Harvey Nash CEO Albert Ellis
Despite budget challenges and new opportunities like BYOD, mobile and social are adding spice to the tasks of today’s CIO, says Harvey Nash chief executive Albert Ellis.
Last night at the Aviva Stadium Ellis revealed the findings of this year’s Harvey Nash CIO Report 2012.
The average salary for CIOs globally has increased by 2.9pc in the last year; it is currently US$203,986, up from US$198,031 in 2011.
However, expectations of salary growth in 2012 remain subdued; 61pc of CIOs are experiencing a salary freeze this year (compared to 50pc in 2011).
There are positive signs that IT budgets are less restricted in 2012 as organisations pursue growth; 44pc of global CIOs saw a budget increase this year compared to 39pc in 2011 and 28pc in 2010.
More than half of CIOs in 2012 (56pc) say projects that make money from technology rather than save money are the priority for their CEO.
Challenges and opportunities facing today’s CIO – Harvey Nash CEO Albert Ellis
Strategic priorities now focus on improving time to market for new products and services (a priority for 24pc of CIOs versus only 17pc in 2011); supporting mergers and acquisitions (15pc, up from 12pc in 2011); and investing time, focus and resources in mobile commerce, which is up from 17pc in 2011 to 22pc in 2012.
Demand for skills is returning, with a particular emphasis on mobile solutions. In a long-running trend analysis, the Harvey Nash report highlights an expected uptick in demand for skills that support innovation, however, the intensity in demand for mobile skills was greater than expected. Given the rapidly expanding range of mobile platforms, security and resilience skills have also increased in demand (17pc in 2012 versus 13pc in 2011).
Skills associated with the rise of social media are another group to have seen growth this year (15pc in 2012 versus 11pc in 2011).
Digital media is firmly on the CIO’s agenda, with almost two-thirds of global CIOs actively promoting the development of mobile phone and tablet applications for their organisations.
