Research shows CTOs are in demand 5:1 in comparison to CIOs

A comparison of advertised, permanent UK roles shows that the number of advertised roles for 2018, 2019 and 2020 were: CIO: 59, 57 and 82 and CTO: 210, 178 and 256 respectively

These findings[i] suggest UK companies appear to be focused on adopting digital technologies, rather than (post adoption) exploitation.

Potentially, this means that UK companies:

1. Do not perceive CIOs as pertinent to improving their digital maturity through improved digital transformation; and
2. Are more focused on technology than on business impact and (the resulting) business change.

These initial observations, coupled with many years first-hand experience of working alongside digital leaders and managers in both the public and private sectors, add weight to the arguments that UK companies:

1. Have not reconciled their perceptions of the CIOs role as having transitioned from operational/service manager to that of strategist.
2. Are yet to understand the applicability and potential of digital technologies as enablers and levers for change and (hence) ongoing competitive advantage.

The CIOs role is under threat; tenures remain relatively short and turnover is high. This has been noted by researchers [ii]^,[iii]^,[iv]^,[v] and by business commentators [vi]^,[vii]  alike for some years now. There are many reasons for this, but fundamentally, the CIOs role is poorly understood and for those organisations seeking to exploit digital technologies without additional investment in a range of additional C-suite roles, more work is need to clarify the CIOs evolving and ambiguous role.

Refs

[i] Report from: https://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/ (accessed 15^th May 2020)

[ii] Bhanap, R., Bieber, N., Roets, M., 2014. How to Break the Cycle of CIO Turnover, Strategy+Business

[iii] Capella, J., 2006. The CIOs first 100 days. Optimize 5, 46–51

[iv] Dawson, G.S., Kauffman, R.J., 2011. CIO Survival and the Composition of the Top Management Team, in: Thirty Second International Conference on Information Systems. Shanghai, pp. 1–16

[v] Luftman, J., Derksen, B., Dwivedi, R., Santana, M., Zadeh, H.S., Rigoni, E., 2015. Influential IT management trends: an international study. J. Inf. Technol. 30, 293–305. https://doi.org/10.1057/jit.2015.18

[vi] Rosenbush, S., 2017. CIOs, Facing Rapid Change, Tend to be Younger, with Shorter Tenure [WWW Document]. Wall Str. J. URL https://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2017/02/14/cios-facing-rapid-change-tend-to-be-younger-with-shorter-tenure/ (accessed 5.22.20)

[vii] Korn Ferry, 2017. Age and Tenure in the C-Suite [WWW Document]. Korn Ferry. URL https://www.kornferry.com/press/age-and-tenure-in-the-c-suite-korn-ferry-institute-study-reveals-trends-by-title-and-industry (accessed 7.24.19)