The success rate of IT projects can be improved by empowering business unit leaders to become technology innovators, Gartner vice president analyst Daniel Sanchez-Reina told a crowd of CIOs and IT leaders Sept. 10 at the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo in Australia.
He explained that Australian CIOs have always struggled to deliver on their objectives – only 48% of digital projects currently meet or exceed their goals. However, a group of high-performing CIOs are achieving a much higher success rate – 71% of their projects are achieving their goals.
“This gap is huge,” Sánchez-Reina said. “And we are talking about digital initiatives that span the entire company.”
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He told delegates in Australia that it is possible for any CIO to contribute to this “digital vanguard” and boost success rates of digital initiatives by co-owning future digital initiatives with business leaders.
Co-ownership of digital projects with business leaders
Gartner compared the results of the largest global study of 3,100 CIOs with the results of the survey of chief experience officers, which Sánchez-Reina defined as business leaders, corporate functions or agencies.
The results showed that IT leaders overcame “the curse of random success” by “co-owning” digital projects.
“Being a co-owner means sharing responsibility, accountability and participation in an equitable and fair manner,” Sánchez-Reina explained.
In these successful “digital vanguard” organizations, these CXOs or business leaders:
- Co-own digital delivery with CIOs from start to finish.
- Assign 70% more business staff to technology jobs for at least part of their time.
Sanchez-Reina said this is not a case of “shadow IT,” but rather business leaders receiving guidance from CIOs on digital initiatives and relying on central CIOs’ involvement to achieve their own success.
“There is no success for a CXO in the digital field without the success of a CIO, and vice versa,” he said.
4 steps to reduce the risk of failure of a digital project
CIOs should consider four effective strategies to increase IT project success rates, according to Sánchez-Reina:
1. Provide easy-to-use platforms for business units.
The best CIOs are investing in technologies such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cloud and hyperautomation for both business and IT areas. These technologies enable current or potential technology producers to more easily access and use digital platforms, while also leveraging distributed digital talent, such as younger workers, in business areas.
SEE: Top 10 strategic technology trends for 2025
“Did you know that Gen Z is capable of creating a landing page using any software you teach them in the blink of an eye?” asked Sánchez-Reina. “But it’s not just Gen Z. Think about people who are highly proficient in exploiting business intelligence – they are perfect candidates to develop more complex analytical capabilities.”
2. Promote architectural awareness among business leaders
Digital-first CIOs are dedicated to teaching business areas beyond IT what Sánchez-Reina called the “pillars of digital delivery.” This includes aspects of what would normally be considered an IT role, such as managing technology vendors, understanding technology costs and cybersecurity impacts.
Contrary to what CIOs might believe, he stressed that it is not “too high-tech.”
“The more digital-first CXOs become educated, the more they want you to advise them on architectural issues such as vendor management,” Sánchez-Reina explained. “They want it 1.6 times more than other CXOs.”
3. Promote innovation as a leader in all business areas
Sánchez-Reina urged CIOs to make it easier for business areas to discover, incubate and scale innovation by 2025. He said that the key technologies that CIOs have implemented or are about to implement, such as low-code/no-code generative AI platforms, provide a foundation for such business-level innovation efforts.
According to Gartner data, only 18% of CIOs say they are doing this globally. However, Sánchez-Reina noted that as more digital business leaders develop, they will increasingly seek the help of CIOs to identify innovation opportunities, support AI use cases, and become innovation leaders themselves.
4. Support business leaders in digital skills planning
More and more CIOs at the digital forefront are extending digital skills development planning beyond the boundaries of IT. Gartner data shows that two-thirds of this leading group of CIOs are now helping business operations anticipate digital skills needs, compared to just 16% of all other CIOs globally.
CIOs are helping business units with planning and developing skills in technologies that are relevant to their areas, such as digital leadership, building communities of practice, or AI.
“The more digital-first CXOs are educated, the more they will want their staff to be helped to develop technical skills,” Sánchez-Reina said.
CIOs are implementing more digital initiatives and enjoying their jobs more
There is good news for CIOs who strive to work with business leaders in 2025.
CIOs concerned about strategic business initiatives in their backlog could end up accelerating time to market and value, according to Sánchez-Reina, which is a key concern for their CEOs.
CIOs in this group of leaders are also more optimistic about their role and enjoy it more. They are less likely to look for other jobs, she noted, and are more likely to recommend a CIO career as an option to friends or family.
