Why IT’s Reputation Still Holds Companies Back — and How CIOs Can Change That

Info-Tech Research Group has released fresh diagnostics showing a familiar but costly problem: many CIOs and IT teams are trusted less by their executive peers than they should be. That gap in perception doesn’t just bruise egos — it slows projects, blunts innovation, and leaves companies carrying unnecessary risk.

What the diagnostics reveal about IT’s trust deficit

The research paints a clear picture. When asked to rate IT’s strategic value, many C-suite peers place IT lower than business functions such as finance or operations. IT leaders themselves rate their teams as more strategic than others believe. In short, there’s a consistent perception gap: CIOs see IT as a business enabler; other senior leaders still often see it as an internal service provider.

Beyond that headline split, the diagnostics flag specific weaknesses. Communication is a recurring complaint: other executives say IT talks too much in technical language and too little about business outcomes. Metrics also diverge. IT tends to report uptime, ticket closure, and technical debt, while the rest of the business cares about time-to-market, revenue enablement, and customer outcomes. The result is a credibility mismatch — IT is doing work the business doesn’t always recognize as strategic.

How old roles and old habits keep the gap open

The study ties this trust gap to a few stubborn dynamics. First, history matters: many organizations still treat IT as a cost center that keeps systems running. That legacy role can be hard to shed, even when teams run modern cloud projects or lead data initiatives.

Second, language and measurement are misaligned. IT reports technical KPIs. The rest of the C-suite wants business KPIs. Without shared measures, it’s easy for other leaders to conclude IT isn’t contributing to strategic aims.

Finally, timing and visibility play a role. Long projects with technical milestones create few regular moments for the business to see progress. That absence of visible wins lets old views persist, even when day-to-day reality has changed.

The real cost when IT isn’t seen as strategic

When IT lacks credibility, the consequences are concrete. Digital initiatives take longer because approvals get pushed up the ladder or face extra scrutiny. Teams launch pilots instead of scaling promising work because stakeholders aren’t confident. Business units may buy point solutions without IT’s input, creating a patchwork of systems that raises long-term costs and security risk.

These are not hypothetical harms. The diagnostics link low IT credibility with slower project delivery and higher rates of abandoned initiatives. They also show that companies where IT sits at the strategy table move faster on cloud migration and data-driven products. In short: when IT is trusted, organizations innovate and execute more smoothly. When it isn’t, projects drag, costs rise, and the company becomes less nimble.

A practical playbook for CIOs who want a new brand

Info-Tech’s findings point to several concrete steps CIOs can use to rebuild IT’s reputation. Treat these as a playbook — a set of actions that, taken together, change how the rest of the business experiences IT.

• Shift the scoreboard. Publish a short set of metrics that tie IT work to business outcomes. Pick two to four measures the CEO cares about — for example, feature lead time, revenue enabled, or customer adoption. Report those alongside technical KPIs so stakeholders see direct business value.
• Create visible, fast wins. Prioritize projects that produce clear outcomes in weeks, not years. Quick, high-impact deliveries build trust faster than perfect but slow programs.
• Retell your story. Convert technical work into business narratives. Instead of describing an infrastructure upgrade, explain how it reduces risk, speeds product launches, or cuts costs. Use plain language and concrete examples.
• Embed IT into product cycles. Move people from IT into cross-functional teams working on customer-facing products. Shared accountability changes perception faster than presentations ever will.
• Hold joint governance reviews. Make decision forums shared spaces with business peers, not IT monologues. Joint reviews help align priorities and reduce surprises.
• Measure and celebrate impact. Publicize not just technical successes but their business effects. Internal newsletters, town halls, or dashboards that highlight business wins change the narrative over time.

None of these steps are magic. They require disciplined follow-through. But the diagnostics show that consistent changes in how IT measures, communicates, and organizes have outsize effects on credibility.

What HR, vendors and executives must change to help

IT can’t rebrand alone. HR should recruit for product and business skills in technology roles, not just deep technical talent. Vendors should be chosen for partnership and outcome delivery, with contracts that reward business impact rather than only technical completion. And executives outside IT must invite IT into strategy conversations early and visibly — not as a compliance check but as a contributor to growth decisions.

The signs of success are simple: faster project approvals, fewer shadow IT purchases, more joint KPIs, and an IT team that gets invited into strategy sessions. When those things show up, the perception gap starts to close — and the whole company moves more confidently toward its goals.