Dive Brief:
- CIOs and CEOs are clashing over technology investments as they grapple with unclear expectations and budget priorities, according to a Netskope report published Monday. The software company surveyed more than 200 CIOs in the U.S. and U.K. and interviewed a dozen CEOs for the report.
- Nearly 2 in 5 CIOs report a misalignment with their CEOs on important business decisions, according to the survey. Despite the importance of technology to operations, roughly one-third of CIOs said they were not confident they know what their CEOs really want from them.
- The mismatch between tech and executive leadership is showing up in budget priorities, as only 36% of CIOs say their company is adequately investing in IT modernization. More than 2 in 5 CIOs say tech investment is falling short.
Dive Insight:
Clashing views over IT decisions can hurt a business — especially as companies infuse technology into more parts of their operations.
Leadership teams that aren’t aligned can dampen a company's ability to respond to seismic shifts in their markets, causing them to miss out on the true value of tech investments or create siloed IT efforts, according to Mike Anderson, chief digital and information officer at Netskope.
“They're not going to get the full advantage of what technology can bring to the organization,” Anderson told CIO Dive.
Despite the disconnect, some organizations are relying more heavily on technology executive expertise. More than one-third of surveyed CIOs say their businesses are more closely involving them in strategic priorities beyond IT than before, Netskope found. A similar proportion of CIOs are taking point on AI business initiatives for their companies.
Costs can become a meaningful conversation to help forge alignment between IT and top executives, Anderson said.
Consolidation of tools can be a helpful strategy for bringing costs down, but it requires cross-functional collaboration. CIOs can also find ways to optimize costs alongside other line-of-business leaders in order to find the budget needed for new initiatives, such as AI.
"You have to lean in as a true partner," Anderson said.
