1. Global IT spending to fall 8% in 2020 due to impact of COVID-19

Worldwide IT spending will fall to $3.4 trillion this year as CIOs cut back and prioritise tech spending on mission-critical projects, according to Gartner. IDC’s COVID-19 Tech Index also shows that IT buyers expect total IT spending to decline by more than previously anticipated.

2. CIOs cull major tech investments for the rest of this year

A survey of CIOs conducted by Pulse in May found that only just over a fifth (22 per cent) plan to make a major tech purchase of more than $100,000 over the next six months, down from 36 per cent earlier this year.

3. Investment in cloud infrastructure bucks the trend

Spend on IT infrastructure for public and private cloud increased 2.2 per cent in Q1 2020, while investment in traditional non-cloud infrastructure plunged 16.3 per cent year-on-year, according to IDC. A survey by software company MariaDB and Propeller Insights also found 51 per cent of businesses are planning to move more applications to the cloud in anticipation of a second wave of COVID-19.

4. CIO succession planning: Who’s next in line?

The sudden or unexpected departure of a CIO can disrupt digital transformation and have a real impact on the business. Organisations need to have a succession plan in place and the advice in this article is to have a good ‘lieutenant’ on every project.

5. The latest CIO movers and shakers

CIO.com has a regularly updated list of new CIO appointments in the UK. Recent CIO hires include Manila McLean at Newcastle Building Society, Ian Cohen at Independent Clinical Services and Kevin Moran at law firm Blackadders.

6. Do CIOs and IT leaders need a tech degree anymore?

A recent survey shows that 96 per cent of tech-hiring professionals say it has become more acceptable to hire tech candidates with alternative qualifications. And in this article, AMAG Pharmaceuticals CIO Shannon Gath says some of the best CIOs she has encountered have psychology degrees.

7. What’s the difference between a CIO and a CTO?

All you need to know about the evolving and growing role of the CTO, how it differs from the CIO and how the two can work together more effectively.

8. Hermes UK CIO explains the critical role of IT in tackling COVID-19 challenges

The logistics company was forced to rapidly pivot from fashion to food delivery at the start of lockdown and this included having just six days to prepare for a Christmas-level peak in volume and needing to source an additional 700 laptops at short notice to enable staff to work from home.

9. CIOs say robotics will have significant impact on their industry

In TechRepublic’s CIO Jury poll, 58 per cent of IT leaders said they expect robotics to make a difference in their industry over the next two years, particularly in the banking, healthcare and retail sectors.

10. Organisations are not ready for the future of work

Most organisations are woefully unprepared for changes to how we work in the future, warns analyst Forrester. It says executives must build more empathy and deepen engagement with employees, invest in modern human capital management (HCM) technologies, and integrate automation and AI into business processes.

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