Trend 4: Focusing IT on Innovation Will Come Back Into Vogue

Product and process innovation will be the next growth target for CIOs. Just 5.4 percent of corporate IT budgets on average are devoted specifically to furthering innovation. That suggests companies are underinvesting in IT that might promote innovation and create new products. Practices that help companies gain benefits from technical innovations, such as encouraging technology experimentation, have waned. But that will change.

Americans are worrying about innovation, and no wonder: Growth and success in a global economy require both product and process innovation. The IT function already plays a leading role in process innovation; it will become more engaged in product innovation as well.