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Press release
IT Department Marketing Is Essential for Successful Digital Transformation, and CIOs Have Fully Recognized This: Findings from the Abraxio Survey
- The IT department’s standing within the organization has undoubtedly improved over the past 18 months, particularly as a result of the “COVID” impact
- Despite this growing legitimacy, the public perception of CIOs still does not reflect reality, and their contribution continues to be misunderstood
- CIOs intend to push the boundaries because they know this is essential to the success of digital transformation initiatives
- Willing but often alone on these issues, they lack time and methods, and reach out to the Communication functions for support.
Lyon, February 21, 2022 – Abraxio, the leading platform for CIOs to manage their operations, has unveiled the results of its survey on IT department marketing and communications, conducted last December among more than 80 CIOs[1].
This study provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of a topic that has become essential but is still perceived as a “necessary evil.” It offers an opportunity to assess the marketing and communications maturity of IT departments and to outline a concrete action plan.
For CIOs, the improvement is undeniable: 78% of CIOs believe that the IT function’s standing within the organization has improved in recent years, and just as many believe that the health crisis has brought about positive change over the past 18 months. As a result, CIOs have gained ground as they’ve taken on new responsibilities.
The image of CIOs is still struggling
This positive finding is, however, tempered by two factors: some doubt the long-term impact of this improvement. Above all, views on the role and relationships of the CIO within the organization remain deeply divided: 46% of CIOs see themselves as a strategic and indispensable partner in transformation, but only 9% feel that their business counterparts perceive them as such. Conversely, 62% feel that they are seen as a necessary partner whom others sometimes try to bypass, or as a support function that simply delivers a service.
“IT departments bring immense value to the organizations in which they operate, but this isn’t emphasized enough yet, and preconceptions die hard, explains Samuel Revenu, CEO of Abraxio and a former CIO himself, who founded Abraxio precisely to enable CIOs to better showcase their department’s performance and its impact. Marketing the IT department is essential for successful digital transformation—both in terms of its approach and the need to collaborate closely with business units, as well as in terms of better communicating the fundamental issues related to digital transformation.“
Key figures
- 78% of CIOs believe that the IT department’s standing within the organization has improved in recent years
- 46% of CIOs see themselves as strategic and indispensable partners in digital transformation, but only 9% feel that their business counterparts view them that way.
- 62% feel that they are perceived as an obligatory partner that we sometimes try to bypass, or as a support function that delivers a service.
Better Communicating IT Challenges: The Priority for CIOs to Ensure a Successful Digital Transformation
CIOs are very clear-eyed about the lack of understanding their senior management has: 50% of them believe that their counterparts have a poor understanding of their challenges, scope, and Roadmap, and 63% believe they have a poor understanding of their structural and cyclical difficulties.
The overwhelming majority (59%) identified the need to better communicate the challenges of IT and Digital transformation. This was followed by the need to be better perceived as a business partner (42%), and to support the change in attitude of their Teams (from executor to solution provider) (38%).
To gain influence, the challenge for CIOs is to move from the era of Reporting to that of communication, explains Samuel Revenu. Their Program can be broken down into 3 points: getting their Teams on board, spreading the word about this new posture to key contacts such as CEOs, CFOs and management committees. And finally, communicate with all the company’s stakeholders, adopting their point of view.
Key figures
- 59% of CIOs want to do a better job of communicating the challenges of IT and digital transformation
- 42% want to be seen more as a business partner
CIOs Reach Out to Communications Teams
71% of CIOs are solely responsible for driving their department’s marketing and communications. Positioning, value proposition… The fundamentals needed to structure and deploy the IT department’s messaging are barely outlined. For example, only 20% of CIOs work with a communications plan.
Lack of method and lack of time are the two main reasons given for this. “Several CIOs spontaneously told us that simply participating in the study served to trigger a self-assessment of their practices and open up new possibilities. There is a very strong demand for methods, tips, and practical advice to help them along the way, as they have clearly understood the value of focusing on the marketing and communication of their IT department.” ” notes Samuel Revenu of Abraxio. More surprisingly, CIOs also appear to be seeking allies, with 23% of CIOs saying they would like to communicate more but regret that “the communications department isn’t interested in their topics.”
The consequences for the systems deployed reveal a marketing and communications maturity that is still in the making:
- The influence of CIOs is limited because they remain too insular, with infrequent communication within the company and virtually none outside it—a phenomenon exacerbated by CIOs’ reluctance to engage with professional social media platforms.
- The range of topics on which CIOs could speak is largely underutilized. The content is mainly related to current events and has little focus on the “end user.”
- Communication channels remain traditional and not very innovative, with a preference for top-down information over dialogue and exchange.
Key figures
- 71% of CIOs handle their department’s communications themselves
- Only 20% work from a communication plan
[1]Online survey conducted from December1 to 31, 2021, among 81 French CIOs.
Press contact
Émilie Chanussot | +33 6 52 55 73 81