CIO surveyed IT leaders about their mobile strategy and found plans to increase spending on devices More than two-thirds of IT leaders believe mobile technology facilitates business innovation at their companies. Less than half think mobile investments are being driven by business strategy. So finds CIO’s recent survey asking 276 IT professionals about their mobile IT plans. It also indicates that mobility tops the IT agenda and 66 percent of IT budgets will include more spending on mobile solutions in the next year. What is driving investments in mobile technology? Most IT leaders cite productivity advantages (87 percent) and improving customer service and support (86 percent). Also high on the list is the need for real-time information (84 percent), which is important to Tim Walter, CIO of CrossCom National. The company’s workforce has become increasingly mobile, with employees working in multiple remote locations. “The ability of mobile devices to link into our systems is becoming more and more critical.” Similarly, Michael Shannon, CIO at Dechert, a law firm, says his mobile investments are driven by a need to enable better business practices. “[Mobile] basically allows you to do more, better, faster and stronger,” he says. “It’s not going to change the way lawyers practice law but it’s another convenient on-ramp to get their jobs done.” The top mobile solutions IT leaders are eyeing include devices (71 percent), followed by security and data-management software (70 percent), applications (63 percent) and wireless services (62 percent). When making purchase decisions, IT leaders are nearly unanimous in considering ease of use first, followed by support, services, reliability and security. And there are areas of concern, chief among them that ROI is hard to measure and mobile networks are vulnerable to attack. (See “Crunch,” Page 20.) Barbara Porter, CTO of FragranceNet.com, is taking a wait-and-see approach. “The mobile space is still in its formative stages, and over time certain strategies will prove to be more successful than others,” she says. Follow Editorial Assistant Lauren Brousell on Twitter: @lbrousell. Related content brandpost Sponsored by SAP What goes well with Viña Concha y Toro wines? Meat, fish, poultry, and SAP Viña Concha y Toro, a wine producer that distributes to more than 140 countries worldwide, paired its operation with the SAP Business Technology Platform to enhance its operation and product. By Tom Caldecott, SAP Contributor Dec 04, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by Azul How to maximize ROI by choosing the right Java partner for your organization Choosing the right Java provider is a critical decision that can have a significant impact on your organization’s success. By asking the right questions and considering the total cost of ownership, you can ensure that you choose the best Java p By Scott Sellers Dec 04, 2023 5 mins Application Management brandpost Sponsored by DataStax Ask yourself: How can genAI put your content to work? Generative AI applications can readily be built against the documents, emails, meeting transcripts, and other content that knowledge workers produce as a matter of course. By Bryan Kirschner Dec 04, 2023 5 mins Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence feature The CIO’s new role: Orchestrator-in-chief CIOs have unique insight into everything that happens in a company. Some are using that insight to take on a more strategic role. By Minda Zetlin Dec 04, 2023 12 mins CIO C-Suite Business IT Alignment Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe