Today ’ s CIOs face a myriad of responsibilities , ranging from sustainability to diversity , equity and inclusion initiatives , navigating through complexities that were unforeseeable two decades ago . However , Arthur Hu , SVP and CIO for Lenovo , Chief Technology and Delivery Officer for

Lenovo ’ s Solutions and Services Group , explains how strategic investments in technology can alleviate potential burdens , enabling CIOs to assert control over their diverse duties and spearhead innovation , thereby propelling the entire organisation towards success . he role of the CIO is becoming broader ,

Lenovo ’ s 2023 Global Study of CIOs found that nine-in-10 CIOs believe they have more responsibilities than they did before , and 84 % of IT leaders believe they contribute more to organisational success than other C-suite leaders . It ’ s never been more rewarding , or more challenging , to be a CIO .

The responsibilities today ’ s CIOs struggle with are allencompassing , the research found , with CIOs making decisions on everything from diversity , equity and inclusion ( DE & I ) ( 42 %) to data analytics and business reporting ( 56 %). The CIOs in the survey still fear that their budgets will run short , with 83 % worried that they will be left with insufficient budget to achieve their goals .

Today ’ s CIOs are battling with three particularly thorny problems , including the challenges of investing effectively in AI , the evolving hybrid workplace and the challenges of sustainability . Thankfully , the right tech investments can help ease their burden .

Technology and the workplace

Technology is woven into every part of the modern workplace , functioning like a nervous system which joins together corporate strategy , operations , finance and innovation . This in turn loads more challenges onto CIOs , who are grappling with recruitment and retention ( 59 %), managing a remote workforce ( 59 %) and

DE & I ( 55 %). The technology environment is also changing , with employees now using two devices on average , combined with a sharp increase in ‘ bring your own device ’ usage .

For IT leaders , technology can help to bring simplicity to this shifting landscape . Optimising endpoints using one centralised platform helps to bring order to the chaos . This means that IT teams can focus on business-critical tasks , with end-users enjoying a better experience , optimised by AI .

Meanwhile , ‘ as-a-Service ’ models offer the flexibility and simplicity to empower teams with the technology they need , in a simple , scalable pay-as-you-go model . These models allow businesses to stay up to date with the latest and greatest technology , meaning that employees are never held back by older devices , and that less secure devices are not as likely to be used in the workplace .

Lenovo ’ s research found that ‘ as-a-Service ’ options were highly popular with CIOs , with 92 % saying they would consider adding new offerings over the next two years . This provides them with the flexibility to deploy hardware and software with ease , eliminating bottlenecks and freeing up teams to innovate rapidly and supercharge business strategy .

Harnessing the power of AI

The current boom in Generative AI has sparked a level of excitement around technology not seen since the dawn of the smartphone era . For CIOs , this poses further challenges : there is high expectation for organisations to engage proactively with AI , and for the technology to deliver business results , fast . The demand to engage with this emerging technology is very real , with 43 % of CIOs saying they felt ‘ urgent pressure ’ to deal with AI .

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