The changing role of the Chief Information Officer

Two large sample surveys of chief information officers (CIOs) were sponsored by Arthur Andersen & Co. in the last three years to analyze the market served by its consulting practice. Beginning in April of 1986, and then again in February of 1988, samples of 120 companies representing both the service and industrial segments of the Fortune 500 were selected. CIOs from those organizations were interviewed on issues, trends, and problems in the deployment of information technology (IT) within their corporation. A clear profile of evolving CIO responsibilities and the roles that information and technology played in those organizations emerged from these surveys. Below we have summarized the results of each study, and outlined the concerns of the CIOs who were given the task of establishing IT plans. We then go on to offer some advice to general management for overcoming obstacles that we see as inherent in executing such plans.