BBC News

London–(business wire) — Global research study by Lenovo¹ It reveals how the CIO role has evolved, highlights expanding responsibilities and increasing influence in the C suite, and removes barriers to business growth.

Today, technology is the nervous system that connects corporate strategy, finance, innovation, operations, and people. CIOs are increasingly tasked with connecting, ensuring alignment, and driving execution with key stakeholders across the organization. As IT intertwines every aspect of the business, CIOs believe that organizations must continue to invest in digital transformation to stay relevant. Key findings from Lenovo’s global survey of more than 500 of his CIOs include:

• Nearly all CIOs surveyed believe their role has evolved and expanded over the past few years, asking them to make business decisions that go far beyond technology.

  • 9 in 10 CIOs report data analytics or business reporting (56%), sustainability/ESG (45%), DE&I (42%), HR/talent acquisition (39%) and sales/marketing (32%) ).

  • Similarly, in the UK, 9 out of 10 CIOs have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, including non-traditional areas such as digital transformation and business process automation (62%), data analytics and business reporting (57%). Responsibility extends beyond technology, he said. DE&I (42%), HR/Talent Acquisition (58%).

  • With 82% of global CIOs facing a vast array of unique challenges, from increased use of AI and automation to talent acquisition in a global remote workforce, the role of CIOs is now higher than it was just two years ago. He says it’s getting harder.

  • Globally, CIOs focus on data privacy/security (66%), cybersecurity/ransomware (66%), adapting to technological change (65%), and managing a fragmented IT vendor ecosystem (61%). ), and find it most difficult to solve the challenges related to recruitment. / Introduction of new technology (60%).

• A majority of CIOs believe their roles within their organizations are becoming more influential.

  • More than three in four UK CIOs say they have more impact on the company’s overall fortune than any other C-suite position.

  • Globally, 88% believe that my role as CIO is the most important factor in the continued operation of the company or organization, while in the UK 84% believe this.

• As the role of the CIO expands and evolves, respondents say technology vendors play a very important role in their company’s overall success.

  • According to 61% of global respondents, businesses would feel the impact within weeks if they stopped spending on digital transformation initiatives. This speaks to the role of technology as a critical part of business, rather than just a source of cost efficiency.

  • Nearly 8 in 10 UK CIOs believe their company’s overall success depends on deep partnerships with technology vendors.

  • Over the next five years, UK CIOs will rely on vendors to help solve a myriad of issues, including improving organizational agility (57%) and providing security for their systems and operations (54%). I hope. Simplify technology configuration, deployment, and maintenance (53%).

  • Globally, 8 in 10 CIOs say their technology vendors are “very effectively integrated, [their] overall productivity. ”

• CIOs suggest that the current tech stack has room for improvement given new challenges and evolving responsibilities.

  • Given the opportunity to restart from scratch, most CIOs worldwide (57%) say they would replace more than half of their company’s current technology. This is significantly higher in the UK, where 71% of CIOs will replace more than half of their company’s current tech stack.

  • Compared to last year, 63% of global enterprises are using more devices-as-a-service in their tech stack.

  • As business models change, nearly all global CIOs (92%) will definitely or likely consider adding new aaS services in the next two years.

Ken Wong, president of Lenovo Solutions and Services Group, said: “From navigating complex technology ecosystems to keep up with the speed of digital transformation, to upskilling employees, to managing the global IT talent shortage, today’s CIOs are responsible for the entire technology value chain and beyond. Lenovo’s research shows CIOs are up to the challenge, and they want to partner with vendors to help their organizations succeed.”

Research firm International Data Corp. predicts that by 2023, 60% of corporate CIOs worldwide will be measured on their ability to jointly create new business models and revenue streams, primarily through enterprise-wide collaboration. I predict it will be²However, according to Lenovo’s own research, this is a major concern for CIOs, who have identified areas such as data privacy/security, cybersecurity/ransomware, and managing a fragmented IT vendor ecosystem as their most challenging concerns. It can be an uphill battle.

“In this complex technology environment, CIOs want to innovate rather than manage IT. They are also looking to make their organizations more agile, simplify configuration, and optimize costs, while IT leaders advise on how new technologies can enhance business objectives. “The opportunity for technology to add real business value across the enterprise is immense,” Wong added.

Businesses need simple and flexible IT solutions to manage their increasingly complex digital transformation journeys. Lenovo’s solutions provide organizations with a wide range of services that deliver everything offered by Lenovo TruScale as a service. Flexibility to pay for the infrastructure solution you need, for as long as you need it. And the depth of our expertise and services that enable CIOs to focus more on their strategic imperatives. Businesses of all sizes need flexibility to stay competitive, and a scalable, cloud-like solution model is the answer.

According to industry forecasts by Technology Business Research, device subscription services will grow at a CAGR of 26% from 2020 to 2024, while data center subscription services will grow at 42% over the same period.³ As-a-Service solutions deliver mission-critical support and services, enabling companies to use technology to scale rapidly, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. By providing flexible and simple products, Lenovo has helped organizations from education to the aerospace sector optimize the right technology to transform their operations and look to the future with the potential to do so. .

The full study is available at https://techtoday.lenovo.com/ww/en/cio-insights.

¹ The global research was commissioned by Lenovo and conducted by Zeno Group. We surveyed 525 of his CIOs in the US, UK, Brazil, Singapore, China and Japan. The survey was conducted in December 2021.

² IDC FutureScape: Worldwide CIO Agenda 2022 Predictions, Doc # US48297821, October 2021

³ Technology Business Research (TBR), Hardware Subscription Services Market Outlook, Q3 2021

About Lenovo SSG CIO Global Survey

The fieldwork for this study was quantitatively conducted from December 6, 2021 to December 21, 2021 with a total of 525 global CIOs. The survey sample consisted of approximately equal numbers of respondents from each of the markets of Brazil, China, Japan, Singapore, UK and US. Respondents included his CIOs from companies and organizations with more than his 250 total employees.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$70 billion global technology company, ranked 171 on the Fortune Global 500, employing 75,000 people worldwide and adding thousands of employees in 180 markets every day. Serving millions of customers. Focusing on a bold vision to bring smarter technology to everyone, Lenovo continues to grow as the world’s leading PC player by expanding into new growth areas of infrastructure, mobile, solutions and services. have built success. This transformation and Lenovo’s world-changing innovations are building a more inclusive, trustworthy and sustainable digital society, everywhere, everywhere. For more information, visit https://www.lenovo.com and read the latest news on StoryHub.