* "The Board and Information Technology Strategies" report
Many corporate board members are only paying lip service to IT, according to the results of a recent study from Deloitte Consulting.
“Directors are aware of the importance of information technology to their companies’ results, but a significant gap exists between the emphasis the board appears to place on IT and the steps they are taking to address it,” says Kenneth Porrello, a principal with Deloitte Consulting. “Many directors and senior executives blame this gap on the number of things that have been hitting the board’s agenda and a resulting lack of time to properly address IT. However, this excuse is becoming less credible given the growing importance of IT.”
Conducted in partnership with Corporate Board Member magazine, “The Board and Information Technology Strategies” report is based on a survey of 455 directors from publicly traded companies with a revenue of more than $1 billion.
Among the findings, just under 14% of directors polled consider their boards “completely and actively involved” in IT strategy. Close to 70% consider themselves “somewhat involved,” and about 16% say they are “not at all involved.” And only 11% of boards discuss IT at every meeting.
Not surprisingly, directors who report a higher level of involvement in IT matters have a better understanding of IT’s importance to their business and performance. Another encouraging development is that nearly half of directors polled believe IT will increase in importance to the board in the next three years.
What’s more, some expect to see more CIOs and CTOs invited to serve as board members going forward, opening up more opportunities for senior IT leaders.
