CIOs Expect Steady Growth in Health Care IT Spending, Cyber-Threats

A new survey shows the areas of opportunity and concern for CIOs as IT operations become even more critical. Here’s a look at the study’s biggest findings.

CIOs are becoming invaluable resources to CEOs. In fact, the Harvey Nash/KPMG study finds that 34 percent of CIOs now report to a company’s chief executive and 57 percent are sitting on a senior leadership committee. Two-thirds of CIOs say the importance of the CIO’s role in strategic planning will grow.

So, what do CEOs want from the CIO? According to CIOs, 37 percent of their chief executives are in search of IT projects that will help the company save money. The remaining CEOs—about 63 percent—say they want their CIOs to develop IT projects that will help the company make money.

More than half (52 percent) of health care CIOs polled expect their IT budgets to increase in the next 12 months. That compares with the 45 percent of respondents across all industries who expect their IT budgets to grow during the same period.

Health care organizations are turning their attention to the cloud: 45 percent of respondents said they’re doing so because the cloud offers better “availability and resiliency.” About a third of respondents say cloud solutions are the “best available,” and another third say it can “improve agility and responsiveness.” However, the cloud also has risks, and 55 percent of health care CIOs polled are concerned it might cause “data loss and privacy risks.”

Security continues to be a concern, and unfortunately for CIOs, the risks are getting higher. In the last two years, 28 percent of CIOs say they’ve been forced to respond to a “major IT security threat or cyber-attack.” Just 22 percent of CIOs say they’re “very confident” that their security risks are covered, slipping from 29 percent in 2014.

Finding the right people for the job is difficult in the IT market. Two-thirds of CIOs say a skills shortage is preventing them from implementing new strategies, up from 59 percent in 2015. And although 44 percent of CIOs say they want to increase their team size in the next year, 89 percent believe they’ll have trouble keeping talented employees.

Female representation in senior IT leadership stands at just 9 percent this year, up from 6 percent last year, according to the survey. While that number is expected to grow in the coming years, it might take a significant amount of time before women are equally represented in CIO ranks.

CIOs are hitting the road, the survey shows. In the last year, alone, 15 percent of respondents have moved to a new job. Just 21 percent of CIOs say they’ve been in their posts for a decade or more, and 31 percent have served as CIOs at their current company for two years or less.

CIOs working in the charity and not-for-profit industry sector are most likely to say they’re fulfilled in their roles. A whopping 91 percent of CIOs in that sector say they’re pleased with their positions. Across all industries, 84 percent of CIOs say they’re either “fulfilled” or “very fulfilled” in their jobs.

As CIOs become more important to a company, it’s perhaps no surprise they’re also fetching higher salaries. In 2016, 34 percent of CIOs report that their salaries increased from the previous year. The number of CIOs who reported a raise is up 10 percent compared with 2015.

The prospects are mixed for IT budget growth. On one hand, 45 percent of CIOs say their IT budgets are on the rise. Looking at how they’ll spend their cash, half of CIOs say they’ll be increasing their investment in outsourcing solutions. However, 1 in 10 CIO respondents say more than 50 percent of their IT spend is controlled by outside IT providers.

CIOs are investing heavily in digital strategies and disruption, according to the survey. Thirty-five percent of CIOs say they’ve developed an enterprise-wide digital strategy, an increase from 27 percent in 2015. They’re focusing their “digital disruption” on product delivery and engaging customers. Those digital initiatives are making companies want to invest in chief digital officers. One in five companies currently have a “chief disruption officer,” and many more will be adding the role in the coming years.