CIOs Are Convinced AI Will Impact their Business Greatly In the Years to Come

Chief information officers (CIOs) are increasingly convinced that artificial intelligence (AI) will impact their business significantly over the next three to five years.

In a joint survey conducted by Grant Thornton and the Technology Business Management (TBM) Council, 85% of CIOs said they will invest in automation software over the next two years.

CIOs are no longer regarded as IT operators, says the report, adding that their organizations are increasingly expecting them to act as innovators, helping to improve productivity and competitiveness.

“The days of the CIO serving strictly as an IT operator are over,” said LaVerne H. Council, national managing principal for Enterprise Technology Strategy and Innovation at Grant Thornton. “CIOs see themselves as trusted business partners, but the road ahead is not an easy one. CIOs should articulate the value of IT spend in the same terms measured by their business partners.”

However, the kind of challenges they are facing is unique and hard to be resolved. Many of them are struggling with the task of recruiting and retaining talent, while a few are wondering how to convince their business owners resisting change.

Aligning IT with business goals and ‘articulating the value of IT spend’ are the other challenges CIOs are struggling to tackle.

In the survey 66% of IT leaders said that their performance should be measured based on “successful execution against strategy and plans.”

As always, organizations are investing heavily in cybersecurity, but their effort has been hindered by a shortage in technology talent.