The Changing Role of IT Leadership: Part 4

Originally published on the IDC Community blog

In the Part 3 of this blog, we focused on the essential area of effectively allocating different skillsets of the IT organization to further your innovation initiatives. Of course, another key focus is how the IT organization operates.

As more organizations work through digital transformation, they are finding that many existing development practices and processes do not necessarily work in this new phase of computing. This is leading many executives to embrace the idea of Agile development and all the trapping that go with that, including the transformation of their workspaces and the interactions of team members. However, the shift to Agile is not without issues: many organizations are finding that legacy systems, long-time employees, and tried and true processes are often at odds with the new ways of Agile.

IDC’s CIO Sentiment Survey results show that 48% of organizations are still focusing on Waterfall approaches when it comes to legacy application development, with Agile only being used for innovation projects.

The Changing Role of IT Leadership: Part 3

Originally published on the IDC Community blog

After identifying the more strategic role the CIO must take on to face digital disruption of the IT organization in Part 2 of this series, there is the question of utilizing the right talent resources to effectively continue the digital transformation journey.

The DX transition requires specialized talent that isn’t always readily available or accessible within the existing workforce, or within the allocation of the existing workforce. For this reason, it is urgent for CIOs to look at their overall priorities and determine how to best allocate their existing workforce, supplement their workforce with outside vendors, and cultivate changes in their culture that will entice a diminishing workforce.

The Changing Role of IT Leadership | Part 2

Originally published on the IDC Community blog

41% of CIOs prefer to focus on operations rather than face digital disruption: This was the hot button for the previous blog post, The Changing Role of IT Leadership: Part 1 – Leading IT Through Digital Transformation (DX). Our data also shows that the role of the CIO is changing from a support function to a strategic function: 62% of CIOs report to the CEO.

The Changing Role of IT Leadership | Part 1: Leading IT Through Digital Transformation (DX)

Originally published on the IDC Community blog

Despite this information, data from IDC’s CIO Sentiment Survey suggest that most CIOs are focusing more on continuing operations than making their mark to cut through the digital disruption — 41% of CIOs prefer to focus on operations rather than face digital disruption. These CIOs are focusing on what they know best and what is low risk, rather than taking on critical challenges such as siloed organizations, resistance to change, or ineffectual corporate cultures to aim for high reward through riskier targets. But successful CIOs are see these targets as attainable and are shifting their focus to effectively win the DX challenges.