Coming into this year, the US was in the midst of one of the longest periods of economic expansion in our nation’s history. At the end of February, many had thought that we were on a path for a year of even greater results. Then, of course, the pandemic hit, and most businesses are still continuing to find ways to pivot.

In August 2020, The National CIO Review polled our 2000+ member CIO Professional Network on their expectations for revenue growth over the next six month period. This will be the first in a series of quarterly insights as we will trend this index over time.

With over 47% of technology leaders reporting a projection for increased revenue in comparison with the previous six months, perhaps there is hope that the worst of the current crisis is behind us. Many companies are defining new channels, investing in marketing and sales functions, seeking new ways to serve their customers, and developing new business models.

We are a high-growth company in a niche market.  Our strategy has been to acquire new customers organically as well as through acquisition.  As our customer base continues to increase we earn additional business from them as they experience our capabilities to execute to fit their needs.

David Bender, Chief Information Officer for Franco Signor

However, a high level of uncertainty in the current climate remains for many with over 53% of Chief Information Officers not expecting a rebound to happen in the near term. 36% of respondents, in fact, expect further decreases in revenue over the next six months. With the assumption that most expected downturns are coming off of a previous period of negative growth, this identifies that a good number of companies are not out of the woods in regard to the current economic crisis.

In short, while we are beginning to see some optimistic trends for recovery, challenges remain for many organizations. This is definitely an interesting time for technology leaders, as they continue to innovate and lead in the transformation and implementation of business models that will best serve during this crisis and position their company for emerging in ways previously thought impossible.

As CIOs and CTOs, it is imperative that we take an active role in revenue enablement. Our time is now to make a difference and lead beyond the technology function during these unprecedented times.