CIO Wave of Change

Insights and Strategic Directions from 350 CIOs across Australia and New Zealand

The CIO Wave of Change is a survey of over 350 respondents (CIOs and IT enterprise leaders) across Australia and New Zealand from October 2023 to March 2024, identifying their challenges, strategic focus, investment opportunities, and digital priorities. These insights can help industry participants navigate the complexities of the modern landscape, develop effective strategies, and achieve sustainable growth in an increasingly dynamic environment.

Key Findings

Prioritising initiatives focused on operational benefits: Streamlining operations and reducing costs is a top priority.

42% of respondents mention prioritising initiatives which streamline operational efficiency and reduce costs over other initiatives. Additionally, when prioritising new technology investments, 25% of respondents cited ROI as the deciding factor, while 19% focused on business value impact.

Ensuring IT strategy alignment with overall business objective: Collaboration with business unit leaders is essential for aligning IT strategy with business goals.

To align IT strategy with business objectives, 59% of those surveyed IT alignment strategy reported directly collaborating with business unit leaders to ensure strategy alignment with business objectives. While 20% cited representation in business strategic planning sessions as the most effective way in achieving IT alignment with business goals.

Challenges in promoting a data-driven culture: Resistance to change and translating technical benefits into business outcomes are major hurdles.

31% of the respondents identified overcoming resistance to change as their main hurdle, and 28% of respondents cited translating technical benefits into business outcomes as a significant challenge in promoting a data-driven culture.