliers for a given solution: Head of it – 26%, LOB – 11%

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