Chief Information Officer text on sticky notes isolated on office desk
The title of chief information officer, or CIO, emerged in the 1980s, though the job has changed significantly since. Once a purely technical role, it now encompasses much broader responsibilities. Today, a CIO is involved in both an organization's IT strategy and, often, its business strategy, for example by streamlining the supply chain or leveraging data to improve customer service. The job has thus become a more senior role, and now entails working far more closely and collaboratively with other members of the C-suite. Here is a look at what the position of CIO entails, and how to become one.
What Is A CIO?
CIOs now occupy a senior position within an organization, generally reporting directly to the CEO, although some report to the chief financial officer or chief operating officer. As we've seen, they now play a strategic as well as technical role.
In 2023, according to Statista, there were 537,000 CIOs in the U.S., up significantly on the year before; by 2033, says the firm, that number's likely to hit 633,290. According to Zippia, they're most in-demand in New York. As you'd expect, the role is more common in large companies: nearly four in ten organizations with more than 10,000 workers employ a CIO, compared with just 5% of companies with fewer than 50 employees. Private companies are most likely to employ a CIO, with 48% doing so; three in ten public companies have one, along with 14% of government organizations and 8% of educational organizations.
What Does A CIO Do?
The CIO is responsible for developing and implementing an organization's entire IT strategy, managing budgets and overseeing all IT staff.
The job involves responsibility for all software, hardware and infrastructure, as well as with the overall management of an organization's data. According to research from Foundry, the most time-consuming part of the job is functional and transformational work, with 84% most busy with basic functional tasks such as security management, improving IT operations and systems performance, and cost control and expense management. Transformation work took up a significant amount of time, with tasks including modernizing infrastructure and applications, aligning IT initiatives with business goals, cultivating the IT/business partnership and directing change efforts.
CIO Vs. CTO: What’s The Difference?
While a CIO oversees all of an organization's internal IT operations, the chief technology officer tends to focus on developing technological solutions to meet customer needs.
This may mean managing teams of engineers, product developers, and designers with the brief of improving the company's products or services, developing strategies, working with vendors and evaluating the results. While you'd expect CIOs and CTOs to work together closely, this isn't always the case: according to a survey by IBM
CIO Vs. CISO: What’s The Difference?
Many organizations have a chief information security officer, or CISO, as well as a CIO. As the name implies, a CISO has a more limited role, covering security issues.
As a result, the CIO is the more senior of the two, with more focus on the business as a whole. The CISO may report to the CIO, and the two will always work together closely. The CISO will handle the development and implementation of the organization's information security strategy and policies, covering risk management, risk assessment and the company's planned response to potential cyber threats. They'll manage the security team, handle regulatory compliance and oversee staff security training, as well as liaising with vendors and supply chain partners over security policy and practice.
What Are The Necessary Skills and Qualifications Of A CIO?
The job of CIO involves both technical and management skills, and aspiring applicants will need to be able to demonstrate both.
These days, indeed, employers tend to be keener on finding someone who can demonstrate a commercial understanding of the business, along with leadership and motivational skills — abilities rather rarer than straightforward technical expertise. CIOs need to handle skills development, be financially savvy and have project management skills, as well as an understanding of data and analytics, cybersecurity and other technical issues. Any CIO will almost certainly hold a bachelor’s degree in a technical subject, and many are likely to have a master's — perhaps an MBA or other business and management qualification. According to Zippia, 2% of US CIOs have a doctorate.
Why Is It Important To Have A CIO?
While small organizations almost certainly don't need a full-time CIO and can make do with an IT manager to maintain systems, that changes as a business starts to scale.
As the headcount hits 50 or 100, the chances are that IT needs will also expand and become more complex, and having a CIO will minimize disruption and improve performance. A CIO can also create a strategic vision for an organization's technology and how it can support the business's aims over the long term. Meanwhile, as an organization expands, cybersecurity becomes more important, and a CIO will be able to identify potential threats and work to mitigate them. For organizations that can't quite justify a full-time CIO, it's possible to hire a part-timer, or fractional CIO from an outsourcing firm.
What Is The Average Salary of a CIO?
Reflecting the seniority of the position and the strategic skills required, the average salary of a chief information officer in the U.S. is $203,107 per year, topped up by bonuses to $351,092, according to Glassdoor. In the U.K. it's £167,039 per year, with an extra £40,426 in bonuses.
In the U.S., Google
How Can You Become a CIO?
There's no rigid path to becoming a CIO, though the basic requirements are a bachelor's degree, probably in a technical subject — according to Indeed, the most popular undergraduate course for prospective CIOs is computer science. This may be followed by a master's in a more business- or management-oriented subject.
In terms of early career, many CIOs start out in a role in information management, often working for certifications in project management or IT governance along the way. But it's also important to gain management experience wherever possible. Becoming a CIO takes a long time — as much as ten to fifteen years — with intermediate jobs including chief data officer, IT project manager, chief technology officer or IT director. Many CIOs are promoted internally to the job, although a survey of Swedish CIOs by Idego has found that changing companies appears to be a more viable path to the CIO role.
What Is The Future of Chief Information Officer Roles?
The role of the CIO has become more important to organizations over the years, particularly given continuing economic pressures and ever-increasing cybersecurity threats.
According to Foundry’s 23rd annual State of the CIO report, while most CIOs say that much of their time is currently spent on security management and improving IT operations, their hope is to focus more on improving IT operations and systems performance, and aligning IT initiatives with business goals. Over the next one to three years, CIOs say they expect to be spending more time driving business innovation and redesigning business processes. And there's likely to be increased focus on AI initiatives, with eight in ten CIOs saying they expect this part of the job to be taking more of their attention this year.
Bottom Line
The role of CIO encompasses the management of an organization's entire IT strategy, and has evolved over the years with increasing emphasis on achieving business goals. It's a long career path to get there, but the job is becoming ever more crucial — and better-paid.
