CIOs welcomed in the boardroom

CIOs are saying good-bye to the server room and getting comfortable in the boardroom, according to new research.

One of the most tangible results of this role change is revealed in corporate reporting structure.

At companies with less than $1bn revenue, over half - 55 per cent - of CIOs report to the CEO, up from 41 per cent two years ago, according to a survey of 250 Society for Information Management (SIM) members.

Meanwhile 23 per cent of CIOs report to CFOs.

Changes are less dramatic at companies with more than $1bn in revenue, where 41 per cent of CIOs report to CEOs and 47 per cent to CFOs or COOs. Those figures are in line with a similar SIM survey conducted two years ago.

The morphing role of CIOs is not only tied to who their bosses are, though.

Their responsibilities are changing as well, to include business as well as technical tasks, according to a recent Meta Group study titled Driving the Business Value With IT.

Nearly 70 per cent of CIOs surveyed by Meta Group say their jobs now include business functions such as HR or leading or supporting business transformation.

Though 65 per cent of respondents agree the value of IT has risen in the eyes of the business executives, they're split on why - and it's got nothing to do with saving the company money by increasing productivity.

Two-thirds say it's based on an improved perception of the overall effectiveness of IT departments while one-third say it has to do with the increased influence compliance and risk management have on the business, both of which depend on IT.