UK business 'blinded' as CIO absent from boardroom

Research by Progress Software finds rift between IT and business as less than half of all CIOs empowered to make board-level decisions

Slough — 19 Jun 2008 — Research commissioned by Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS) has revealed that the UK, Sweden and Spain take last place when it comes to CIOs appointed to board level.

The results of the study, which surveyed CIOs, senior IT managers and department heads across 500 European businesses, showed that just 48% of UK CIOs sit on the board. In contrast, France is leading the way with 69% at board-level.

The survey also revealed that CIOs tend to be brought into the strategic process once decisions about the business have already been made. In only 13% of cases are business strategies only signed off if IT has committed to it, compared to 35% of cases where strategies are determined and then IT is brought in to help deliver.

This, according to Giles Nelson, director of technology EMEA, Progress Software, is hampering innovation at a critical time for technology: "Innovation is a process where IT and business need to collaborate but, with less than half of UK companies having a CIO on the board, they’re making these critical decisions blindly," said Nelson.

"As the economy faces tougher times ahead, IT should be at the centre of any business strategy. Over half of UK businesses are leaving those that best understand technology's potential out of the decision making process," he added.

John Murdoch, Managing Consultant for BT Global Services agreed commenting:

"It's vital that IT and business departments collaborate closely when making decisions that will impact current propositions and future strategies. Both departments have their own unique set of knowledge and it’s only when you complement and share them both that an organisation can become truly innovative and competitive."

The research also revealed that enterprises across Europe are suffering from an information gap, which is slowing down businesses' ability to drive change and innovation. 77% of respondents confirmed that their businesses required real-time data and up to the minute information but, only 39% were able to provide it when required.

Most concerning of all, two thirds (66%) of all respondents said that opportunities for business growth or greater efficiency have been lost due to lack of understanding between the business unit and IT.

IDC Analyst Ruediger Spies, Independent Vice President Enterprise Applications, said: "Without optimum visibility of real time market data, businesses are unable to respond to market conditions fast enough. They may miss out upon growth opportunities, or increase their exposure to risk through non compliance or being unable to withdraw from difficult market conditions."

The SOA Way

The research does suggest that SOA is key in addressing problems the respondents face with 58% saying that they have a SOA strategy in place. The UK has the most positive story across Europe in terms of delivering results, which have a positive impact on the business with 100% of respondents confirming that their SOA strategy is delivering competitive advantage, making IT more agile and delivering better business performance and, delivering better customer service.

"SOA solves the integration dilemma as the technology enables organizations' systems and departments to communicate and give a real-time visibility of operations across the organization. With efficient systems, greater visibility and collaboration between departments, CIOs and CEOs are more likely to collaborate, more CIOs are likely to be on the board as the CEOs realize the crucial role of business development and as such and ultimately, innovation can flourish." Giles Nelson concludes

Notes for editors

Survey methodology

The survey carried out on behalf of Progress Software was conducted by Vanson Bourne Research in March 2008. 500 blue chip companies were surveyed in a number of industries across Europe to assess enterprise IT capabilities in today's fast-moving and complex business environment.

The survey was carried out using a mixture of telephone polling and email questionnaires among a sample of 500 made up in equal parts of 250 CIOs/ IT Directors and 250 business leads and departmental heads. The surveys were conducted across the following European countries: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.

The survey covered businesses in the following sectors: Financial Services, Manufacturing, Professional services, Retail, Telecommunications, Travel, Transportation and Logistics.

About the Progress Company

The Progress Company simplifies the development, deployment, integration, and management of the world's best business applications. Progress and its 2,000 Application Partners offer more than 5,000 Progress-based business applications that precisely fit customer needs and deliver competitive advantage. Customers purchase more than $5 billion annually in cost-effective software and services from Progress and its partners.

Progress® OpenEdge® platform enables its partners to deliver lowest cost-of-ownership applications that are rapidly implemented and easily integrated within and across the extended enterprise. The Progress Company is an operating unit of Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS) headquartered in Bedford, Mass., and may be reached at www.progress.com or +1-781-280-4000.

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