CIOs Role Will Transform in 2022

The rapid integration of technology into every aspect of business has grown the position of CIOs as efficient leaders. In 2022, organizations will take steps towards scrutinizing the ability of CIOs for delivering financial results, flexibility as well as an effective hybrid work strategy.  

Tech leaders have been relatively enjoying the newfound importance bestowed by their board. With their ability to keep the business operations sustainable and, for some, opening multiple windows of opportunities, IT leaders have gained substantial influence among the organizations. As per a 2021 report from IBM, titled, “The CIO Revolution”, CEOs view CIOs and CTOs as the most critical executives over the next few years.

While the past couple of years they concentrated on business acceleration, they will now become in charge of guiding their business transformation. Organizations expect CIOs to advise and execute in the critical business aspects in the New Year. They see the implementation of automation and hybrid work technologies as a crucial aspect in their business, currently under the confines of CIOs.

However, alongside these changes, there are things that are unpredictable. With the developments in the omicron variant, organizations will once again have to adjust to their operating models without completely reverting to pre-pandemic methodologies. A response to these transformations will require input from the CIO.

Also Read: CIO Priorities: Five Challenges to Address in 2022

Here are a few ways that 2022 will transform the role and responsibilities of CIOs:

• Revenue metric added to their agenda

CIOs and other tech leaders have not always been given goals on revenue. Their performance has been relatively measured in support of revenue streams instead of specific dollar amounts. However, with the lines between tech executives and businesses continuing to get blurred, organizations will begin to add explicit revenue to CIOs’ target. Organizations attempting to incorporate technology into every aspect of their business operations believe this strategy will drive the alignment between the business and technology forward. 

• CIOs – becoming the go-to leader

The past few years have seen CIO becoming a close advisor on the business strategy and not just being the backend service provider. 2022 will finally unveil how the CIOs can not only advise but also execute broadly across multiple aspects of the business.

In 2022, CIOs will be actively part in the discussion of more holistic, strategic thinking on how they will manage the data, business and deciding what they will keep in-house versus outsource or partner while completely transforming the organization to accommodate these changes.

• Tackling the uncertainty of hybrid work

CIOs made the remote work transition happen from on-site at a faster pace. However, they did it under duress when it came to the survival of many businesses. This has boosted their profile as efficient executives.

In 2022, they will require to address the challenges of hybrid work, which is under the phase of uncertainty as the rise of different variants test various systems that have been put in place since the second half of 2022. Responding to the demands of hybrid work will become a major portion of the CIO’s workload. 

Also Read: The Route to a Hybrid Workplace through Digital Transformation

• Acting as chief of staff 

As tech gets integrated into every part of the organization, CIOs will be at the center of operations instead on the sidelines.

With tech plugged into more parts of the organization, CIO will more often sit at the center of operations rather than being on the sidelines. Their role will expand from chief information officer to a more ‘chief of staff’ responsible for providing advice and counsel.

Check Out The New Enterprisetalk Podcast. For more such updates follow us on Google News Enterprisetalk News.