There’s a new player in IT, according to Ken McGee, Gartner fellow and vice president, and it’s not in the IT department. In a recent presentation entitled “Taming the Digital Dragon, ” McGee shares that twenty-six per cent of IT spending is happening outside the IT area by a new member of the executive team – the chief digital officer.
A recent article by Jim Love in ITbusiness.ca, explains that the position of CDO has gone from, “Barely even a blip on the radar five years ago” to emerging as a strong trend around the world. Only five percent of North American companies have a CDO, however six percent of EMEA countries, seven per cent of Latin American companies and 11 per cent of Asia Pacific companies have placed execs in this position. Half of all CDOs report directly to the CEO, giving them a substantial strategic role.
McGee’s advice to CIOs: Be the defacto CDO. Don’t wait to be asked or, more likely, passed over. CEOs are looking for ways to avoid threats to revenue through technology developments. The CIO/CDO must stay on top of the impact technology has on revenue years, even decades, out.
Source: ITbusiness.ca, Feb. 11, 2014, Jim Love