In a recent gathering of CIOs and IT leaders at the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo in Australia, Gartner Vice President Analyst Daniel Sanchez-Reina highlighted a key factor in improving the success rate of IT projects: empowering business unit leaders to become tech innovators.
Sanchez-Reina revealed that in Australia, CIOs have faced challenges in meeting objectives, with only 48% of digital projects currently meeting or exceeding their goals. However, the top-performing CIOs in this region are achieving a much higher success rate, with 71% of their projects reaching their targets.
According to Sanchez-Reina, this discrepancy is significant, especially considering these are enterprise-wide digital initiatives.
Co-owning digital projects with business leaders
Based on Gartner’s research, successful IT leaders have overcome the challenges of random success by co-owning digital projects with business leaders. This approach involves equal responsibility, accountability, and participation from both parties throughout the project.
In organizations where this collaboration is prevalent, business leaders actively participate in digital delivery, allocate more business staff to technology work, and rely on CIO mentorship for digital initiatives.
4 steps to reduce the risk of digital project failure
To increase IT project success rates, Sanchez-Reina suggested four effective strategies for CIOs:
1. Provide easy-to-use platforms for business units
The best CIOs are investing in technologies like cybersecurity, AI, cloud, and hyper-automation for business areas, enabling easier access to digital platforms for non-technical staff. This approach leverages distributed digital talent within the organization.
2. Boost the architectural awareness of business leaders
CIOs should educate business leaders on essential aspects of digital delivery, such as managing technology vendors and understanding cybersecurity impacts, to enhance their architectural awareness.
3. Foster innovation leaders across business areas
CIOs are encouraged to support innovation efforts in business areas by deploying advanced technologies like generative AI platforms. This strategy helps identify and scale innovation opportunities within the organization.
4. Support business leaders in digital skills planning
Leading CIOs extend digital skills development planning beyond IT boundaries, helping business units forecast their digital skills needs and develop relevant technical skills.
CIOs deliver more digital initiatives, enjoy their jobs more
CIOs who collaborate with business leaders can accelerate time to market and value for strategic enterprise initiatives. This collaboration not only enhances project success but also boosts job satisfaction for CIOs, making them less likely to seek other opportunities.