Axios Systems says in 2015 the CIO will continue to be the number one executive to drive business innovation and new services across the business, but in order to be successful they will need to be aware of the challenges they face.

In 2015 CIOs should focus on maintaining the relevance of central IT to the business, business-IT convergence, improving the end user experience, enterprise service management and the enterprise Internet of Things, says Axios.

Scott Leckie, Axios Systems CTO, says, “The role of the CIO is evolving, placing them not only as a critical interface between IT and the business, but ever more at the heart of business transformation.”

“The time has come for some fundamental changes in the way IT works. It's time for the techies to step out of the data center and really engage with the business,” says Axios.

Engaging with the business is important as there is a now a whole market of readily accessible technology alternatives and central IT is at risk of becoming irrelevant, says Axios.

Axios says digitisation is creating major changes in the world of business, and in order to remain agile and focused CIOs need to re-define their priorities and reconnect with the business.

This can lead to a greater understanding of core objectives, and help them to streamline day-to-day operations and free up resources for new projects.

Gartner says an average of 73% of enterprise technology spend is controlled by central IT, and IT executives should continue to question how they are delivering value to the business.

A study by Deloitte found that 61% of businesses rate IT as “fair” or “poor” business partners, and Axios says business-IT convergence is crucial to success.

Axios says organisations need “to humanize the interface between IT and the business – to not hide behind digital frontiers like the service desk, SLAs and a service catalog.

If IT becomes more involved at the strategic level they can make suggestions on how technology can increase effectiveness and efficiency within the business and how new technology-driven solutions can be launched into the market.

This can help restore faith in what IT can do to improve productivity and increase trust, meaning budget doesn't leak away from IT to cloud technology. Which isn't to say new technologies don't have their place, says Axios. 

Those that enable omnichannel service management will help redefine the interface between IT and the business, Enterprise Service Management offers the chance to improve operational performance, and the Internet of Things can make non-IT assets more manageable and cost-efficient, says Axios.

Furthermore, with cloud technology business leaders won't have to wait months to launch new initiatives. However this can lead to ‘business impatience' and therefore turnaround times need to be tighter, says Axios.

Axios says IT should be pro-actively outsourcing commoditised technology to the cloud and focus on what makes the company different and profitable.

According to Axios, IT customer expectations are increasing, and one of the major challenges the CIO will face is balancing operational efficiency with business user satisfaction, and should be using feedback as a source of innovation.

The company says user experience, enterprise service management and the Internet of Things may be challenges, but they are an opportunity for IT to increase connectivity and intelligence.