Gartner: CIOs face an uncertain 2015

 

The latest research from technology insights firm Gartner has outlined that 2015 will be a year of uncertainty for CIOs, due in part to differing business practices between organisations.

While varying customs have long posed a stumbling block to global B2B transactions, surprisingly, the data suggested there are even issues regionally, at a domestic level.

Gartner consulted over 2,800 respondents in a total of 84 countries. This sample represented companies with combined IT budgets of US$400 billion and a staggering $12 trillion in public sector funding and private sector revenue.

Business uncertainty

Despite technology becoming a universal language in business, CIOs will face an uncertain time throughout 2015.

“The only certainty for CIOs seems to be the unstoppable advancement of digitalisation. Digitalisation represents both a massive opportunity and new and heightened levels of threat for all countries and companies, and CIOs are facing new, more challenging and more exciting circumstances as digital moves to centre stage,” explained Vice President and Gartner Fellow Dave Aron.

By country, the United States is ahead of the curve. Businesses there have picked up new technologies and have either experimented with them or deployed them as part of the wider strategic management of the enterprise.

Critical reflection and adaptability

Despite companies in the US taking the lead and embracing digitalisation, these frontrunners still need critical reflection and analysis – true of any organisation.

“US-based CIOs must critically reflect upon their role and actions as a leader and ensure that there is a match between their desired role, their ability to deliver on that role as well as how the rest of the IT organisation is set up to deliver on their digital role,” continued Mr Aron.

Aligning the interests of the wider enterprise with the IT department is crucial to success, with McKinsey & Company explaining that businesses that move quickly will be the ones to get ahead.

There can be no denying the digital world is changing business, and companies that are adaptable in their strategic outlook will be the ones that get ahead.