A CIO’s leadership skills are becoming just as important as their technological savvy.
That’s one of the trends uncovered in CIO as Innovation and Transformation Leader, the new report detailing the findings of the CanadianCIO Census 2017.
“As more business undergo digital transformation, CIOs are increasingly being tapped to help lead the initiatives, not simply to support them,” says Jim Love, ITWC’s CIO and the lead author of the CanadianCIO Census report for the past four years. “They are involved in more C-suite discussions, they expect to have bigger budgets, and they plan to spend more of that budget on innovation than in previous years.”
For the first time, business innovation is one of the CIO’s top three day-to-day priorities. The report also found that customer expectations and the need to demonstrate innovation capabilities to both customers and employees were the main drivers of digital transformation efforts.
“It’s a good year to be a CIO in Canada,” adds Ron Babin, a Ryerson University business professor who helped draft the report, which is supported by the . “Hiring expectations are strong, the cloud appears to have delivered on its initial promise and CIOs are gaining seniority as they stay in the position longer.”
Want to know more? Read the latest edition of the CanadianCIO magazine here.
Download the report here.