Business Intelligence and analytics, and self service portals are the top technologies for enhancing competitiveness over the next five years at high-growth midsize organisations, according to a new global study of chief information officers (CIOs) by IBM.
According to the study, 86% of midmarket CIOs have identified business intelligence and analytics, the ability to see patterns in vast amounts of data and extract actionable insights, and three-quarters chose self service portals.
These results and other findings are detailed in the Midmarket Executive Summary, part of the 2009 Global Chief Information Officer Study. The study, titled ‘The New Voice of the CIO’ represents the insights and vision of more than 2,500 CIOs worldwide, including 158 CIOs in 31 countries employed at midsize organisations with fewer than 1,000 employees.
The study, which looked at the difference between the responses of CIOs from organisations with high growth in profits before tax and CIOs from organisations with low growth, has revealed that all CIOs must juggle several complementary, yet sometimes conflicting roles, but that CIOs at high-growth midsize organisations are especially proactive about championing innovation and co-creating business strategy.
Other key findings of the study include: more than half (55%) midmarket CIOs anticipate changing their business models over the next three years while more than half of midmarket CIOs are active in developing business strategy, a number that drops to 33% when midsize and larger organisations are combined.
In addition, the research also showed that most successful CIOs at midsize organizations spend close to two-thirds of their time on activities that spur innovation; and 58% of high-growth companies are focused on turning information into insight and actionable information, versus 43% of low-growth companies.
Over the next five years, 88% of high-growth midmarket CIOs plan to use new channels to attract and retain customers, while 80% plan to improve their organisations’ integration and transparency capabilities to satisfy customer expectations. This contrasts with just 72% and 45%, respectively, of low-growth midmarket CIOs, according to the study.
Marc Dupaquier, general manager of IBM Global Midmarket, said: Today’s economy is driving a period of unprecedented change, which the most successful CIOs at midsize organisations are embracing. They view technology as an enabler for solving problems in today’s smaller, flatter and smarter world. Today it’s not about how big you are, but about how smart you operate.
