Beleagured CIOs suffering mushroom treatment

CIOs are being ignored and undervalued by business execs, a report has found.

Tech chiefs feel "perpetually out of the loop" as many businesses struggle to know what to do with their CIO, according to a study by the Cranfield School of Management and Deloitte.

More than half of CIOs, 55 per cent, and 71 per cent of CEOs and senior managers questioned felt there was no clarity on the definition of the role of a CIO.

Toby Redshaw, CIO of financial services giant Aviva, told researchers CIOs had been transformed from an "aggressive, positive bunch" to being "extremely timid" due to a decade of failed IT initiatives.

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If organisations want CIOs to be effective they must not treat them as a glorified IT director in the back office, the report says, and should instead use technology at the forefront of business decision making.

There is no "one size fits all" CIO, according to the report, meaning businesses should continually assess their technology needs to assess the type of CIO they need.

The report highlights three types of CIOs to suit businesses at different stages of development. The first, the Evangelist, "advocates the importance of information and technology" and "brings order to legacy systems and processes".

Second, the Innovator, uses "information and technology to create new products, services and business models" while the final CIO type, the Facilitator, "seeks to ensure that every department and division leverages information and technology to the full" and "that every manager is able to apply these capabilities to their area of responsibility".

According to the report, tension between the CIOs and other executives can be the result of where a company has employed the wrong type of CIO.

"An Evangelist CIO in an organisation that needs an Innovator may be seen as ineffective and unfocused," the report notes.

David Tansley, a partner in Deloitte's consulting practice who jointly led the research, said in a statement: "Many companies are not using their information assets to power innovation, strategy and growth.

"The CIO should be playing a central role in business, ensuring information underpins business strategy.

"Without a CIO, the chances of succeeding are extremely slim."

The report is based on interviews about the role of the CIO with 40 CIOs, senior managers, analysts, consultants and academics.