A new set of responsibilities and expectations are emerging for many CIOs as organizations accelerate digital transformations while coordinating activities and managing risks for the entire organization, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Strategic oversight of the entire organization is normally associated with a COO; however, many large organizations undergoing digital transformation in more traditional industries, such as energy and manufacturing, don't have a COO to coordinate their activities, Janelle Hill, research chief of Gartner's CIO practice, told the publication.
By 2024, 25 percent of CIOs working in large, traditional enterprises will become "COO by proxy," according to the research and advisory firm's annual list of top strategic predictions. CIOs will increasingly be expected to take on more operational accountability in the following ways: recommending which enterprisewide digital projects get approved, which activities can continue to be funded and which efforts to discontinue.
CIOs will be expected to work with business leaders to create digital products and services and develop indicators to monitor digital performance results. They also will be held more accountable for whether their organization's digital investments succeed.