Pacesetting IT leaders are taking IT from cost center to revenue generator
Top-performing IT leaders are partnering closely with CXOs
IT leaders are leading from the front
Compared to peers, Pacesetters are more involved in hiring for the future
As ServiceNow’s chief digital information officer, I’m no stranger to big, bold change. With every shift—whether it brings challenges, opportunities, or both—there is immense potential for growth and innovation.
The AI explosion is one of the biggest changes we have seen since the dawn of enterprise computing back in the mid-20th century. It follows the era of digital transformation, when technology leaders needed to expand their mandate so it touched every corner of the company.
AI has complicated the jobs of IT leadership, magnifying existing roadblocks while opening up new avenues for creativity. Today’s technology leaders must be agile and visionary to keep up with current business demands as well as the ever-changing AI technology landscape.
Some are leaning into the chaos by becoming “chief everything officers,” partnering with leaders across the C-suite to help shape how their enterprise works. Others are struggling to prioritize and delegate, as their to-do lists get longer and their workdays feel shorter. Even those who know they need to rethink their approach aren’t sure how to meet the moment.
To understand how technology leaders are reacting to the AI-powered computing revolution, ServiceNow teamed up with ThoughtLab to survey 500 IT leaders across seven countries and six industries. We identified a cohort of Pacesetter IT leaders who are redefining the IT function and driving strategic change across the enterprise. Our findings highlight what Pacesetters are doing well and what stragglers could be doing differently.
Aston Martin F1 CIO Clare Lansley on the growing impact of the CIO on every aspect of business operations.
ServiceNow Chief Customer Officer Chris Bedi and Fujitsu Chief Digital Transformation Officer/CIO Yuzuru Fukuda discuss the delicate balancing act of the modern-day CIO.
Historically, IT departments operated primarily as cost centers. IT has been expanding its purview beyond IT for decades, but AI has accelerated this change. And smart IT leaders are leaning in.
Rather than focusing on siloed investments in technologies with a limited scope, Pacesetters are making ambitious investments in AI-centric tools that boost innovation, drive customer satisfaction, and increase productivity.
Their peers, by contrast, continue to treat IT as an overhead expense. The result: siloed teams whose work rarely impacts more than one or two areas of the business.
To streamline work and free up resources, IT leaders at larger organizations are building hybrid IT departments that function as both cost centers and revenue drivers. This hybrid strategy enables IT investments that drive performance across the whole business.
At many companies, both technical and nontechnical teams are now using AI to get work done. That’s putting a lot of pressure on IT leaders to perform, because they now have to serve the entire company. Some are buckling under the pressure, sticking to their operational silos and focusing solely on IT.
But Pacesetters are forming strategic partnerships across the org to knock down operational silos. As part of this goal, top-performing IT leaders are decentralizing IT to distribute decision-making and resources across units, departments, and locations.
Decentralization is a superpower for three reasons. First, IT leaders are now evaluated on their ability to make decisions that impact the whole business, which they can’t do inside a silo. Second, AI is a value multiplier, but only when used strategically. Third, decentralizing IT puts leaders in a good position to serve as strategic partners for the CXOs and as tactical partners for AI implementation and governance.
Smart IT leaders aren’t passively allowing AI to change their company culture. Instead, they’re becoming cultural change agents.
Compared to other IT leaders in our study, Pacesetters have a strong grasp of soft skills like collaboration and problem-solving, which enable them to get work done in partnership with changemakers across the org.
Pacesetters recognize that they are uniquely positioned to weave innovation into the cultural fabric of the business. They’re taking a hands-on approach to communicating with their employees: advising them, reassuring them, and inspiring them to get creative.
Pacesetters have strong interpersonal skills (66% vs. 34% others) and leadership and communication skills (60% vs. 37% others)
AI is transforming the job market. About 70% of all IT leaders believe most employees will require greater technical and data literacy to succeed in the AI era.
IT leaders who leave hiring to the hiring managers aren’t saving as much time as they think. In fact, if they don’t advise the CHRO on how to hire and where to upskill, their organization may not have the talent required to get ahead.
Pacesetters are taking an active role in hiring and upskilling and are more likely to collaborate with CHROs than the rest.
Working closely with HR, Pacesetters are increasingly developing training programs for employees who use AI on the job. For example, many Pacesetters are collaborating with HR to train customer service reps on AI tools that speed up service delivery.
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