Evolution of the CIO

Nobody can pinpoint exactly when the role of Chief Information Officer was first created, but it was likely somewhere around the mid-1980s. At that time, the CIO’s role was mainly technical, focused on setting up and managing all aspects of a company’s IT infrastructure and keeping its systems running. Four decades have since passed, and looking at the original job specification, does this mean that the role of the CIO is now dead?

Evolution of the CIO

If we look at the Fortune 500 companies, for example, the CIO is still a prominent figure in the boardroom, but there’s been significant change since the early days when they were “in charge of IT”. The world has embarked upon a digital transformation journey and has seen the emergence of a long list of new technologies such machine learning, artificial intelligence, datafication, robotic process automation, virtual and augmented reality. The list goes on. We’re now living in the digital age, and inevitably the role of the CIO has had to evolve with the times. Today’s CIOs are strategic thinkers, digitally savvy, on top of the latest techs and trends, and always on the look-out for the next disruptive innovation. Forever looking towards the future, the modern-day CIO offers a combination of business acumen, technological expertise, and leadership.

Expansion of the C-Suite

According to statistics published by EY,[1] 82% of CEOs reported having added new roles to their C-suite over the previous five years, primarily those of Chief Innovation Officer, Chief Digital Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, and Chief Data Officer. Add to this the Chief Information Security Officer, Chief Analytics Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer, and it’s safe to say that the Chief Information Officer is no longer alone. There’s a whole team centered around managing the technical, technological, and digital aspects of an organization, although the specific roles and responsibilities of each of these positions may vary from company to company.  

Creating value through technology and data

As a visionary, the CIO looks for technologies that will shape the future of their organization, increase productivity and profitability, and create value. Understanding how to harness and manage data within their organization to drive business growth and make strategic decisions is vital. Digital transformation is more challenging, time consuming, and costly if a company’s data is poorly managed, and part of the CIO’s role is to make sure efficient data management is in place. If a company is planning a carve-out, for instance, the CIO needs to provide the buyer with all the information they need to continue running the business. In most cases, this will involve leveraging tools, systems, or applications such as JiVS, making the CIO’s job much easier. The JiVS Information Management Platform handles all kinds of data migration tasks, but if we look at carve-outs specifically, it enables the CIO to identify all the data that is relevant for the carve-out – across multiple systems from different vendors – collate it and store it separately from the rest of the data. Keeping up with pioneering technological developments is key for today’s CIOs to continue creating value for their business.

So… the role of the CIO is by no means dead, but it bears little resemblance to what it originally set out to do some forty years ago. Considering the vast technological advances and widespread digitisation, this comes as no surprise. As the world has undergone dramatic change, so has the CIO, and the CIO’s role is destined to continue evolving as more emerging and disruptive technologies and innovations see the light of day.

[1] https://www.ey.com/en_uk/growth/has-your-c-suite-changed-to-reflect-the-changing-times, 2019.