CIOs are losing their influence, report claims

Research commissioned by McAfee hints that chief information officers are being sidelined when it comes to board-level IT decisions

Chief information officers are being largely ignored when it comes to IT decisions, research commissioned by software vendor McAfee, has revealed.

The study, conducted for McAfee by the Economist Intelligence Unit, found that
chief information officers are being sidelined at board level with only 47 per cent presenting IT issues in board discussions. In half (45 per cent) the study group the chief executives take the lead on IT issues while chief financial officers have bypassed the chief information officer to represent the IT department on a worrying 20 per cent of occasions.

“IT chiefs must raise their visibility and influence,” said the report, “IT is
increasingly considered core to business reputation and success.”

McAfee commissioned to conduct the research, which explored the evolving
relationship between the chief information officer and the board.

However the overall profile of the chief information officer has been raised, despite this issue, the report claimed.

Fewer people see IT as being a cost cutting function, and 42 per cent of people
now see IT primarily as a strategic business function. “The growing corporate
focus on regulatory compliance, good governance and risk management means IT
organisations are now being asked to assess and measure risk alongside the
finance function.”

“It is worrying that in a day when governance, risk and compliance are now
crucial for business success, only a minority of chief information officers are fully participating at board level,” said Greg Day, security analyst at McAfee.

“IT chiefs need to capitalise fast on the progress they have made over the last
few years to ensure that the full business case for investment in IT is
understood by corporate decision makers,” he concluded.