By Kirsten Wade
Almost half of Australian CIOs (44 per cent) are enjoying budget growth this year, according to the 2012 Harvey Nash CIO Survey, which is on par with the global rate.
In the first year the survey has included Australia, the results also revealed insights into human capital management, innovation, outsourcing, careers and women in IT.
The majority of Australian CIOs (59 per cent) are on the management team or operational board of their organisation, which is 7 per cent higher than the global average of 52 per cent. The skills shortage is less pronounced in Australia, with only 39 per cent of Australian CIOs believing a technology skills shortage is an issue for their organisation, compared to the global average of 48 per cent.
While 27 per cent of Australian CIOs see “great potential” for innovation within their organisations, only 3 per cent believe that the full potential has been reached. Investigation into digital and social networking is being undertaken as a perceived area of innovation by many CIOs.
The survey also showed that outsourcing is a major consideration of Australian CIOs. Two-thirds of Australian CIOs currently outsource their software development, while 27 per cent currently outsource their data centre activity. In addition to these figures, 34 per cent of Australian CIOs are planning to increase investment in outsourced activity over the next 12 months.
Australian CIOs are some of the most well-paid in the world, with the average Australian CIO salary $US260,000. But they are also a mobile bunch, with 34 per cent expecting to move to a new role in the next 12 months.
While 9 per cent of respondents were women, which is 2 per cent above the global average, 27 per cent of Australian CIOs have no women in IT management roles, 21 per cent have no women in technical roles and 16 per cent have no women in business-facing roles. Although 76 per cent of Australian CIOs recognise the need to encourage more women into IT roles, 46 per cent believe the shortage of women in IT roles is the result of a lack of skilled female candidates.
