Digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic has carved a new role for CIOs in corporate boardrooms as decision makers, a shift that IT leaders expect to be permanent, according to a Jan. 5 Wall Street Journal report.
"The pandemic has shown us that digital transformation is the number one business imperative right now, and, as a result, the role of the CIO has never been more crucial,” Chris Bedi, CIO of cloud-software company ServiceNow, told the publication.
Before COVID-19, issues such as corporate strategy were not primary responsibilities for most senior IT managers; however, with the widespread adoption of cloud computing during the pandemic IT leaders have compiled real-time data on fast-changing markets, giving more weight to advanced analytics in the corporate decision-making process.
With business decisions relying more on cloud computing and software applications, tech leaders told the publication that they are increasingly being judged on business results rather than as leaders overseeing IT systems.