The 2024 State of CIO research, which surveyed 875 IT leaders and 251 lines of business (LOB) participants, highlights a shift towards a more strategic and business-centric role for CIOs. The findings indicate that while traditional operational responsibilities persist, there is an increasing emphasis on refining business strategies and leading transformative changes to achieve business goals, driven by advances in data, analytics, and artificial intelligence.
Currently, 35% of respondents view themselves as strategic CIOs, with nearly half expecting to evolve into this role within the next three to five years. The study also reveals that CIOs are increasingly seen as vital strategic advisors, with significant visibility in their organizations—three-quarters of IT leaders and 78% of line of business respondents agree to this enhanced status.
Furthermore, about half of the respondents expect CIOs to proactively identify business opportunities and provide technology recommendations, while a smaller percentage look to them for advice on risk management and governance. In this article, you will learn about ten steps IT leaders are taking to achieve business goals.
10 Steps IT Leaders Are Taking To Achieve Business Goals
Here are ten steps IT leaders are taking to achieve business goals.
1. Automating Business and IT Processes
43% of CIOs said that they are focusing on automating their business and IT processes, according to the State of CIO Survey 2024. By automating their business processes, they can not only improve the productivity and efficiency of their organization just like SSD dedicated server hosting but can also reduce the burden off the shoulders of their employees. This would free them up for more value-centric tasks. It will also help them streamline their business and IT processes.
2. Developing or Implementing AI Apps
Almost one-third (32%) of IT leaders are either developing artificial intelligence applications in-house or implementing artificial intelligence-powered apps acquired from a third-party vendor. This involvement indicates a substantial commitment to integrating artificial intelligence into their operations, strategies, and potentially their product offerings.
Large-scale enterprises that have the resources and expertise to develop AI-powered apps in-house are developing AI apps that are tailor-made to fulfil their needs. On the flipside, small and midsize businesses are relying on third-party vendors for AI-powered apps.
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3. Ensuring Data Availability- Achieve Business Goals
29% of IT leaders said that they are actively taking steps to make their data more available. This clearly shows that IT leaders are slowly but surely moving away from data silos and embracing a more collaborative approach even if they have to Cheap VPS hosting for that. They are taking steps to make data easily accessible across different departments so everyone can benefit from actionable insights.
4. Frequent Meetings With Board of Directors
The days when IT leaders tend to work in isolation are long gone. Fast forward to today and they are an important cog in the organization wheel.They actively participate in strategic decision-making and work closely with other business leaders and key business stakeholders. The growing frequency of meetings between IT leaders and the board of directors is a testament to that.
5. Reporting on IT Value- Achieve Business Goals
One of the most common questions asked of IT leaders during board meetings with board members is regarding the return on investment of IT projects. That is why 26% of CIOs are focusing their time and energy towards proving the benefits IT projects bring to the table. They have to come up with concrete evidence that can convince board members of the true value proposition of IT investments such as Miami dedicated server.
6. Enhancing Customer Journey
Designing and improving the customer journey have never been a domain for IT leaders. It was previously done by marketing and sales teams but things have changed. As information technology becomes deeply ingrained into service delivery, they now play a crucial role in the customer journey.
From removing frictions to making the customer onboarding process more seamless, from improving the customer experience with the product or service to ensuring uninterrupted service delivery, IT is at the heart of all of that and much more.
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7. Restructuring Teams For Better Results- Achieve Business Goals
As business needs continue to evolve, older tactics and organizational hierarchies are no longer relevant. Enterprises will not only have to adopt new technologies, and processes but they also have to change their mindset and approach. More importantly, they will have to ditch the traditional organizational chart and restructure their teams to better support their business goals. That is exactly what IT leaders are doing right now. According to the State of CIO survey 2024, 22% of IT leaders are busy restructuring their IT teams to better support their line of business.
8. Developing Data-Driven Products With Business Unit Heads
By making data easily accessible, IT leaders can also achieve another goal which is to develop data-driven products. They work closely with the functional unit and business unit heads and create a roadmap for developing data-driven products for the business.
Since customer data is the primary source used for product development and key product decisions, customers are more likely to love your products and services. This improves customer satisfaction level with your products and improves the overall revenue of your business. Not only that, higher customer satisfaction can also improve customer retention and customer loyalty.
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9. Reviewing Department and Business Goals
Regular reviews of both IT department goals and overall business objectives ensure that IT strategies remain aligned with the broader corporate direction. This ongoing alignment is essential for adaptive strategy execution and for ensuring that IT initiatives directly support business outcomes.
10. Working Closely With Project Managers On IT Projects
IT leaders are supervising IT projects and project managers are the ones who are in charge of the operations. Project managers report to IT managers on the project’s progress. Close coordination between project managers and IT leaders is crucial for the success of your IT projects.
Which steps are you taking as the CIO to achieve business objectives? Share it with us in the comments section below.
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Conclusion on Achieve Business Goals
In conclusion, the evolving role of CIOs, as highlighted by the 2024 State of CIO survey, underscores a significant shift towards a more strategic and integral position within organizations. By embracing automation, AI applications, and data accessibility, CIOs are enhancing their ability to drive business growth and innovation. The increased interaction with the board of directors and a focus on demonstrating IT value reflect the growing expectation for CIOs to align technology initiatives with broader business objectives. Additionally, their involvement in optimizing the customer journey, restructuring teams, and developing data-driven products showcases a proactive approach to meeting organizational needs.
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