TRENDING
far more likely to have introduced a
modern IT infrastructure and invested
in skills.
The study also reveals that in many
smaller organisations the power
over technology decision-making is
left in the hands of other parts of
the business. According to 39% of
the professionals surveyed, in their
company the IT agenda is set by
functions other than IT and business,
for example marketing (11%) and
sales (10%). This disconnect is seen
in the boardroom, with 58% of CIOs
convinced they have overall control
over IT, while just 14% of business
CxOs agree with them.
NIGEL MOULTON
EMEA CTO at VCE, the Converged
Platforms Division of EMC
THE RESEARCH…
SUGGESTS THAT IN
MANY ORGANISATIONS
CIOS ARE AT RISK
OF ISOLATION. THEY
CAN FIND IT HARD
TO MANAGE THE
CHALLENGES OF
STEADILY RISING
EXPECTATIONS FOR IT,
INTERFERENCE FROM
COLLEAGUES IN OTHER
ROLES AND A LACK
OF COMMON GROUND
WITH THE REST OF THE
C-SUITE
This point is not lost on CIOs and
their business colleagues and many
are taking active steps to address
the situation. For example, 80%
of the leaders surveyed feel that
implementing a more advanced and
agile IT infrastructure would reduce
risk and complexity and provide a
solid platform for future growth.
Further, nearly half are already
training IT professionals in skills
including converged infrastructure,
cloud computing and business skills.
The research, which surveyed over
2,700 business and IT professionals
in Europe, the Middle East and
Africa, suggests that in many
organisations CIOs are at risk of
isolation. They can find it hard
to manage the challenges of
steadily rising expectations for IT,
interference from colleagues in other
roles and a lack of common ground
with the rest of the C-suite.
Recognition of the value and potential
of IT increases measurably with
company size: companies with 1,000
or more employees demonstrate
few of these concerns, and are also
18
INTELLIGENTCIO
Nigel Moulton, EMEA CTO at VCE,
the Converged Platforms Division of
EMC commented: “The research casts
new light on current attitudes towards
IT within businesses of all sizes. To
reclaim full control, CIOs and their IT
teams need to stop spending so much
time building and managing different
infrastructure components. Instead they
need to transform IT into an efficient
business-focused engine that can
scale rapidly in response to changing
business needs. This demands a modern
data centre. One way of achieving is
by implementing a robust, softwaredefined, converged infrastructure.
Convergence can power more agile
development and increased speed to
market, addressing directly some of the
top IT challenges identified.”
Said Akar, Regional Director at VCE,
the Converged Platforms Division of
EMC Turkey, Eastern Europe, Africa, and
Middle East Region, adds: “A powerful
infrastructure will deliver the high
performance, scalability and agility the
business needs. Too much effort is still
spent simply keeping the operational
lights on, when the business needs
to focus on developing and releasing
new, value-added products and
services. IT needs to be free to focus on
meeting business goals. A converged
infrastructure will enable it to do so.”
Full Report: http://emc.com/en-emea/
campaigns/vce-research.htm
www.intelligentcio.com