Are CIOs buckling under the weight of expectation to deliver business value?

“Increasingly, the CIO is expected to help drive a difference at the front end as the lines blur between products, services, and technology, improving the customer experience, and supporting revenue and growth,” says White, adding that the forthcoming Nash Squared Digital Leadership Report suggests two-thirds of CIOs believe their CEOs need technology to make rather than save money.

The trend, suggests Eric Johnson, CIO at technology specialist PagerDuty, is a shift to a new type of digital leader who works in concert with senior colleagues to deliver what he refers to as high-impact results across a range of areas.

“CIOs have gone from making sure the phones and networks are working, which is critical, to driving digital transformation, with a focus on leveraging data in generative AI, automation, and proactive cybersecurity projects to deliver tangible business benefits,” he says. “This proactive stance toward business alignment is crucial for modern CIOs.”