Lenovo Study: Three in Five CIOs Would Replace Half or More of Their Current Technology If Given Opportunity

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, March 17, 2022 – A new global research study from Lenovo1 reveals how the CIO role has evolved, shedding light on growing areas of responsibility and increasing influence in the C-Suite, as well as removing barriers to business growth.

Today, technology is the nervous system that connects corporate strategy, finance, innovation, operations, and talent. CIOs are increasingly tasked with connecting with key stakeholders across the organization to ensure alignment and drive execution. With IT enmeshed in every facet of a business, CIOs believe that their organizations must continue to invest in digital transformation to remain relevant. Key findings from Lenovo’s global survey of more than 500 CIOs include:

“Modern CIOs are the ‘mission control’ for their organizations, their role has transformed drastically in just the span of the past 24 months,” said Ken Wong, President, Lenovo Solutions and Services Group. “From navigating complex tech ecosystems to keep up with the speed of digital transformation, to upskilling employees and managing a global shortage of IT talent, today’s CIO is responsible for the entire technology value chain and beyond. Lenovo’s research demonstrates CIOs are up for the challenge. And they are looking to partner with their vendors to bring their organizations along and succeed.”

Research firm International Data Corp. estimates that by 2023, 60% of CIOs at companies world-wide will be primarily measured for their ability to cocreate new business models and revenue streams, chiefly through enterprise-wide collaboration2. Yet Lenovo’s own research shows that it may be an uphill battle for CIOs, who have identified areas such as data privacy/security, cybersecurity/ransomware and managing a fragmented IT vendor ecosystem as their most challenging concerns.

“In this complex technological environment, CIOs want to innovate, not manage IT. As Lenovo’s research highlights, CIOs look to their technology vendors beyond just delivering the basics well – namely, increase organizational agility, simplify configuration, and optimize costs. IT leaders also need counsel and guidance on how emerging technology can enhance their business goals. The opportunities for technology to add real business value – right across the enterprise – are immense,” added Mr. Wong.

To manage an increasingly complex digital transformation journey, businesses need simple and flexible IT solutions. Lenovo’s solutions provide organizations the breadth of Everything-as-a-Service offerings in Lenovo TruScale; the flexibility to pay for the infrastructure solutions they need, as long as they need; and the depth in our expertise and services that empower CIOs to focus more on their strategic imperatives. Businesses of all sizes need the flexibility to stay competitive, and a scalable, cloud-like solution model is the answer.

Industry forecasts by Technology Business Research indicate that Device Subscription Services are growing at a CAGR of 26% from 2020 to 2024 and data center subscription services are growing at 42% during the same period.3 As-a-Service solutions provide mission-critical support and services, enabling businesses to use technology to scale quickly, lower costs, and reap greater efficiencies. With its flexible and simple offerings, Lenovo has helped organizations from the education to aerospace sectors optimize the right technology with the potential to transform and future-proof their operations.

The full study is available at .

Fieldwork for this study was conducted via a quantitative survey from December 6, 2021 to December 21, 2021, among a total of 525 global CIOs. The survey sample comprised of a near equal number of respondents from each market: Brazil, China, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. Respondents included CIOs of companies and organizations with at least 250 total employees.