A new report from McKinsey & Company finds many executive leaders do not think CIOs are strategic business partners, and their confidence in IT's ability to support growth and other business goals is shrinking.
The survey was administered to approximately 700 IT and non-IT executives.
In 2012, McKinsey's survey on business and technology found 57 percent of executives said IT helped their company enter new markets, but the latest reports indicates just 35 percent of executives say the same.
Only one-third of respondents to McKinsey's current survey (both IT and non-IT executives) said their IT functions are very or extremely effective at a number of tasks. Within IT executives themselves, 43 percent of respondents said they were either completely or very effective at managing IT infrastructure, and just 26 percent said they were completely or very effective at governing IT performance.
The report also indicates IT executives and non-IT executives disagree on how IT can meaningfully shape a business' future. For example, 43 percent of IT executives say reducing IT costs is a current IT priority, but only 18 percent of non-IT executives say the same. Fifty-four percent of non-IT executives think providing managers with information to support decision making is a top priority, compared to 36 percent of IT executives. However, both IT and non-IT executives largely agree improving effectiveness of business processes is a priority, at 62 percent and 65 percent, respectively.
Though IT and non-IT executives may not see eye-to-eye on strategic objectives, the survey indicates they both recognize a link between CIO involvement and business performance. Respondents who said their CIOs are very or extremely involved in enterprise-wide strategy report higher IT effectiveness than those who said their CIOs are not so involved.
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