Nearly half of CIOs in Canada are heavily involved in defining new
business models in their organizations, according to a survey conducted
by Gartner, Inc. This is consistent with their top three priorities for
2019: revenue and growth, digital initiatives, and operational
excellence.
“Our survey results show that Canadian CIOs are playing an active role
in business model change, showcasing the importance that information and
technology (I&T) has on creating business models that were not possible
in the past,” said Chris Howard. “This puts CIOs in a powerful position
transform the business, and CEOs are counting on them to do so.”
Gartner analysts presented the survey findings during Gartner
IT Symposium/Xpo, which is taking place here through Thursday. The 2019
Gartner CIO Agenda Survey gathered data from more than 3,000 CIO
respondents in 89 countries and all major industries. In Canada, 176 CIO
respondents were asked for their input.
Canadian IT Budgets and Core Investments
Canada’s average IT budget jumped from 1.3% in 2018 to 2% in 2019, which
was higher growth than the year prior. The global average IT budget
experienced about a 3% increase.
Canada is increasing its spending in business intelligence and data
analytics, cybersecurity, and cloud services. Yet artificial
intelligence (AI) experienced a huge
jump from last year. In the 2018 CIO Agenda Survey, only 2% of Canadian
respondents planned to increase investment in AI. In 2019, that figure
is 24%. “AI serves as a huge opportunity for Canadian CIOs,” said Mr.
Howard.
Among the areas that Canadian organizations are decreasing their IT
investments this year are infrastructure and data center, networking,
voice and data communications, and custom software development.
“Canadian CIOs are pruning commodity services that have evolved to
surpass traditional, on-premises implementation,” said Mr. Howard.
Canadian CIOs Embrace AI
The data
analytics category has been the perennial top technology on the list
of game-changer technologies, but this year, the AI/machine learning
(ML) category has superseded it for Canadian and top-performing
respondents alike. Data analytics and cloud were tied for second among
game-changer technologies in Canadian organizations.
“CIOs believe correctly that data, analytics and insight are the keys to
unlocking value. The volume, variety and velocity of that data are
beyond human processing capabilities, so the promise of insight lies in
advanced analytics and especially AI/ML,” said Mr. Howard.
Strengthening Digital Maturity Among Canadian Organizations
Financial goals are a uniquely popular priority for Canadian CIOs, thus
indicating a heightened degree of cost consciousness among
organizations. At the same time, Canada has more structural and
engrained leadership challenges compared with its global peers.
“For Canadian CIOs, cultural barriers to their success are pronounced,”
said Mr. Howard. “The data shows that their organizations are not
innovative enough and that there is a lack of buy-in for various digital
initiatives, which is why Canada lags behind in digital maturity
compared to typical global organizations. Communicating the value of IT
as well as cultivating strong executive partnerships were the top two
strategies that respondents identified to overcoming these barriers.”
For Editors
The 2019
Gartner CIO Agenda Survey was conducted online from April 17 through
June 22, 2018 among Gartner Executive Program members and other CIOs.
Qualified respondents are either the most senior IT leader (CIO) for
their overall organization, or a part of their organization (for
example, a business unit or region). The total sample was 3,102, with
representation from all geographies and industry sectors (public and
private).
About Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo
Learn more about CIO leadership and how to drive digital innovation to
the core of your business at
Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2019. Follow news and updates from the
events on Twitter using #GartnerSYM.
Upcoming dates and locations for the 2019 Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo
include:
September
16-18: Cape Town, South Africa
October
20-24: Orlando, Florida
October
28-31: Sao Paulo, Brazil
October
28-31: Gold Coast, Australia
November
3-7: Barcelona, Spain
November
11-14: Goa, India
November
12-14: Tokyo, Japan
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory
company and a member of the S&P 500. We equip business leaders with
indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their
mission-critical priorities and build the successful organizations of
tomorrow.
Our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and
data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions on the
issues that matter most. We are a trusted advisor and objective resource
for more than 15,000 organizations in more than 100 countries — across
all major functions, in every industry and organization size.
To learn more about how we help decision makers fuel the future of
business, visit gartner.com.
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