CIOs Control Process Change and IT Spending

FINDING 2
CIOs Control Process Change and IT Spending

Half of CIOs are involved in strategic business decisions. Top IT executives and others agree that CIOs have enormous influence over three areas in particular.

For the company at large, their greatest impact is on business process improvement. Business operations have become so dependent on IT that it's impossible to improve them without including the CIO in decisions.

CIOs have also retained their power over IT spending and the selection of major vendors. Many have the authority to sign off on large expenditures without requesting additional approval.

But when it comes to other strategic decisions, CIOs are split almost evenly between high-ranking strategic executives and those who implement their decisions or are left out of decision-making altogether. This is why most CIOs don't view their peers as top corporate leaders: Many aren't in the inner circle of corporate decision-makers.