Earlier this year, IBM released its report 'Exploring the C-suite', which examines how different members of the C-suite work together to bring about organisational success. The findings in the report are based on ten years of work, 17 studies and 23 000 executive interviews globally, revealing how businesses around the world are preparing for the digital era. The report has five broad findings that relate to CIOs:1. CIOs are viewed as the third most strategic member of the C-suite other than the CEO.2. CIOs are thought to be the most specialised member of the C-suite.3. The 'CEO-CIO-CMO triumvirate' is considered the most likely to outperform among possible management trios.4. Collaboration is the most important attribute for success among the C-suite, an area that CIOs are well-positioned to lead.5. Technology’s pervasiveness and increasing strategic importance presents an opportunity for CIOs to be bigger value contributors in the future.The findings of this survey were based on research conducted globally, but we thought it would be interesting to get a view on the ground from some South African CIOs on the extent of the local relevance of the report.Some differencesAnita Fuller, director of KPMG’s CIO Advisory Services in Africa, says the organisation consults to public- and private-sector entities across Africa, enabling her to comment on the IBM study both from a local and continental perspective.

“Overall, the report is aligned to what we see in the African market, with differences in some key areas,” she says. In terms of the CIO being the most strategic member of the C-suite other than the CEO, she says there is a difference between how this plays out in the public and the private sectors.