Top 5 Trends For CIOs In 2016

Duncan Macrae,

Stephan Romeder, GM at Magic Software Europe, discusses what IT managers can expect in the coming year

Digital Transformation will continue to lead the way in 2016 with a focus on enterprise mobility and disruptive technologies.

A recent Global ICT Customer Insight report found that 60.7 percent of respondents in the UK already have employee-facing mobile apps and according to an IDG Enterprise report, 25 percent of CIOs surveyed are spending 20-50 percent of their budgets on mobile technology.

Innovative

We expect this trend to accelerate next year with the introduction of new innovative technologies and the need to support connected devices in online and offline modes. The trick will be accomplishing this while increasing resource efficiency to meet budgetary constraints.

Here are the top five trends that should be prioritised by CIOs in 2016:

IoT1. IoT Comes of Age – IoT initiatives are well underway. A three year programme called IoTUK was launched recently by the UK government which is committed to invest £40m to advance IoT in businesses and public sectors.

2. Value Added Mobile App Development – According to IDC the number of enterprise applications optimized for mobility will quadruple by 2016.

3. Platformisation of IT – Along with the increasing emphasis on enterprise mobility and system integration, there is a growing trend towards the use of platforms throughout IT.

4. Sensible Re-Usable System Integration – For business processes that generate a competitive edge, enterprises will prefer custom mobile apps rather than “off the shelf” apps or modules from an enterprise software provider.

5. New Level of Customer Engagement – With a focus on leveraging IT assets to improve the bottom line, CRM will become fully integrated with marketing campaigns for better customer engagement.

In 2016, CIOs will continue to drive business-transformation projects. Often asked to do more with the same or less money, CIOs should look for reusable platforms that bring real business value by supporting business requirements and enabling innovation while optimising utilisation of resources.

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