CIO Roundtable Explores How IT and Business Can Align to Drive Transformation

By Lane F. Cooper, CIO Moderator, Editorial Director, BizTechReports, Moderator CIO.com

As businesses adapt to an increasingly fast-paced and complex environment, IT leaders are being called upon to play a more strategic role in driving transformation. At a recent virtual roundtable hosted by CIO Magazine and PwC, technology executives from finance, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and other industries discussed how restructuring the relationship between business and IT can unlock greater value and enable continuous innovation.

The session, titled “Restructuring Business and IT Relationships to Maximize the Value and Impact of Transformation Initiatives,” was co-hosted with PwC partners Danielle Phaneuf, Tim Canonico, and Tony Morgan, who shared insights on how companies can bridge the gap between IT and business operations to drive agility and performance.

IT’s Role in Business Is Changing

For decades, IT has been viewed as a support function, responsible for executing business-driven strategies. However, as technology becomes central to competitive advantage, this traditional model is rapidly evolving.

“Every company today is a technology company,” said Phaneuf. “IT leaders must be business leaders first. Their role is no longer just about managing infrastructure—it’s about driving innovation, strategic decision-making, and business outcomes.”

Executives from multiple industries echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that IT must be embedded within business strategy rather than operating as a separate function. Leaders from the financial services sector noted that organizations still relying on the old model—where IT waits for business directives—struggle to keep pace with the speed of market demands.

A recent PwC study cited during the discussion found that organizations integrating external service providers for strategic advantage—rather than just cost savings—achieve a 43% higher performance premium than their peers. This highlights the growing need for collaboration between internal IT teams and external partners to remain competitive.

Moving from Episodic Transformation to Continuous Innovation

Many companies still approach digital transformation as a series of one-time initiatives, updating technology and processes in cycles. However, roundtable participants agreed that this model is becoming obsolete in today’s business environment.

“Companies are transforming at the pace of organizational change, not the speed of business,” said Morgan. “We need to rethink how IT and business work together—traditional silos slow down innovation and make organizations less agile.”

Instead of executing large-scale transformation projects every few years, leading companies are shifting toward continuous innovation, where IT and business teams collaborate in real time to respond to changing market conditions, customer expectations, and regulatory shifts.

Some organizations are adopting product-based operating models, embedding IT, business, and compliance professionals into cross-functional teams to ensure alignment. This approach enables faster decision-making, allowing businesses to pivot quickly when needed.

A technology leader from the healthcare industry noted that with increasing regulatory pressures, real-time collaboration between IT and compliance teams is essential to avoid slowdowns. “The traditional model where business and IT operate in silos doesn’t work anymore. We need to be in constant dialogue to stay ahead,” he said.

Low-Code, No-Code: Balancing Speed and Security

One topic that emerged several times revolved around the rise of low-code and no-code development platforms, which allow non-technical employees to build software and automate processes without direct IT involvement. While these platforms can accelerate innovation, they also introduce risks, such as security vulnerabilities, compliance challenges, and lack of standardization.

This, Morgan noted, can be characterized as a natural consequence of demand that emerged years ago for “Shadow IT.” He cautioned that the proliferation of “citizen developers” will require governance structures to evolve and accommodate this shift. “The forces that created Shadow IT – and now concepts like low-code – aren't necessarily a bad thing. It’s the future of collaboration,” he said. “But organizations need clear frameworks to ensure security, data integrity, and compliance.”

Leaders from financial services and manufacturing emphasized that governance processes must be structured to enable business agility rather than hinder it. It is also important to figure out how to perform due diligence at the speed of business. “All too often, by the time we get compliance approval, the business opportunity is often gone,” one executive said. “We need governance frameworks that allow IT and compliance teams to work together in real time.”

Some organizations, several participants observed, are taking a hybrid approach, where business teams are empowered to use low-code tools within pre-defined guardrails, ensuring IT retains oversight while allowing faster development cycles

Breaking Silos: Aligning IT, Business, and Governance

Beyond technology, participants agreed that organizational structures must evolve to support real-time collaboration between IT, business, and compliance teams.

Traditionally, companies have been structured with rigid hierarchies, where IT operates as a separate function reporting to the CIO, while business units operate independently. This often leads to misalignment and inefficiencies in execution.

An executive from the retail sector shared that their company has transitioned to a product-based model, where cross-functional teams continuously work together, rather than through periodic transformation projects.

“It’s not about ‘business vs. IT’ anymore,” agreed Phaneuf. “Organizations that break down silos and create integrated teams will be the ones that succeed.”

Some participants suggested that embedding IT and compliance experts within business units—rather than keeping them separate—could accelerate transformation and ensure governance keeps pace with innovation.

The CIO’s Expanding Role in Business Strategy

With AI, regulatory changes, and competitive pressures reshaping industries, CIOs and IT leaders must take a more proactive, strategic role in guiding their organizations.

IT is no longer just about keeping systems running—it is about driving measurable business outcomes and creating competitive advantages

Canonico emphasized that IT leaders must think about business results first. “IT leaders should not be asking, ‘How do we optimize our systems?’ but instead, ‘How do we create more business value?’” he said.

One executive from the energy sector concurred, adding that IT must shift from a project-based mindset to an outcome-driven approach, aligning technology decisions with profitability, efficiency, and customer impact.

“The companies that align technology with business goals—not just as a support function but as a driver of innovation—will come out ahead,” said Morgan.