Gartner CEO survey shows IT conundrum

   Gartner’s latest chief executive officer survey found that about 85 percent of CEOs believe their enterprises will be impacted by the economic downturn, but by a two-to-one ratio these same executives still expect to increase IT investments this year.
   The CEOs said their companies need to adopt newer technologies, like mobile offerings, cloud, and Web-based standards, if they want their businesses to grow. They also noted the chief information officer (CIO) is the person to add these services to existing corporate structures.
   However, when asked who leads innovation, the CEOs typically answered that they did, followed by the chief financial officer and other senior management. For technology innovation, the CIO was barely considered.
   The CIO, who will ultimately have responsibility for the service, is being left out of the innovation discussion, the Gartner survey found.
   While Gartner’s survey was about CEOs, it mainly highlighted the need for CIOs to join the conversation. – Geoff Whiting