GEC NEWS WIRETheme of 2015 edition of Middle East CIO Summit – “When IT Meets Business”.
Over 60% of Gulf-based CIOs now believe their IT functions are well aligned with the aims of the broader business. However, an interesting shift is underway in the procurement of transformative 3rd Platform technologies including cloud, mobile, social media, and big data analytics, with line-of-business heads increasingly becoming involved in the final decision. This is according to the findings from IDC’s latest annual CIO Summit Survey. This year, the summit focused on the investment priorities of IT leaders in the Gulf and sought their views on the challenges they face in relation to 3rd Platform adoption.
The 2015 edition of the consulting company’s flagship Middle East CIO Summit ran under the theme “When IT Meets Business”. This concept was a prominent feature of the accompanying survey. “While IT departments typically remain in charge of procuring 3rdPlatform technologies, line-of-business leaders are playing an increasingly active role in the process, with CFOs and CMOs in particular becoming key influencers,” says Megha Kumar, senior research manager for software at IDC Middle East, Africa and Turkey. “Social media and big data analytics are the main areas in which lines of business either procure solutions or heavily influence the final decision, while our survey also showed that they are most likely to procure solutions based in public clouds, as these technologies require little or no IT involvement.”
“Shadow IT creates major compliance and security challenges for the CIO. In order to avoid these issues, it is critical for IT departments to align closely with the lines of business,” says Kumar. “As such, it is becoming increasingly important for CIOs and their IT teams to developan in-depth understanding of other departments’ operations, as this approach facilitates more practical and holistic procurement strategies that both bridge the needs of business and IT and enhance the functionality of the overall organization.”
