French CIOs’ ability to economize will serve them well

Last updated: 21 March 2014

In the final installment of our series of examining CIOs’ attitudes towards security, we turn our attention to France.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of France’s attitudes towards IT security is the power wielded by CIOs themselves. 70% of French respondents said that the CIO took responsibility for IT security within their organization – higher than in any other country and over 20% more than the average (48%). Unsurprisingly, the majority agreed that the CIO was the right man for the job.

With an influential CIO at their helm, French businesses have illustrated their ability to take a forward-thinking approach to their use of technology. And nowhere is this clearer than in their attitudes towards BYOD. 26% of French respondents said that their organization was already operating a fully-fledged BYOD policy, compared to an average of just 17%. Although less than half of French CIOs said that tablets were entering their workplace, they were still well ahead of the competition in making provisions for their arrival.

La DefenseThis is in spite of the fact that many are operating under significant financial constraints. 26% of those we spoke to said that their IT budget for the year ahead had been cut – more than twice the average. So despite having a greater responsibility for their own affairs than those in any other country, CIOs in France are seeing their purse-strings squeezed tighter than those of their peers in other countries.

Our findings for France throw up some interesting contradictions: low tablet adoption paired with a willingness to adopt BYOD; CIOs who wield plenty of influence within their organizations, but who seem unable to prevent technology budget cuts. Doubtless the reasons for these are manifold, but it certainly shows that IT leaders in France seem capable of staying true to the well-worn cliché, and managing to ‘do more with less’. With the economic situation likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future, this will stand them in good stead for the years ahead.

 

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