Cautious optimism is the mindset of the enterprise IT leadership community these days, now that the global recession has eased and businesses are growing again. CIOs must still juggle tactical IT necessities and conservative budget mandates with longer term business goals, but there is a much sharper focus now on prioritizing the projects that attract customers and grow top-line revenue. Our 2010 State of the CIO research clearly indicates that the commercial focus of IT has emerged as the most critical business alignment goal.

Business process redesign remains a top priority at many organizations, as the expanding CIO job continues to trend strongly toward a broader business strategist role. The majority of enterprise CIOs today (64%) already carry significant responsibilities in business units beyond their IT organizations. On the technology front, 2010 is sparking heightened interest and ongoing investments in IT products and services that move companies forward with their customers. Those range from business intelligence and data management approaches to network infrastructure upgrades for mobility and/or telepresence strategies, cloud computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) initiatives.
 
Joining us as keynote speakers are a trio of outstanding authors with deep expertise as business leaders: Chip Conley, CEO of Joie De Vivre Hospitality and author of “Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow;” Thom Singer, an expert in social networking and author of “Some Assembly Required;” and Adam Hartung, author of “Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition.” Other conference sessions will feature interactive workshops, detailed case studies and presentations by enterprise CIOs – all of it geared to deliver actionable ideas and advice to help IT/business executives keep their companies running, boost customer engagement, manage risk and deliver greater process efficiencies across the board.
 
Another key highlight is the sixth annual Ones to Watch awards program, co-sponsored by CIO magazine and the CIO Executive Council, which identifies and honors the rising stars in IT. These future CIOs have demonstrated leadership, driven innovation and delivered value to their business.