The CIO's role has evolved from an operational leader to a strategic leader in a digital-first world. With digital transformation taking center stage, CIOs are expected to lead enterprise-wide technology strategy and decision-making, drive business innovation, and identify opportunities for competitive differentiation. Internally, CIOs are focused on making the right budget allocations for digital initiatives, digitally transforming processes, advancing technology adoption, guarding against operational risk, enforcing compliance, and keeping costs under control. As the business operating model changes due to digitalization, the CIO's role is shifting from IT-outcome-focused to business-outcome-focused. The coming year will see more investment in IT and more effort directed at achieving bottom-line goals through technology.
