THE ROAD TO INNOVATION IS PAVED WITH INFORMATION …

THE ROAD TO INNOVATION IS PAVED WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

HOW BUSINESS LEADERS ARE CHANGING THE RULES OF CORPORATE SUCCESS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

CONTENTS

Introduction and Methodology......................................................................................................... 2 Executive Summary and Key Findings..........................................................................................4 Agility and Nimbleness Are the Most Desirable Values a Firm Can Hold......................8 The Roots of Competitive Advantage ..........................................................................................12 CEOs Have a Rosier View of IT Strategy Than Tech Chiefs.................................................17 Top Priorities: Mobility and Full Access at Any Time.............................................................23 Chiefs Have Divergent Views on the Role of CIO .................................................................. 26 Digging Deeper: Case Studies........................................................................................................ 29

1 We're All in This Together: Chief Technology Officer..............................................30 2 View From the Top: CEO .......................................................................................................31 3 Driving Disruption: Vice President of Innovation .......................................................32 4 Best of Both Worlds: Chief Technology and Innovation Officer .........................33 5 Follow the Money: Chief Financial Officer.................................................................... 34 6 Across the Enterprise: Chief Innovation Officer..........................................................35 Conclusion............................................................................................................................................... 36

INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY

"Innovation" has become the term du jour these days, but it's just as likely to evoke uncertainty as to evoke a sense of business progress. Many business leaders are still struggling to define what innovation really means, what it can potentially do for their organizations, and who is most capable of delivering and leading it. There is one thing that nobody disagrees on, however: the road to successful innovation is paved with information technology. From data analytics--which opens up insights on customers and markets--to collaborative technologies--

which open up participation to employees and partners across the enterprise--to social platforms--which open up communication with customers--technology is providing insights that would never have seen the light of day until recently.

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To explore how business leaders see innovation advancing their organizations, and the role technology plays in these efforts, Forbes Insights, in association with NetApp, launched a survey of top executives from a range of industries. The goal of this research is to illuminate leaders' perceptions on innovation, who should lead and the role of technology. Forbes Insights also conducted in-depth interviews with half a dozen executives to provide context for the findings.

The global survey of more than 300 top-level executive decision makers finds widespread agreement that IT is playing a key role in reshaping and redefining innovation. It's not just IT executives who hold this point of view, it's business leaders from across the spectrum. Along with CIOs and CTOs, many traditionally "non-technical" business leaders--such as CEOs and CFOs--are also getting deeply involved in technology decisions. Ironically, IT executives may even be a bit more cautious than their C-level counterparts in seeing IT as an innovation driver--they are more supportive of an enterprise-wide approach to business development.

The survey was fielded in September-October 2013, and received a total of 312 responses from senior executives. Fifty-three percent of respondents were C-level, while 47% were senior executives at the director level or above. For C-level respondents, 18% were CEOs, 23% were CFOs, 22% were CIOs and 23% were CTOs (14% were another type of C-level executive). Respondents hailed from finance (18%), general management (17%), IT (59%) and operations (6%) roles, spread across multiple industries including manufacturing (22%), healthcare, financial services, media, energy and telecommunications (10% each). By region, 11% of respondents came from the U.S. and from Germany, 10% each from Australia, Canada, China, Japan, the UK and Latin America, while 7% came from South Africa and 5% from India. Fully 70% of respondents worked at companies with more than 1,000 employees.

A majority of the executives in the survey, 88%, indicate they have some influence over IT decisions within their organizations. About one-fourth, 26%, say they have the final say. Seventy-six percent of CEOs believe the technology decision buck stops with them, versus 39% of CFOs, 41% of CIOs and 24% of CTOs.

KE Y TAKEAWAY

Many business leaders are still struggling to define what innovation really means, what it can potentially do for their organizations, and who is most capable of delivering and leading it.

COPYRIGHT ? 2014 FORBES INSIGHTS | 3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND KEY FINDINGS

The world has changed dramatically over the past five years, and the rules of business have changed. Businesses are operating in an unforgiving, hyper-competitive global economy. New startups with disruptive business ideas are being launched every day, across all six inhabited continents. Thanks to the pervasiveness of information technology, the barriers to entry into global markets are low. It's no longer enough to be an established company with a well-known brand. Every organization, regardless of size or industry, needs to be innovating, every day and in every way.

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