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, the Harvey Nash CIO report for 2012 reveals.
However, expectations of salary growth in 2012 remain subdued; 61pc of CIOs are experiencing a salary freeze this year (compared to 50pc in 2011).
These are some of the findings in the international Harvey Nash report, which will be unveiled in its entirety for Irish CIOs at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 7 June.
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.
CIOs are also regaining control over more of their budget. In 2011, more than one in 10 (11pc) of global CIOs didn’t control the majority of their IT spend; in 2012 this has dropped to 7pc.
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.
The influence of the CIO
The strategic influence of the CIO continues to grow in line with the increased global responsibility they are being asked to take on; 52pc of respondents now sit on their organisation’s operational board, up from 50pc in 2011 and 42pc in 2010.
More than two-thirds of respondents (68pc) say the role of the CIO is becoming more strategic in 2012 and this is reflected in the dominance of the CEO as the most likely reporting line for the CIO.
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.
Mobile goes to heart of CIO strategy
Demand for skills is returning with a particular emphasis on mobile solutions. In a long-running trend analysis, the report highlights an expected uptick in demand for skills that support innovation, however, the intensity in demand for mobile skills was greater than expected.
There has been a leap in demand for skills associated with mobile solutions (21pc this year versus 14pc in 2011), and 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 and social
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.
The IT department and the marketing department share responsibility for digital media; 43pc of CIOs claim this to be the case compared to 10pc of global CIOs who have full control over the role of digital in their organisations.
A further 37pc of CIOs state that the marketing department probably has more influence in the digital media strategy than the IT department.
