Chief information officer (CIO), chief digital information officer (CDIO) or information technology (IT) director, is a job title commonly given to the most senior executive in an enterprise who works with information technology and computer systems, in order to support enterprise goals.

Normally, the CIO reports directly to the chief executive officer, but may also report to the chief operating officer or chief financial officer. In military organizations, the CIO reports to the commanding officer. The role of chief information officer was first defined in 1981 by  William R. Synnott, former senior vice president of the Bank of Boston, and William H. Gruber, a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management. A CIO will sometimes serve as a member of the board of directors.

The need for CIOs
CIOs and CDIOs play an important role in businesses that use technology and data because they provide a critical interface between the business needs, user needs, and the information and communication technology (ICT) used in the work. In recent years it has become increasingly understood that knowledge limited to just business or just IT is not sufficient for success in this role. Instead, CIOs need both kinds of knowledge to manage IT resources and to manage and plan "ICT, including policy and practice development, planning, budgeting, resourcing and training." Also, CIOs are playing an increasingly important role in helping to control costs and increase profits via the use of ICT, and to limit potential organizational damage by setting up appropriate IT controls and planning for IT recovery from possible disasters.

These objectives also demand a combination of personal skills. Computer Weekly magazine highlights that "53% of IT leaders report a shortage of [IT managers] with a high-level of personal skills, such as communication and leadership" in the workplace. Because information technologies and digital tools evolve so quickly, organizations are sometimes challenged to find staff with the necessary combination of skills in the marketplace, and may look to train existing staff to mitigate skill shortages. CIOs are needed to bridge the gap between IT and non-IT professional roles to support effective working relationships.

Roles and responsibilities
The chief information officer of an organization is responsible for several business functions. First and most importantly, the CIO must fulfill the role of a business leader. The CIO makes executive decisions regarding matters such as the purchase of IT equipment from suppliers or the creation of new IT systems. Also as a business leader, the CIO is responsible for leading and directing the workforce of their specific organization. A CIO is typically "required to have strong organizational skills." This is particularly relevant for the chief information officer of an organization who must balance roles and responsibilities in order to gain a competitive advantage, whilst keeping the best interests of the organization's employees in mind. CIOs also have the responsibility of recruiting, so it is important that they work proactively to source and nurture the best employees possible.

CIOs are required to map out both the ICT strategy and ICT policy of an organization. The ICT strategy covers future-proofing, procurement, and the external and internal standards laid out by an organization. Similarly, the CIO must develop the ICT policy, which details how ICT is utilized and applied. Both are needed for the protection of the organization in the short and long term and the process of strategizing for the future. Paul Burfitt, former CIO of AstraZeneca, also outlines the role of the CIO in IT governance, which he refers to as the "clarifying [of] accountability and the role of committees".

In recent years, CIOs have become more closely involved in customer-facing products. With the rising awareness in organizations that their customers are expecting digital services as part of their relationship with an organization, CIOs have been tasked with more product-oriented responsibilities.

Risks involved
The CIO faces a rather high risk of error and failures, as a result of the challenging nature of the role, along with a large number of responsibilities – such as the provision of finance, recruitment of professionals, establishing data protection and development of policy and strategy. The CIO of U.S company Target was forced into resignation in 2014 after the theft of 40 million credit card details and 70 million customer details by hackers. CIOs that are knowledgeable about their industry are able to adapt and thereby reduce their chances of error.

With the introduction of legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), CIOs have now become increasingly focused on how their role is regulated and can lead to financial and reputational damage to a business.  However, regulations such as GDPR have also been advantageous to CIOs, enabling them to have the budget and authority in the organization to make significant changes to the way information is managed. Sabah Khan-Carter of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp described GDPR as "a really big opportunity for most organizations".

Educational background and technology skills
Many candidates have a Master of Business Administration degree or a Master of Science in Management degree.  More recently, CIOs' leadership capabilities, business acumen, and strategic perspectives have taken precedence over technical skills. It is now quite common for CIOs to be appointed from the business side of the organization, especially if they have project management skills.

Despite the strategic nature of the role, a 2017 survey, conducted by Logicalis, of 890 CIOs across 23 countries found that 62% of CIOs spend 60% or more of their time on day to day IT activities.

In 2012, Gartner Executive Programs conducted a global CIO survey and received responses from 2,053 CIOs from 41 countries and 36 industries. Gartner reported that survey results indicated that the top ten technology priorities for CIOs for 2013 were analytics and business intelligence,  mobile technologies, cloud computing, collaboration technologies, legacy modernization, IT management, customer relationship management, virtualization, security, and enterprise resource planning.

CIO magazine's "State of the CIO 2008" survey asked 558 IT leaders whom they report to, and the results were: CEO (41%), CFO (23%), COO (16%), corporate CIO (7%) and other (13%).

Typically, the CIO is involved with driving the analysis and re-engineering of existing business processes, identifying and developing the capability to use new tools, reshaping the enterprise's physical infrastructure and network access, and identifying and exploiting the enterprise's knowledge resources.  Many CIOs head the enterprise's efforts to integrate the Internet into both its long-term strategy and its immediate business plans. CIOs are often tasked with either driving or heading up crucial IT projects that are essential to the strategic and operational objectives of an organization. A good example of this would be the implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which typically has wide-ranging implications for most organizations.

Another way that the CIO role has changed is an increasing focus on service management. As SaaS, IaaS, BPO and other flexible delivery techniques are brought into organizations the CIO usually manages these 3rd party services. In essence, a CIO in the modern organization needs business skills and the ability to relate to the organization as a whole, as opposed to being a technological expert with limited functional business expertise. The CIO position is as much about anticipating technology and usage trends in the market place as it is about ensuring that the business navigates these trends with expert guidance and strategic planning aligned to the corporate strategy.

Distinction between CIO, CDO, and CTO
The roles of chief information officer, chief digital officer and chief technology officer are often mixed up. It has been stated that CTOs are concerned with technology itself, often customer-facing, whereas CIOs are much more concerned with its applications within the business and how they can be managed.

More specifically, CIOs oversee a business's IT systems and functions, create and deliver strategies and policies, and focus on internal customers. In contrast to this, CTOs focus on the external customers to the organization and how technology can make the company more profitable.

The traditional definition of CTOs focused on using technology as an external competitive advantage now includes CDOs who use the power of modern technologies, online design and big data to digitize a business.

CIO Councils
CIO Councils bring together a number of CIOs from different organizations which aim to work together, for example across healthcare or across government. Examples include the UK public sector's CIO Council, the London CIO Council for the healthcare sector, and the Chief Information Officers Council in the USA.

Awards and recognition

It is not uncommon for CIOs to be recognized and awarded annually, particularly in the technology space. These awards are commonly dictated by the significance of their contribution to the industry and generally occur in local markets only. Awards are generally judged by industry peers, or senior qualified executives such as the chief executive officer, chief operating officer or chief financial officer. Generally, awards recognize substantial impact to the local technology market.

In Australia, the top 50 CIOs are recognized annually under the CIO50 banner. In the United States of America, United Kingdom and New Zealand CIOs are recognized under the CIO100 banner.

See also 
 Chief information security officer
 Chief technology officer
 Chief digital officer
 Chief executive officer
 Chief financial officer
 Chief operating officer
 Chief investment officer
 Chief knowledge officer
 Chief accessibility officer
 Public information officer

References 

 
Information systems
Management occupations

Business occupations
최고정보책임자(最高情報責任者, Chief Information Officer)는 정보나 정보기술에 관한 최고의 임원을 말한다. CIO 등으로 부른다.

개요 
최근의 경영환경이 정보중심으로 급변함에 따라 정보화문제를 총괄하는 고위직 책임자가 필요하게 되었는데 이를 CIO라 지칭한다. 미국에서는 GE, 애플 등에서 도입했고 대한민국에서는 삼성·아시아나항공 등에서 이 제도를 도입해 실시하고 있다.

경영 전략에 따른 정보 전략이나 IT 투자 계획 책정 등에 책임을 진다. 정보 시스템 부문의 책임자를 겸하는 경우도 많다. 직무상 보고자는 최고경영책임자(CEO)일 경우가 많지만, 최고재무책임자(CFO)에게 보고하는 경우도 있다. 또한 군사 조직에서는 지휘관에게 보고한다. 개인 정보를 보호하고, 정보 유출을 막는 책임을 지는 기능을 담당한다. CIO의 역할은 때때로 정보뿐 아니라, 지식도 취급하는 최고지식책임자(CKO)로 확장되기도 한다.

CIO에 관련된 명확한 자격은 없지만, CIO 역할을 하려면 정보과학, 소프트웨어 공학 등의 지식이 필요하다. 경영에 관한 지식이나 리더십 등의 경험도 요구된다.

배경 
독자적인 소셜 네트워크 서비스인 BBM채널을 개시하고 있는 미국 기업 블랙베리는 2013년 11월 25일 고위 간부 3명의 퇴사를 발표했는데 신임 최고 경영 책임자(CEO)는 실적이 부진한 회사를 재건하기 위해서 소비자용 시장에서 비즈니스용 시장으로의 이행을 추진하고 있다. 이런 전략에 따라서 블랙베리는 인선을 실시하여  최고 재무 책임자(CFO)와 최고 집행 책임자(COO), 최고 마케팅 책임자(CMO) 등의 퇴사를 공식화했다.

이처럼 최근의 경영환경이 정보중심으로 급변함에 따라 정보화문제를 총괄하는 고위직 책임자가 필요하게 되었는데 이를 CIO(최고혁신책임자, chief innovation officer)라 지칭하기도 하는데 CIO는 매출을 증가시킬 수 있는 전략을 수립하고, 새로운 사업을 발굴해 업무, 외부 기업과 제휴를 주도하거나, 투자 집행을 어디에 어떻게 해야 할지 결정하는 역할 등을 담당한다.

CIO는 1998년 출판된 <4세대 혁신>이란 책에서 처음으로 언급되었는데, 이 책의 저자 윌리엄 밀러는 기업의 필수 생존조건으로 혁신을 강조하였다. CIO 외에 최고문화책임자(CCO:chief culture officer), 최고지속가능경영책임자(CSO:chief sustainability officer) 등도 새롭게 부상하고 있는 기업 내 새로운 직책이다.

미국에서는 GE, 애플 등에서 도입했고 대한민국에서는 삼성·아시아나항공 등에서 이 제도를 도입해 실시하고 있다.

경영 전략에 따른 정보 전략이나 IT 투자 계획 책정 등에 책임을 진다. 정보 시스템 부문의 책임자를 겸하는 경우도 많다. 직무상 보고자는 최고경영책임자(CEO)일 경우가 많지만, 최고재무책임자(CFO)에게 보고하는 경우도 있다. 또한 군사 조직에서는 지휘관에게 보고한다. 최고보안책임자(CSO)나 최고정보책임자(CIO)는 개인 정보를 보호하고, 정보 유출을 막는 책임을 지는 기능을 담당한다. CSO, CIO의 역할은 때때로 정보뿐 아니라, 지식도 취급하는 최고지식책임자(CKO)로 확장되기도 한다.

CIO에 관련된 명확한 자격은 없지만, CIO 역할을 하려면 정보과학, 소프트웨어 공학 등의 지식이 필요하다. 경영에 관한 지식이나 리더십 등의 경험도 요구된다. 하지만 다량의 정보유출의 문제점이 제기되면서 정보유출 사고예방 해법으로 빅데이터 분석을 제안했는데 최근 정보유출 사고는 정상적인 경로를 통해 이뤄지고 있다면서 사람 행동이나 시스템 변화를 잘 파악하고 있으면 정보 유출을 예방할 수 있다는 견해와 함께 사람과 정보시스템의 평상시 상황과 특정 이벤트 대상 빅데이터 분석을 실시, 정보보호 체계에 적용해야 한다는 견해이다.

보안 체계도 서버 등 정보자산별로 유연하게 적용하여 각종 정보보호 제품으로 모든 것을 차단하면 비즈니스 효율성이 떨어진다며 빅데이터 분석으로 각종 비즈니스 위험요인을 사전에 파악, 이를 집중 관리해야 한다고 주장한다. 이렇게 기업 내 정보유출을 막기 위해 빅데이터 분석 기반 정보보호 체계가 필요하다는 주장이 제기되면서 최고정보책임자와 최고보안책임자의 업무가 합해져 기업 내 CISO 역할에 대해서도 언급했다. CISO는 가장 먼저 기업 내 비즈니스 환경과 위험요인을 파악해야 하고 이사회 등 경영진 회의에 자주 참석하는 것이 방안이라고 제안했다.

관련 용어 
 최고경영자(CEO)
 최고집행책임자(COO)
 최고재무책임자(CFO)
 최고기술책임자(CTO)
 최고지식책임자(CKO)
 최고보안책임자(CSO)
 최고마케팅책임자(CMO)
 최고위험관리책임자(CRO)
 최고경영전략책임자(CSO)
 최고행정책임자(CAO)
 최고지재관리책임자(CPO)

각주

참고 문헌 
 「21세기 경영대가를 만나다」, 월드클래스 리더 8인의 위대한 리더십 철학과 살아있는 경쟁전략 CEO 편, 선우정 저, 김영사(2008년, 223~225p)
 「애플의 법칙」, 스티브 잡스의 비정한 결정, 하야시 노부유키 저, 정지은 역, 살림Biz(2008년, 76~81p)
 

경영직
정보 시스템