CIOs already planning for post-COVID recovery

More than four in 10 (43%) CIOs report that planning for their post-COVID recovery is already underway, according to research from Gartner.

A survey of CIOs conducted in May also found that an additional 38% of CIOs report they are still dealing with the initial effects of the crisis but expect to turn to recovery soon.

The research found that CIOs have increased their organisational credibility during the pandemic, with 67% reporting having assumed leadership of high-impact initiatives during the response.

A similar proportion (70%) of CIOs listed support for working from home as their proudest accomplishment in the pandemic response.

“CIOs, in many organisations, were instrumental in dealing with the initial impact of COVID-19,” Gartner Research Vice President Andy Roswell Jones said.

“The improved engagement with the CEO stems from business capabilities delivered by IT during the initial COVID-19 response. However, this goodwill with the CEO will fade quickly unless CIOs can extend it by helping the business deliver on other high-impact initiatives required during the recovery.”

The research found that the disruption posed by COVID-19 may have delayed a trend towards IT reorganisation, with many organisations having suspended plans to migrate to a more product-centric delivery model once the crisis hit.

As a result, CIOs will have to make major changes in order to help their employers achieve their top business objectives during the recovery, Gartner said.

“For the IT organisation to play a larger role in developing and executing the business strategy, CIOs will have to make a much larger degree of change in many areas,” Roswell Jones said.

“A business-oriented IT strategy would likely involve the construction of a digital business technology platform — a long and complex undertaking.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/jchizhe