CIOs predict shifts in cyber involvement in the coming year.
N2K logoJan 26, 2023

A survey from Foundry this morning finds that CIOs believe a shift in their roles, toward digitization and innovation, is on the horizon.

CIOs predict shifts in cyber involvement in the coming year.

Foundry this morning released their annual State of the CIO report, analyzing CIO attitudes toward finances, the evolution of the CIO role, and the anticipated initiatives in focus in the coming year.

Economic instability may not spell an end to tech budget increases.

The research details the continued optimism shared among CIOs in terms of finances in 2023, with over half of those surveyed (56%) expecting increased budgets despite the state of the economy. Reasoning for budget increases is believed to include a: “need for security improvements (40%), need to upgrade outdated IT infrastructure (38%), application modernization (38%), investments in new skills and talent (36%) and product innovation (27%)”. Over half of respondents (59%) report that the CIO has a budget of their own in their company, separate from the IT budget.

The continuous evolution of the CIO role.

85% of the respondents see a shift toward digitization and innovation in their roles in the future, with focus given to tasks akin to responsibilities of a business strategist. 70% of those surveyed predict increased cybersecurity involvement, with 55% anticipating increased participation in data analysis, data privacy/compliance, and AI/machine learning. The report shares a breakdown of the role’s focuses, saying “47% of CIOs said security management, followed by IT operations/systems performance (40%), aligning IT initiatives with business goals (38%), and modernizing infrastructure and applications (35%)” are noted by respondents as activities they have involvement in.

IT investments expected to center around business and technology initiatives.

Anticipated business initiatives on the CIO’s radar in the coming year include, “increasing operational efficiency (45%), increasing cybersecurity protections (44%), transforming existing business processes (38%), and improving the customer experience (36%).” The economic downturn has driven all of the aforementioned initiatives higher in priority, with the added priority of increased profitability. Technology focus points for investments in 2023 are expected to include “security/risk management (38%), data/business analytics (34%), application/legacy systems modernization (28%), machine learning/AI (26%), and customer experience technologies (24%).”