CIOs should play bigger role in corporate strategy, study says

We've all heard that CIOs' roles are evolving into more of a business role, but according to a new study out this week from IBM, there is still something of a glass ceiling for tech execs that want to play a bigger role in the boardroom. Of the 170 CIOs IBM interviewed, 84 percent said their job has evolved beyond technology infrastructure and computing support to create strategy and help transform the business. But only 16 percent said their companies have done enough to take full advantage of IT. "CIOs need to play a more active role in participating in business discussion, to take this notion of CIOs becoming business leaders and consider what they could do to help their companies achieve that objective," said George Pohle, vice president and global leader for the Institute for Business Value at IBM. "It's up to the CIO to be able to come to the table with good examples of what they can do. They shouldn't just ask to sit at the table and expect that they will think of good ideas while they are there," he added. Resistance to change on the part of business executives was cited by CIOs as one of the things that made their roles the most difficult. On the operation side, however, CIOs felt they're better able to integrate business and technology.

For more:
- read this article
- read the IBM release