In the midst of the global pandemic, the focus of CIOs was on continuity — working with IT to ensure operations were running smoothly. But with countries now beginning to reopen, revealing a changed landscape, CIOs must now turn their attention to preparing for what’s being widely called a “new normal.”
“When I think of what the CIO role is right now in 2020, I think of Steve Jobs,” said ITWC CIO and Chief Digital Officer Jim Love. “He looked at innovation in the context of being able to see wicked problems and impossible challenges not as a threat but as an opportunity.”
“The CIO’s job post-COVID is more than just navigating this new normal,” said Love. “Business as usual will not be ‘business as usual.’ CIO’s need to keep a sharp eye out for any areas where strategic pivots or changes are required. In some cases, these moves are broad and strategic. In others, they are seemingly minor but consequential. Sometimes, we do need to ‘sweat the small stuff.’”
CIOs will continue to innovate and operate efficiently. They also need to step back to get a broad look at what CIOs are doing in preparation for tomorrow’s challenges. This is where the CanadianCIO Census comes in.
Essential information around the CIO role, where these individuals are on their innovation and transformation journey will be captured once again in the seventh annual survey. As in previous years, the survey will capture everything from tactical issues off CIO spending and hiring priorities to the strategic trends and issues CIOs feel will have the deepest impact going forward.
“There really isn’t anything else like the survey in Canada,” said Love. “It delivers a complete and comprehensive picture year after year. It allows for comparison with the past and insights into the rapidly changing future. With this seventh edition, we’re starting to see some fascinating and very useful patterns emerging.”
But this year the survey’s going to be particularly important as it will give us a clear view into how CIOs have been reacting to an increasingly uncertain future with new threats and challenges. The true ‘new normal’ now is disruption, and this survey will be able to tell us a lot about how CIOs are rolling with it. That alone will make the final report a compelling read.”
An exclusive participant briefing on the CIO mindset around COVID-19 will be held upon the completion of the first 100 survey responses.
Special thanks to OutSystems for sponsoring this report.
