The Chief Information Officer (CIO), once seen primarily as a guardian of infrastructure and operations, will now be expected to be a visionary. This role not only ensures smooth IT functioning, but also drives innovation, fosters digital transformation, and delivers competitive advantage.

In CIO.com’s recent article, entitled, ‘What the CIO role will look like in 2028’, they suggest that

“The CIO of the future will need to be more strategic, more technically astute, and more visionary than ever before.”

However, too often, CIOs find themselves mired in the daily grind of operational management, firefighting issues and overseeing routine IT tasks, leaving little room for strategic thinking or creative breakthroughs. Not very visionary.

The evolving role of the CIO

Gone are the days when CIOs were measured solely by uptime metrics and network reliability. The modern CIO is a business partner, expected to collaborate with stakeholders, champion transformative technologies, and harness digital opportunities. As organisations embark on journeys of cloud adoption, AI, automation, and customer-centric digital experiences, the CIO’s role becomes even more pivotal.

However, with great responsibility comes a mounting workload. Daily operations; managing legacy systems, supporting end users, patching security flaws, and maintaining compliance, absorb a significant chunk of the CIO’s time and attention. Strategic initiatives are delayed, innovation stalls, and your business may fall behind more agile competitors.

Why operational tasks hold CIOs back

Operational excellence is undeniably important as it keeps the lights on and protects the organisation from risk. But when CIOs are consumed by operational firefighting, they are forced into a reactive posture. This mindset limits their ability to anticipate market trends, experiment with emerging tech, or lead ambitious digital initiatives. Over time, this can erode the CIO’s influence within the C-suite and impede an organisation’s broader growth ambitions.

Unlocking strategic value through smart outsourcing

This is where smart outsourcing enters the fray. By partnering with trusted managed service providers (MSPs) CIOs can delegate routine, non-core or specialist IT operations (or a mix of all) to external experts. This strategic move not only alleviates the operational burden on your internal teams, but also provides access to specialised skills, scalable resources, efficient and flexible commercial operating models and reliable service levels.

Outsourcing doesn’t mean relinquishing control or diluting accountability. On the contrary, it enables CIOs to refocus their teams on innovation, developing new digital products, enhancing customer journeys, or exploring transformative data analytics, while ensuring that essential IT functions continue to run smoothly in the background.

Benefits of smart outsourcing

Icon of someone running

Agility

Access to on-demand expertise enables organisations to scale IT operations quickly in response to changing business needs.

Euros icon

Cost efficiency

Outsourcing reduces the need for heavy in-house investment in infrastructure, talent, and training.

Sheild with a tick icon

Risk reduction

Experienced providers bring robust security frameworks and compliance capabilities, reducing exposure to cyber threats.

Magnifying glass icon

Focus

With day-to-day IT managed externally, CIOs and their teams can channel more energy into high-impact projects and creative problem-solving.

How to approach outsourcing strategically

In a previous blog, I highlighted the importance of organisations outsourcing wisely based on your unique needs. Whether you choose to collaborate with a managed service provider, or adopt a hybrid approach with your in-house team, the objective is to support business growth through effective IT management, address technical debt, and maintain a competitive infrastructure.

Do not approach outsourcing as a cost-cutting exercise – it is a catalyst for change. CIOs should:

  • Identify areas where outsourcing will deliver the most value; such as helpdesk support, infrastructure management, specialist resource with deep expertise in a specific IT component, or cybersecurity monitoring
  • Choose partners who align with your organisation’s culture, values, and long-term goals
  • Establish clear governance, communication protocols, and performance metrics to ensure accountability, collaboration and evidence of business value
  • Regularly reassess the outsourcing arrangement to keep pace with evolving business needs, peaks and troughs in workload and technological advancements

Empowering your CIO: A win for the entire organisation

When CIOs are empowered to focus on innovation, the impact is felt far beyond the IT department. Organisations become more agile, resilient, and competitive. Employees benefit from better tools and services, and customers enjoy richer digital experiences. Ultimately, by investing in smart outsourcing, businesses free their technology leaders to do what they do best: envision the future and bring it to life.

CIO.com’s recent survey found that,

“ … a growing percentage of CIOs are moving away from being functional leaders to being transformative, and even strategic …”

Smart outsourcing is not just a tactical move – it’s a strategic imperative for any organisation seeking sustainable growth and success.

“Partnering with Version 1 through their ASPIRE managed service has equipped my team with the technical expertise, engineering capability, and thought leadership we needed. This collaboration empowers us to focus on driving innovation, accelerating modernisation, and reducing the cost of operating services—maximising value for the taxpayer and delivering smarter outcomes within the public sector.”

Craig Bromage, Head of Infrastructure and Platforms at National Highways

Managed services redesigned – ASPIRE

We have redesigned managed services to alleviate the support burden on your IT teams, freeing up time and resource for your CIO to be the vanguard of transformation and drive strategic imperatives and innovation.

  • Our modern service delivery relies on an ‘AI first’ approach embracing AI driven automation
  • Our managed services continually evolve to improve both our delivery methods and the range of offerings to our customers
  • Our design-thinking and business led innovation will accelerate value on your business led priorities and return on investment. This integrates market trends and needs into actionable innovations, to support ROI business value
  • SLAs are only part of the managed service experience within the ASPIRE framework. A suite of KPIs drive new levels of customer engagement, experience management, environmental emissions management and real business value through VLAs.
  • We operate in highly regulated environments, ensuring client protection and excellence

Contact us today to find out more.

More from Marcus

Ready for your transformation?

We do things differently because our people are our difference. We make decisions that are right for our customers, giving them the solutions and advice we would want to receive.

Talk to us