IT directors facing new priorities

The biggest challenge for companies is how to integrate the business globally

Chief executives in mid-sized firms will soon increase the pressure on IT directors to implement new information management systems, drive forward the green IT agenda and help the business target a new type of consumer, according to research from IBM.

A survey of 136 mid-market chief executives found that 60 per cent want to make changes to their skills and assets in the near future.

More than half also aim to widen their partner network and open business in new markets over the next three years.

The respondents also plan to increase their corporate social responsibility investments, such as in green IT, as customers increasingly make purchasing decisions based on corporate policies, said the IBM report.

The majority of those surveyed also plan to adapt customer service for a new breed of customer who is more informed and more demanding.

The report explained that consumers often broadcast their views and expectations on customer service via the internet. For example, consumers now use the internet to compare product features and prices.

"Consumers are becoming producers, often creating entertainment and advertising content for their peers while demanding flexibility and responsiveness from companies with which they choose to do business," said the report.

But the change demanded by chief executives will not be easy for the business, as just 57 per cent of respondents said that they had been successful in managing change.

The biggest challenge for companies is how to integrate the business globally, according to the report.

"They realise that using a domestic team to drive international business is unlikely to succeed," said IBM.

IBM classes mid-market companies as employing fewer than 1,000 people.