Irish CIOs/IT leaders faced with major career disruption over the next 24 months, BT Ireland research reveals

Research by BT and Amárach reveals that pace of technological change and greater internal challenges are driving significant disruption in IT departments in Ireland

• 62% of all CIO/IT Leaders interviewed are finding it difficult to keep pace with technological change and are underestimating the level of change to their role

• 68% now have to manage internal demands of other departments in their business due to emerging technologies

 

• 48% reported that change to their role is being driven by personnel taking on IT activities (e.g. digital marketing).

• 61% reported a growing expectation from managers and colleagues to demonstrate greater business benefits and impact from IT.

Dublin: Thursday 10th December, 2015: CIOs and IT leaders across mid to large organisations in Ireland risk being side-lined within the next two years due to the increased pace of technological change, a BT survey has revealed.

The research conducted in November 2015 found that while 77% of chief information officers and IT leaders welcome new technologies such as cloud solutions, 62% admit that they are struggling to keep up with the pace of technological change within their organisations and risk having their careers steadily eroded due to the pace of change.

Role Erosion
In addition, 68% reported that they were under greater pressure internally to manage the increasing demands of other departments coming as a result of new technologies. Nearly half (48%) of those CIOs and IT leaders interviewed reported that change to their role is being driven by other personnel taking on IT driven activities (e.g. digital marketing). 61% reported a growing demand to demonstrate greater impact and business benefits from IT. Nearly half reported that change to their role is being driven by board level decisions. Only 38% of those interviewed saw this change opening up new opportunities for their career.

Future CIO Skills - Business, Management, Financial and Sales
However, the research did reveal that there’s a growing awareness amongst this group that new skills and knowledge were required to succeed and gain higher leadership positions within their organisations in the future. Of those surveyed, 65% felt that management skills would be crucial while 63% opted for business skills. Beyond that, financial management (56%) and sales skills were also seen as essential in the near future.

“This is very enlightening research for the Irish and European IT market, as it reflects the global trend that we are seeing across our business worldwide”, explains Shay Walsh, managing director, BT Ireland. “More and more savvy CEOs internationally are putting CIOs on the fast track by training them to marry their traditional skillset with a broader business discipline.

“As technology continues to transform business, the CIO/IT leader will become an integral business and C level asset for large organisations” he continues. “CIOs in large indigenous and multinational organisations here in Ireland now have a major opportunity to develop new skills that will see them step from behind the technical and into a business leadership position. This is where BT can help, because our expertise lies in working with large organisations as a trusted partner to integrate new technology into their business operations. We support IT leaders in navigating the journey into new technologies where they can deliver the most value to the business and ultimately evolve in their own role.”

BT Ireland commissioned Amárach to conduct this research as part of the launch of its new public cloud offering; BT Cloud Compute, This is cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) which enables organisations  to create, deploy, scale and manage cloud infrastructure both locally and globally across 20 jurisdictions, including Ireland, covering five continents. The survey was comprised of over 115 IT decision makers in top indigenous and multinational companies based in Ireland, with an average employee size of over 300 staff.  A cross-section of firms were surveyed in terms of sectors, sizes and a mix of B2B and B2C operations. The survey explored the changing role of IT in business, and expectations about the future of the IT role itself as well as the contribution of IT to future business success.
Walsh added “Organisations globally are moving towards more hybrid infrastructure environments and with BT Cloud Compute we are responding to that trend and enabling our customers, both in Ireland and globally, to stay ahead of the curve. Through our services and expertise, we are enabling customers to create a customised hybrid IT platform using a combination of traditional and emerging technologies.

This provides them with the choice and flexibility to align IT solutions with their business as their strategy evolves, all the while leveraging best in class infrastructure and a range of professional services, should they require”.

BT Cloud Compute Enables CIOs Evolution
BT is one of the most trusted IT and communications service partners to the global market in Ireland, due to its secure global network capability and established expertise in data centre, IT and security services. Its latest cloud solution, BT Cloud Compute, is Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) deployed through a self-service portal, giving businesses the tools, resources and expertise to implement next generation technology.
BT Cloud Compute can be integrated and managed across hybrid IT environments, addressing both private and public requirements. As it is self-service, the end user can conveniently set up the infrastructure in a way that perfectly suits their business, locally and globally, and enables the IT leader to activate new services faster than ever with near instant provisioning times and the highest levels of choice, flexibility and control. For more information visit www.btireland.com
For further press information contact:
Cyril Moloney
PSG Plus
T: 086 047 9462
E: Cyril.moloney@psgplus.ie

Or:

Gina Kelly, BT Ireland
Tel: 00 353 86 780 5451
Email: gina.kelly@bt.com