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Businesses demand more from CIOs
Get ready for risk and innovation, as 'generic tech' gets pushed aside

By Tim Ferguson

Published: Wednesday 23 January 2008

CIOs face "significant change" in what is expected from them over the next three years as businesses demand more from IT.

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There will also be a move to replace generic tech with more bespoke, tailored IT to drive business strategy, according to the global survey of CIOs conducted by Gartner.

Gartner analyst Mark McDonald, who led the report, said CIOs now realise the importance of using IT in changing business processes, attracting customers and developing new products.

He added that with business expectation in IT gathering pace, CIOs will have to focus on what IT can deliver "like never before" and will need to become more tolerant of risk and innovation.

Other points to emerge from the survey include an increase in the average time CIOs stay in their job to four years four months, meaning they have more time to push through new implementations.

Around half of respondents said they have responsibility outside traditional IT, showing they are increasingly taking a more influential leadership role in organisations.

The Gartner Executive Programs CIO report took views from 1,500 CIOs from 33 countries, across 23 industries, accounting for $132bn in IT spending.