MENLO PARK, Calif.,
March 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/
-- Nearly two out of three (63 percent) CIOs andinformation
technology professionals report that there is a "major IT
transformation" underway in their organizations, driven largely by
broader efforts to deliver added value, enhance business
performance and increase security, according to a new survey by
global consulting firm Protiviti (www.Protiviti.com).
The 2014 IT Priorities Survey
(www.protiviti.com/ITpriorities) found that the roles of CIOs and
business-minded technology leaders continue to adapt to a broader
scope of responsibilities, and are shifting further from supportive
functions and more toward an integrated aspect of overall business
strategy and operations.
"More so than in prior years, IT departments are not only
altering their structures, they are transforming their fundamental
mission," said Kurt Underwood, a
managing director with Protiviti and global leader of the firm's IT
consulting practice. "The IT function's objective is evolving from
simply responding to last year's technology requests to helping
shape aspects of business strategy through execution with an
integrated approach to operations that adds value and protects the
enterprise."
More than 1,100 respondents, including CIOs, IT vice presidents,
and IT directors provided responses about the key issues and
capabilities they consider priorities this year. Based on the
survey findings, the top five major areas that present the most
pressing challenges for IT professionals are:
- Enhancing and protecting business value – aligning and
integrating IT risk management and business continuity capabilities
with broader, long-term business strategy
- Cybersecurity – managing and strengthening security and
privacy for the organizations' systems and data is now a top
priority across all industries
- Data classification – effectively organizing, managing,
and securing growing amounts of data within the organization
- IT asset and data management – improving data and
information governance programs, driven by the growing use of
mobile devices and applications and the continued integration of
cloud computing into IT strategy and processes
- Mobile platforms and social media – incorporating
secure, integrated systems for mobile commerce, devices, etc. and
addressing social media safeguards and strategy within the
organization
An In-depth Look at Key IT Challenges and Priorities
Protiviti's 2014 IT Priorities Survey assessed the
importance of a variety of areas across 10 different
technology-related categories.
When asked to rate specific areas that are considered priorities
on a scale of one (lowest) to 10 (highest), respondents
consistently ranked topics linked to cybersecurity and managing
data privacy as "significant priorities" (greater than 6.0) across
several different categories. In the Managing Security and Privacy
category, both "developing and maintaining security and privacy
standards" and "monitoring security events" ranked highly with a
6.4 rating. Numerous aspects of "incident response" also ranked
highly with a 6.3 rating and "managing and classifying enterprise
data" was deemed to be a "significant priority" as well with a 6.2
rating.
In light of a range of factors such as weather-related events,
natural disasters and cyber-attacks, companies have placed added
emphasis on preparedness to protect against business disruptions.
In the Ensuring Continuity category, three areas ranked as top
priorities. "Business continuity management and disaster recovery
program testing;" "developing and maintaining IT disaster recovery
plans;" and "ensuring business alignment" all ranked highest in the
category with ratings of 6.2.
CIOs and IT professionals completing Protiviti's survey
indicated that there will be greater priority placed on strategic
integration into the broader enterprise. In the Defining IT
Governance and Strategy category, issues including "key performance
indicators (KPIs) and monitoring IT costs and benefits," as well as
"integration/alignment of IT planning and business strategy" ranked
among the highest priorities with a 6.5 rating.
About the Survey
Protiviti's 2014 IT Priorities Survey was fielded within the
last 90 days globally with the majority of respondents from
North America. More than half of
the participants work in publicly traded companies and represent
virtually all industry sectors, with others working across a
variety of private, government and not-for-profit
organizations.
Survey Resources Available: Report, Webinar, Infographic,
Benchmarking Tool
Protiviti's 2014 IT Priorities Survey report and an
infographic of survey highlights, along with a short video, are
available for complimentary download at
www.protiviti.com/ITpriorities. Additionally, a podcast featuring
Underwood discussing the survey results is also available on the
Protiviti website at www.protiviti.com/podcasts.
On April 2, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. PDT, Protiviti will host a free
webinar to explore the survey results and their implications for IT
leaders. Protiviti's Kurt Underwood
will be joined by Protiviti Managing Directors from the firm's IT
Consulting practice: Cal Slemp,
Jeff Sanchez and Mike Schultz. To register for the one-hour
webinar, visit www.protiviti.com/webinars.
Additionally, Protiviti is offering a free online benchmarking
tool to enable IT professionals to compare their organization's IT
capabilities and priorities to the survey findings, available at
www.protiviti.com/ITpriorities. Users can submit their own
responses to questions from the survey about their technical
knowledge, management of IT and organizational capabilities, and
then download their results in a personalized report showing how
they compare to the companies in Protiviti's survey.
About Protiviti
Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that
helps companies solve problems in finance, technology, operations,
governance, risk and internal audit, and has served more than 35
percent of FORTUNE 1000® and FORTUNE Global
500® companies. Protiviti and its independently owned
Member Firms serve clients through a network of more than 70
locations in over 20 countries. The firm also works with smaller,
growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as
with government agencies.
Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948,
Robert Half is a member of the
S&P 500 index.
Protiviti is not licensed or registered as a public
accounting firm and does not issue opinions on financial statements
or offer attestation services.
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SOURCE Protiviti