Digital Transformation Blurs the Lines Between CIOs and COOs

As businesses increasingly embrace digital technologies to stay agile and nimble, chief information officers (CIOs) are taking special attention within their organization, with some of them playing the role of chief operating officers (COOs).

The CIOs are not only getting attention but also responsibility and accountability. “Large businesses have started to hold their CIOs accountable for the results of corporate-wide digital business operations,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

In some traditional industries, such as energy, manufacturing, and retail, CIOs are already playing the role of chief operating officers.

Research firm Gartner says that by 2024 around 25% of CIOs working in large traditional enterprises will effectively work as chief operating officers (COOs), adding that in many organizations CIOs are already directly reporting to the CEO.

“The CIOs with an in-depth knowledge of technology can increase enterprise’s effectiveness taking on the components of COO’s role to fuse technology and business goals,” the Gartner report added.

Many business-owners invite CIOs to board meetings, asking them to take part in charting out a future course for the organization. “Many CIOs already play a strategic role within their companies, helping set overall corporate direction. But others continue to manage information technology as a support function,” reported WSJ quoting a research analyst saying.