UK CIOs prioritise cloud more than global counterparts

Gartner’s global survey of 2,339 CIOs showed that issues experienced by CIOs are far from universal and real differences exist at both a regional and country level. 

“The CIO survey results clearly show that as digital opportunities and threats pervade every aspect of business and government, the IT and digital agenda for each country, industry and enterprise is becoming more unique,” said Dave Aron, vice president and Gartner Fellow. “The way businesses and public-sector agencies use information and digital technologies is getting more entwined with their economic, regulatory and competitive contexts, as well as with the state of their business and digital maturity.

“This is a function of every aspect of every business becoming digital — every process, every employee, every business leader, every customer, every interaction, every moment. Just as our businesses are unique, our digital footprints are becoming all the more unique.”

But although CIO priorities are different around the world, the cloud is one consistent factor. “It is currently around 25 per cent but we knew it would be,” he says, “and it will be 50 per cent by the end of 2018 and then around 75 per cent by 2024. We have been saying that this is how the cloud will grow and that is exactly what is happening around the world.”

Focussing on the UK, Gartner highlights that 28 per cent of CIOs have already made significant cloud investments. For Ireland and the UK, the move toward the cloud is even more aggressive than the global average. 

Some 65 per cent of CIO respondents in the UK and Ireland expect to increase their sourcing of IT in the near future. The desire to cut costs is traditionally one of the primary reasons behind this shift in sourcing strategy. However, there is also an increasing desire to achieve agility as well through partnerships with external service providers.

“With 78 per cent of CIOs expecting to change their sourcing approach in the next two to three years, a new set of capabilities will be required,” said Aron. “CIOs must be able to partner with a broader range of IT suppliers, not only the big vendors, and move beyond IT contracts that constrain their ability to innovate and adapt in response to changing business expectations. This change will be especially challenging for the public sector in the UK and Ireland, as the current rules and regulations favor large suppliers and long-term contracts.”

By Shané Schutte

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