A Gartner presentation yesterday highlighted the changing role of the CIO from merely providing infrastructure to support the business, to suggesting ways the business can grow and transform itself by exploiting technology.
Mayank Prakash, CIO of Sage, said that CIOs had the best vantage point to make business decisions, since IT itself is pervasive across all other departments such as marketing, finance and sales.
He said that CIOs regularly head up change management programmes, which given their project management experience in installing IT systems, makes them the perfect agent to execute change in addition to suggesting ways in which a business can grow.
However, not all businesses will be receptive to IT leading innovation, and if CIOs regularly encounter resistance, they should set a time limit on their tenure at the company.