The latest study from technology company Lenovo showed that nearly (9 in 10) of all CIOs (chief information officers) surveyed believe their roles have evolved in the past few years. And this majority believes their role in the organization has increased in influence.
They are now decision-makers beyond the scope of technology. About 82% of the respondents said their role has become more challenging with the advent of new technologies such as automation of talent acquisition and the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI).
“Modern CIOs are the ‘mission control’ of their organizations,” said Ken Wong, president of Lenovo Solutions and Services Group. “From navigating tech ecosystems to upskilling employees, today’s CIOs are responsible for the entire technology value chain.”
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The CIOs have been involved in non-traditional areas with 56% saying they are also into data analytics and business reporting, 45% in sustainability/ESG, 42% in DE&I, 38% in HR/talent acquisition, and 32% in sales and marketing.
The Lenovo study also found that in the next five years, CIOs expect to turn to their vendors for help in increasing their organizational agility (60%), providing security for their company’s systems and operations (52%), simplifying the configuration, deployment, and maintenance of technology (50%), and optimizing costs (43%).
As the CIO role expands and evolves, respondents say that their technology vendors play an invaluable role in their company’s overall success and productivity.
Over half of the respondents (61%) say that halting investments toward digital transformation will greatly impact their company’s efficiency in a matter of weeks. If given a chance to start from scratch, most respondents (57%) would replace at least half of their company’s technology.
Device-as-a-service
Lenovo also found that compared to the previous year, 63% of companies are using more device-as-a-service in their tech stack and with business models evolving, nearly all respondents are considering adding new aaS offerings over the next two years.
To manage an increasingly complex digital transformation journey, businesses need simple and flexible IT solutions. Lenovo’s solutions provide organizations the breadth of Everything-as-a-Service offerings in Lenovo TruScale. This provides businesses with the flexibility to pay for the infrastructure solutions they need and a depth of expertise and services to empower CIOs to focus more on their strategic imperatives.
In order to enhance productivity and support remote collaboration, especially during the implementation of hybrid work setups, Lenovo in partnership with Microsoft aids workers with a reimagined but familiar operating system. Snap groups on Windows 11 allow users to easily switch between apps making it possible to efficiently maximize workflow.
Lenovo’s research shows that it may be an uphill battle for CIOs with data privacy/security, cybersecurity/ransomware and managing a fragmented IT vendor ecosystem as their most challenging concerns. Lenovo ThinkShield and Microsoft strive to provide them with the most comprehensive hardware-based security for their business.
Industry forecasts by Technology Business Research indicate that Device Subscription Services are growing at a CAGR of 26% from 2020 to 2024 and data center subscription services are growing at 42% during the same period. As-a-Service solutions provide mission-critical support and services, enabling businesses to use technology to scale quickly, lower costs, and reap greater efficiencies. With its flexible and simple offerings, Lenovo has helped organizations from the education to aerospace sectors optimize the right technology with the potential to transform and future-proof their operations.