Improving bottom line key focus for Indian CIOs in FY14: E&Y

Indian chief information officers (CIOs) are more likely to focus on improving bottom line and bringing value to the businesses in FY2013-14, according to a study by Ernst and Young (E&Y) and the CIO Klub.

"The findings of the survey over the last five years highlight how CIO priorities have changed... While CIOs generally help businesses improve the topline, the current economic volatility is pushing them to look within and help businesses increase their bottom line," the study said.

The 5th annual edition study 'Enterprise IT trends and investment 2013' saw participation of over 180 CIOs.

In 2009, cost reduction was a priority with shrinking markets and declining demand, while the mood was cautiously optimistic with visible growth in 2010.

In 2011, in spite of the slowdown, the mood was optimistic and organisations planned to take the plunge for large IT investments. However, due to continued uncertain economic environment, the focus in 2012 shifted to create a lean, agile and resilient IT function.

This year, the focus has shifted outward and CIOs are concentrating on bringing value to the businesses, the study said.

The top priority for CIOs this year is to be customer- centric and enhancing experience of the customer by providing an easy and effective interface.

"The balance of power is shifting to customers as consumerisation of technology gains momentum. More than 60% of CIOs plan to focus on customer-centric initiatives, thereby enhancing the customer experience and providing them with easy and effective interface to collaborate with the business," E&Y Advisory Partner Devendra Parulekar said.

Customer-centric approach is closely linked to customer relationship management, social media and enterprise mobility, he added.

Besides, the CIOs continue to look for ways to transform IT and enable business processes to create efficient operations.

Besides, CIOs are also securing the IT environment by investing in information security technologies and protecting the organisation from internal or external threats, the study said.

Business leaders are extremely cautious with their investment plans this year, especially with the current uncertainties in the policy and regulatory environment and the spiralling costs, it added.