CIO — What's atop CEOs' agendas for 2011? Gartner analysts recently outlined the top CEO concerns that CIOs will need to identify, understand and address.

"Business leaders see very uncertain times ahead in 2011, and they must defend growth despite falling business and consumer confidence," noted Mark Raskino, a VP and Gartner Fellow, in the report.

Here, Gartner explains seven critical areas that CIO should focus on in 2011—and shares advice on how IT leaders can demonstrate their effectiveness to business peers.

1. CEOs' Confidence Fades. CEOs are counting their blessings at having survived the financial crush of 2008 and 2009. However, since the economy still hasn't fully rebounded, many CEOs plan to "pull back from more bullish investment and expansion bets in 2011 if confidence continues to decline," according to Gartner analysts.

To prepare for that type of environment, Gartner advises CIOs to expect limited increases in resources and budgets: the familiar "making do with what we have" will be an overriding theme.

That's not to say all IT investment will be shuttered. "Some more-bullish business initiatives conceived in mid-2010 will make it through the budgeting cycle," Gartner states. However, IT's already lean resources will have to be targeted at the most critical projects, which is sure to displease other business execs with projects on tap.

"CIOs should make business initiative owners aware at the start of the year that they may risk losing IT resources to someone else," according to Gartner.

[ For more on strategic leadership, see 7 Essential CIO Leadership Skills That Get Results ]

2. CEOs Want Projects That Drive "Cash Generation." Most CEOs' cost-cutting programs started in 2009 created cash surpluses that have buoyed their companies during exceptionally uncertain economic times.

"Now," notes the report, "they are faced with the need to invest in growth at the same time as maintaining healthy cash surpluses as a hedge against the bouts of high business volatility the financial crisis aftershocks continue to generate."

Raskino states that CEOs will be far more interested in IT project business cases that directly drive cash flows and increase their companies' coffers.

"To properly align IT's contribution to the most pressing of current business concerns, CIOs should ensure that among the projects they are pursuing, the contribution to cash generation and cash flow acceleration is visible," Raskino contends. "This may require focusing attention on the issue with your management teams and changing the weightings on cash related criteria in portfolio prioritization."

3. CEOs Want to See New Cost Efficiencies. Everyone is familiar with the "Do more with less" mantra. Gartner notes that some of the lofty returns CEOs have delivered during the last two years have come from margins created by deep cuts to operating costs (and doing more with less).

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