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Quarter of American CIOs feel their work is differentiated from competitors

American CIO counterparts ‘play never-ending game of catch-up,’ survey finds
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22 November 2019

Only 25% of American CIOs feel their work is differentiated from competitors, according to a new Adobe survey out of the US. 

Adobe’s ‘2019 CIO Perspectives Survey – US Market Topline Report,’ polled more than 200 CIOs from US-based companies, with at least 100 employees, to get a pulse on how the role of the CIO is evolving, and how the IT chief is coping with these changes. The online survey was conducted by Advanis in October.

With the pace of change happening in businesses today, America’s CIOs can often feel like they are playing a never-ending game of catch-up, the survey found. 

One of the main findings concluded: 82% of respondents cited their number one priority is security, followed by movement to the cloud (68%) and modernisation of platforms (66%). 

But although most organisations have prioritised these three areas, only 25% of CIOs feel their work is differentiated from competitors.

“Think about it: technology is evolving at an unprecedented rate. Add to that ever-looming issues like security, migration to the cloud, digital transformation and customer experience, and it is easy to see that the job of the CIO is becoming more and more complex,” said Adobe CIO Cynthia Stoddard.

“It can sometimes feel impossible to keep up because of how quickly new technology comes into the limelight and how fast digital capabilities accelerate.”

At the same time, digital transformation, despite the hype and attention by enterprise businesses, is still very much in its infancy, the study found. 

The study found just 15% of CIOs gave their organisations top marks for having advanced digital maturity. 

Brands in the technology sector were most likely to rate themselves as advanced, while financial services industry CIOs were most inclined to give their organisation a low rating, the study added. Meanwhile, CIOs from smaller organisations were also less likely to note they are digitally mature.

Enabling customer experience is a major priority for most CIOs, but only one in 10 CIOs said CX is their primary responsibility, as it is most often led by the CMO or COO. However, CX is more of a focus compared with a year ago for 57% of CIOs, the study found. 

When it comes to the technology that CIOs are paying close attention to, artificial intelligence (AI) is very much top of mind, the survey found, though many CIOs believe it has not yet reached fruition. 

And while its promise is understood by survey respondents, fewer than 20% of organisations currently leverage artificial intelligence to streamline and speed up processes, the study said. 

Still, more than half (55%) believe AI and machine learning are key to meeting customer experience goals. 

The respondents said these technologies will have the biggest impact on improving customer experience in the future, beating out voice, chat-bots and the Internet of Things.

IDG News Service

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