How CEOs, CIOs and CMOs see the technology future of corporate openness, customer individualization and innovation partnerships

Purpose – The authors have analyzed IBM surveys on evolving C-suite technology priorities over several years to find fresh opportunities for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to work closely together. Design/methodology/approach – This new study of evolving technology priorities is based on conversations with thousands of private and public sector C-suite executives participating in a series of IBM surveys over the past decade. Findings – The authors found that the major technology challenges facing corporations are how to manage openness across the organization, individualize customer relationships and invest in the partnership ecosystem for innovation. Research limitations/implications – This is a meta analysis based on a series of reports on IBM interviews with top executives starting in 2004. Practical implications – To achieve significant innovation, outperforming organizations are pursuing external partnerships. Increasingly partners are non-traditional – communities of interest, academic institutions or other types of organizations. Originality/value – The authors identify three key challenges for CEOs, CMOs and CIOs and show how they can align their technology plans and resources to address them.