Chief executives 'get' IT more than ever, finds study

The boss will be looking for technological answers to an increasingly interconnected world

Chief executives are increasingly aware of the importance of IT in helping to meet the challenges of modern business

Chief executives are increasingly aware of the importance of IT in helping their organisations meet the challenges of modern business, according to a global survey by IBM.

However, less than half think their organisations are already equipped to deal with those challenges, the study also found.

The research among 1,500 bosses of private and public sector organisations across 60 countries and 33 industries is the fourth IBM biennial Global CEO Study. The results show a steady rise in importance among CEOs of the expected impact of technology on organisations from sixth in the inaugural report to second place in the most recent.

The business chiefs told IBM that their organisations face a highly volatile and increasingly complex environment, where they are confronted with massive shifts, such as new government regulations, changes in global economic power centres, accelerated industry transformation, growing volumes of data and rapidly evolving customer preferences.

Technology and the interconnection of the world's infrastructures is contributing to the complexity they face, they said, acknowledging that they need more technology-based answers to succeed in a world that is massively interconnected.

But only 49 per cent think their organisations are equipped to deal with such a world.

The study highlights the attributes of top-performing organisations based on revenue and profit performance during the past five years.

Top-performing organisations are 54 per cent more likely than others to make rapid decisions. CEOs indicated they are learning to respond swiftly with new ideas to address the deep changes affecting their businesses.

Getting closer to customers was identified as the most important strategic initiative over the next five years by 95 per cent of top-performing organisations. To do this the business heads said they need to use web, interactive, and social media channels to rethink how they engage with customers and citizens.

They view the historic explosion of information and global information flows as opportunities, rather than threats.

Organisations that have built superior operating dexterity expect to capture 20 per cent more of their future revenue from new sources than their more traditional peers, the study found.

Creativity was identified as the number one attribute required for navigating the increasingly complex world, said the chief executives.

"It is remarkable that CEOs identify creativity as the number one leadership competency of the successful enterprise of the future," said Frank Kern, senior vice president for IBM Global Business Services, the division that conducted the survey. "But step back and think about it, and this is entirely consistent - that the biggest challenge facing enterprises from here on will be the accelerating complexity and the velocity of a world that is operating as a massively interconnected system."