Dive Brief:
- A recent Robert Half Technology report on IT hiring found that 21% of surveyed city CIOs plan to add full-time technology professionals to their teams in the first six months of 2018, up five points from one year prior.
- The top U.S. cities where CIOs are expected to boost tech hiring are San Diego, Atlanta, New York, Austin, TX and Charlotte, NC.
- The report also found that security management and safeguarding company information is a top priority for CIOs, followed by innovation, upgrading existing systems for business efficiency, investing in new technologies and staff retention.
Dive Insight:
John Reed, senior executive director of Robert Half Technology, highlighted the importance of CIOs in the report, saying "CIOs are tasked with ensuring the highest level of security and systems efficiency for their organizations while also pursuing continuous innovation." And while it is promising that more CIOs are aiming to expand their tech teams in 2018 than in 2017, 21% is not proportionate to the rapid pace at which the tech sector is growing — and infiltrating smart cities.
The CIO is not the only C-suite title that has influence over the emerging tech sector, however. The role of the city CDO (or Chief Data Officer) has been on the rise since 2014, and while the roles of both CIOs and CDOs is to influence city tech, the CDO is said to be positioned as a "driver of change." Cities like Boston, Philadlephia and Washington, DC have all hired CDOs to implement proactive data practices, and it is likely that more CDOs will be hired moving into 2018. According to Forbes, "the CDO will be a powerful force and integral to any successful business making the pace of adoption of this position one-to-watch in 2018 as it intersects with specific dynamic tech trends."
