Cloud Computing Drives Australian CIO Ambition to advance to the CEO Role

Announcement posted by CA Technologies 19 Mar 2012

A report ‘The Future Role of the CIO’ from CA Technologies highlights that CIOs believe cloud computing can position them to be CEOs

Core News Facts

1. The report, which includes global research of 615 CIOs reveals that 57% of Australian CIO’s believe that cloud computing is shifting the focus of the CIO role away from primarily technology and onto vital business services increasing their chances of promotion to CEO

2. 70% of Australian CIOs feel ideally positioned to move specifically to the CEO role yet the reality is globally only ‘4%’*of current CEOs has risen from the CIO ranks.

3. Download CA Technologies ‘The Future Role of the CIO: Becoming the Boss’ report at http://bit.ly/q0rVyv

SYDNEY, 19 March, 2011 – CA Technologies (NASDAQ:CA) today released the results of a new global report: ‘The Future role of the CIO’ which reveals the extent to which cloud computing is transforming how CIO’s view themselves and their role in their business. Of the Australian CIO’s surveyed for the report, 60% agree that cloud computing has enabled them to spend more time on business strategy and innovation. In theory the more strategic focus increases the likelihood of CIO’s making the transition to CEO, but in reality globally only 4% of CEOs have risen from the CIO ranks, illustrating the prevalence of a barrier to career progression.

‘The Future Role of the CIO’ report by CA Technologies has uncovered that those CIOs who have adopted cloud computing are more ambitious than non-cloud adopting CIOs. Demonstrating the extent to which CIOs view their position as a route to more general roles, approximately 93% who have adopted cloud computing, see their position as an opportunity or stepping-stone to other management roles compared to only 30% of non-cloud adopting CIOs of those surveyed, 46% of cloud adopting CIOs versus 13% of non-cloud adopting CIOs saw their current job as a stepping stone specifically to the CEO position. This illustrates the extent to which cloud computing reveals CIO ambition.

“There’s no doubt that cloud computing is revolutionising business particularly in these strained economic times. But it’s also breeding a new type of technology leader - one who understands that by using the cloud to innovate, increase speed to market and reduce costs in providing strategic business services, he or she will be in a position to make a significant impact on the business and potentially be positioned to lead it,” said Bill McMurray, Managing Director at CA Technologies Australia & New Zealand.

More than half of the CIOs surveyed said they felt ideally positioned to move to the CEO role because cloud computing allows them to spend more time on innovation, business strategy and driving business effectiveness. However, they face fierce competition; 43% acknowledge that whilst they do have the necessary skills to step up to the CEO role, other job roles have greater experience in using those skills. How do you marry this ambition with the stark reality today where only ‘4’% of current CEOs has risen from the CIO ranks, 29% have risen from the Chief Financial Officer position and a further 23% were previously Chief Operating Officers?

The CIO role today is still viewed as a technical role according to 43% of CIOs and this is the reason why relatively few CIOs have successfully made the transition to the CEO role. A lack of ‘digital literacy’ in the boardroom is compounding this problem with 40% of CIOs stating that their board was ’digitally illiterate’ and did not understand the impact of new and emerging technologies. A further 42% of CIOs said that the board did not understand the value that IT brings to the business causing a lack of responsiveness to the market and missed business opportunities.

“The role of the CIO is no longer purely about technology. In Australia, we are seeing that this position is evolving from the traditionally technical role of a CIO to one that is more strategic and business focused. CIOs that show an understanding of, and commitment to developing the business, are much more likely to evolve beyond their traditional role,” said Martin Retschko, National Practice Director, Hudson ICT, the executive search specialists.

The ambitious CIO cloud adopters are not complacent either, with 93% saying they need new skills to remain effective compared to 63% of ‘non-clouders’. Specifically, 48% of CIOs deemed skills in commercial procurement to be vital. Cloud CIOs also prioritised service performance skills and negotiation and sales skills compared to their non-cloud adopting counterparts.

“In many ways, CEOs and CIOs share the same skill-set, particularly in terms of managing budgets, new projects and communicating their plans and strategies with internal and external stakeholders. The role of CIO will continue to extend beyond its technical attributes and we expect to see an increase in the number of CIOs taking on broader, C-Level roles,” adds Retschko.

Perceptions are changing since 54% of CIOs report that the C-level management team sees the role of the CIO as becoming increasingly important within the organisation which suggests that the boards view of the CIO is already changing.

“This research finds that cloud computing is positively impacting the ambition of today’s CIO and giving rise to a new breed of business savvy technology leaders. To ignore this trend or what these leaders could bring to the leadership of an organisation may well hinder business competitiveness and growth,” concluded McMurray.

-ENDS-

About the Research Methodology

CA Technologies commissioned independent specialist technology market research company Vanson Bourne to undertake the research upon which the report is based. 615 telephone interviews were conducted during summer 2011 amongst CIOs in organizations of 500 or more employees in the telecoms, retail, financial and manufacturing sectors. Country breakdown: 30 CIOS were interviewed in each of the following countries: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Austria/Switzerland, Israel, the Nordics, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Canada, the USA, and 15 within Portugal.

*Using companies selected from Forbes’ list of the 2000 World’s Biggest Public Companies (calculated April 2011), the research consisted of tracking the career paths of 685 CEOs at companies across four verticals in 21 countries/regions. Revenue and number of employees (500 minimum) were identified for each company using resources such as Business Week and Reuters, along with the previous role, overseas experience and professional qualifications of each CEO.

About CA Technologies

CA Technologies (NASDAQ: CA) is an IT management software and solutions company with expertise across all IT environments – from mainframe and distributed, to virtual and cloud. CA Technologies manages and secures IT environments and enables customers to deliver more flexible IT services. CA Technologies’ innovative products and services provide the insight and control essential for IT organisations to power business agility. The majority of the Global Fortune 500 relies on CA Technologies to manage evolving IT ecosystems. For additional information, visit CA Technologies at www.ca.com.

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