The role of the chief information officer (CIO) - the official name given to the head cheese of IT at many companies - has always been very hazy in my mind. Having interviewed a few of them at companies large and small, I have come to view the job description as very flexible indeed. At some companies the CIO is someone regarded as a kind of high-level guru who is responsible for creatively driving business operations. The bits and bytes of the network are essentially left to the underlings.

At other companies, the CIO is essentially a maintenance person, responsible for keeping business functions operating smoothly. He or she is essentially a highly paid patcher.

But that was 10 years ago. Now, the CIO role has evolved into a more recognisible, and important, business executive function, according to a survey by Forrester Research.

The survey's results are particularly interesting for those middle managers looking for their role to 'evolve' into the CIO function, or for those who want to work towards that management position. With an average salary in the US of $199,612 per year, it is a laudable goal for every IT professional in the market today.

Today, keeping the IT segment operating often only scratches the surface of all that is involved in a typical CIO's job, Forrester states. Employers now expect CIOs to be versed in business principles, partner with the executive management team on the strategic vision of the company, have industry knowledge and a customer focus, and understand the key business issues and challenges that the company is facing.

Typically the CIO's role is to work with senior business executives making recommendations on process and profitability improvements using technology, information, IT assets, or projects. The CIO also typically manages the IT organisation and oversees every IT segment.

So what is the typical CIO background? Most have backgrounds in business leadership and their industry. They usually have 10 or more years of IT experience with progressively higher management experience.

The survey showed that about 39 percent of CIOs come from a non-technical, non-IT background, a surprisingly high number. About 43 percent had been in the CIO role for less than a year. And 58 percent of the 922 CIOs surveyed had been promoted to the position from within the company.

"A great CIO is a strategic business partner who can innovate, think commercially, and show business results," Forrester states, adding that CIOs are often expected to have MBA degrees and three to five years of industry experience in the field that their company is in.

However since IT is so crucial to most business operations these days, the CIO is constantly under stress to be successful. CIOs may hear the phrase "Welcome to the company" more times than most of us, Forrester notes.

"There are expectations for fast, visible results, and the CIO has both the power to influence change in an organisation and the culpability that comes with that. A highly successful CIO will quickly become known for his success and may find himself with attractive job offers. An unsuccessful CIO is shown the door."

But perhaps this low retention rate is due to the uncertain roles they play within companies. Over a decade ago, most consultancies were urging CEOs to empower their CIOs more by giving them space at the top executive level.

A decade later, many CEOs have at least partially gotten this message. Forrester found that CIOs who report directly to the CEO play a more strategic role in the overall business of the company. About 34 percent of CIOs report directly to the CEO.

Another 16 percent report to the company's president, while the rest report to the chief operating officer or the chief financial officer, but this varies with the industry.

Of relevance to Bermuda, CIOs in the insurance and financial services sectors the CIO is generally closer to the CEO due to the strong dependence of both sectors on IT functions. Companies with the CIO reporting to the CEO also had the largest percentage of their budget going to IT.

Since 58 percent of CIOs were promoted from within their companies, Forrester advises the more ambitious members of staff to snuggle up to the early risers.

"So try catching the eye of a promising VP of application development," the consultancy advises. "You may find that you've formed a great relationship with the future CIO."

Build your relationships and your background if you are in the IT field and looking to move up a corporate structure. With IT becoming more and more important in every business, you may even find, with those kind of qualities, CIOs will begin moving farther up the corporate structure and inhabiting the CEO position.

Send any comments to Ahmed at elamin.ahmed@gmail.com