The role of the CIO/CTO is shifting towards being responsible for operational stability, innovation, and business value generation simultaneously. IT is no longer just an enabler but is becoming a driving force in business innovation. The CIO/CTO responsibilities cross old borders and interfaces towards the business, with examples of IT managers being responsible for portfolio management processes becoming best practice. However, managing the complex legacy architectures and assets, meeting improved security requirements, and the new innovation role are pulling in opposite directions budget-, resource-, and competence-wise. Sustainable business value is generated when three different levers are being successfully played at the same time: efficiently managing existing IT assets, reducing maintenance costs for legacy systems, architectures, and platforms, and reinventing the IT organization.
