There’s no doubt the role of the CIO is changing. The question is, into what?
According to a study by The Impact Programme, a U.K.-based consulting company, CEOs have three expectations for the CIO of the future: agility, confidence and technology translation. Impact surveyed U.K.-based CEOs in a variety of industries.
Lynn Mercer, one of the study’s authors, explains: As business executives garner a basic understanding of technology, “the unique selling point will be people who can look at technology in its wider sense and translate the opportunities and threats for the business.”
That doesn’t mean the need for CIOs to understand business strategy is fading any time soon.
“It’s not replacing the need for business knowledge. It’s adding to it,” Mercer says.