REPORTS

The Changing Role of the IT Leader

April 13, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced IT leaders to adapt to rapid changes and make shifts they previously thought were impossible. In a brief timespan, IT leaders have faced multiple challenges, including transitioning and maintaining a hybrid workforce, maintaining comprehensive health and safety protocols, supporting customers via digital channels and new engagement models, accelerating plans to reopen facilities, and reengaging customers and employees physically and virtually. IT leaders realize that having an adaptive strategy is key to building resilience, and it starts with improving employee experience (EX). That includes collaborating more with partners outside of the IT organization and investing in specific technology solutions.

Elastic commissioned Forrester Consulting to evaluate how the roles of CIOs and IT leaders have evolved in response to changing market conditions and the steps IT leaders are taking to develop partnerships, strategies and solutions to ensure their business becomes more adaptive and resilient for the future. To explore this topic, Forrester conducted an online survey with 1,000 respondents and interviewed 10 global IT leaders responsible for their organizations’ IT and data strategies.

KEY FINDINGS

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, enterprises are either striving to keep pace with rapid transformation or struggling to reinvent themselves. They face falling revenues and disruption to their operations, leading them to conserve resources to operate through the pandemic. Businesses have cut IT budgets as they struggle to transform. Interviewees and survey respondents said reducing IT costs and ensuring that their teams’ IT skills are aligned to the digital transformation agenda are now top priorities.

IT leaders recognize that having an adaptive strategy is key to growth and survival in times of disruption. IT leaders said they realize the optimal response to dealing with uncertainties brought about by the pandemic is for their organizations to become adaptive. Continually evolving and pivoting is the key to becoming resilient, competitive, and scalable in times of disruption.

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About the Provider

Forrester
Forrester is an American market research company that provides advice on existing and potential impact of technology, to its clients and the public. Their 2016 adjusted EBITDA was $29.3 million and their 2015 adjusted EBITDA was $26.5 million.

TOPICS

Business Resilience, Employee experience, IT leaders