CIO budget increase revealed in 2015 CIO 100

CIOs have an increased budget to drive transformation, the 2015 CIO 100 reveals. The annual listing of 100 transformative CIOs, headed in 2015 by Anna Barsby of Halfords as well as Chris Hewertson of hotel chain GLH and David Jack of insurance group Hyperion – demonstrates the transformation that CIOs can deliver to organisations, whether they be an international manufacturer, retailer, local authority or charity.

The number of CIOs with a budget £1 million to £20 million has decreased, down to 46% from the 53% of CIOs had an IT budget in this bracket in 2014. In the latest CIO 100, 81% were able to reveal their budget to CIO UK.

Creation and analysis of the 2015 CIO 100 revealed that mid-sized organisations such as outdoor, cycling and motoring retailer Halfords, glh, Hyperion and the Financial Times were responding most impressively to the need to transform and meet digital disruption head on. The 2014 CIO 100 showed how massive international organisations such as Nissan Europe and Telefonica can be major change leaders and the CIOs of those organisations; Stephen Kneebone and Phil Jordan respectively, remain in the top 15.

CIOs controlling a budget between £21 and 30 million have increased by one percentage point to 17%, while CIOs with a budget of £31 to £60 million has increased to 9% of entrants to the CIO 100 from 6% in 2014. The only higher budget to decrease was CIOs with a budget £61 to £100 million, which dropped from 8% to 6%.

Budgets over £100 million increased in the 2015 CIO 100, up to 22% of the CIOs selected to be featured in the 2015 CIO 100 from 16% in 2014. This demonstrates that not only are CIOs at large organisations continuing to really drive change, but also that large organisations want to demonstrate their transformation ability through the CIO 100.

“Since reshaping the CIO 100 to demonstrate transformation, the CIO 100 has celebrated not only smaller organisations such as UCLH and easyJet as well as really transformative government and business organisations, but we have seen large organisations realise the value of the CIO 100 and provide amazing stories of change,” says Editor in Chief of CIO UK Mark Chillingworth. “From Phil Jordan and Stephen Kneebone at Nissan to other UK-based international CIOs entering this year, it is great to see organisations of all sizes coming to the CIO 100 to demonstrate the importance of transformation,” Chillingworth says.

CIO 100 judge Catherine Stagg-Macey observed that fewer CIOs than ever were reporting to the CFO, suggesting the cautious ‘IT as a cost centre’ thinking was on its way out. “A shift from reporting into the CFO to a head of strategy is perhaps reflective of a recovering economy, with an increasing focus on IT making a contribution to expansive business strategies,” she said.