When it comes to information and communications technology (ICT), enterprise CIOs clearly feel that the balance of power is shifting. In a survey of CIOs, 57% think that think that the line-of-business managers in their companies have gained more power over ICT purchasing decisions in the last 12-24 month. 62% project that LOB managers will gain even more power in the next 3-5 years.
But even though ICT buying power is shifting, the support of ICT solutions still falls primarily on the shoulders of IT. Following the “We buy it…You support it,” paradigm, when LOB managers procure IT services directly (such as the cloud), they expect IT to support the new services 66% of the time.
These trends are prompting enterprise CIOs to take action. 76% now focus more so on providing services rather than technologies to their companies. They are thus turning their hiring strategies more towards “business IT” professionals rather than traditional technical professionals. And this comes with a cost—individuals who combine technical skills with communication and business analysis skills typically cost about 65% more to hire.
CIOs are also starting to steer towards a software-defined enterprise model in order to maintain their value within their firms. Almost half (47%) want the majority of their IT services to be provided or managed by external service providers, including cloud IaaS, PaaS and SaaS providers. 61% of CIOs think that the software-defined enterprise will impact their IT and service delivery processes in the next 36 months. Almost half also agree that the term “IT department” is becoming out of date.
To learn more about the service-defined enterprise, check out this free white paper that explains why every CEO wants to lead a service-defined enterprise and why CIOs need to make it happen. For CIOs and IT departments to ensure their future, their evolving roles must become the critical conduit between the business and a select portfolio of IT services.