As organizations continue to undergo digital transformation in every aspect of business, is the separation between business and technology disappearing? How tech-savvy are business leaders today, and do tech decision makers believe they will need to be in the future? One-Minute Insights on timely topics are available to Gartner Peer Insights members. Sign up for access to over 100 more, and new insights each week. Data collection: October 26, 2021 - February 26, 2022 Respondents: 341 IT, engineering and information security professionals

1. “Tech-savvy leaders are more likely to put proper estimates, have
projects executed with reasonable time lines and most of all,
understand how much a certain technology can be of good use for
the business.”
- C-suite, software industry, 50-200 employees
“They can provide quick solutions to help the organization grow.”
- Director, manufacturing industry, 1,000-5,000 employees
Of those tech decision makers whose organization’s success is tied to digitalization, 98%
believe it is at least moderately important for their business leaders to understand the
technology their organization uses or plans to use. For 19% of these respondents, it is
critical that their business leaders understand the organization’s technology.
“This is obviously not as black and
white as it seems, but training does
seem like a good idea!”
-VP, healthcare industry, 10,000+ employees
“It is our responsibility
to help educate.”
- Director,
manufacturing industry,
1,000-5,000 employees
2% No
2% Not sure
As organizations continue to undergo digital transformation in every aspect of
business, is the separation between business and technology disappearing? How
tech-savvy are business leaders today, and do tech decision makers believe they will
need to be in the future?
One-Minute Insights on timely topics are available to Gartner Peer Insights members.
Sign up for access to over 100 more, and new insights each week.
Tech-Savvy
Business Leaders
Most tech decision makers believe business leaders should be tech-savvy, and if
they are, they are more likely to succeed
Training is seen as a good way to improve tech-savviness in business leaders
In companies where digitalization is part of success, business leaders
must understand the technology
Decision makers believe it is important that business leaders align business
and digital initiatives
One Minute Insights:
Data collection: October 26, 2021 - February 26, 2022
Respondents: 341 IT, engineering and information security professionals
Tech-savviness is seen as a must-have in
business leadership
of respondents believe that
business leaders do need to be
tech-savvy.
96%
In your opinion, do business leaders need to be
capable of understanding and adapting to new
technology (i.e., to be tech-savvy)?
n = 341
96%
Yes
“Not only tech-savviness matters,
but also understanding business as
a system supported by technology.”
-Director, finance industry,
200-500 employees
“Tech-savvy leaders
are soon to be a core
requirement.”
-Director, education industry,
1,000-5,000 employees
And almost all (99%) agree that an
organization with tech-savvy business
leaders is more likely to succeed.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the
following: “An organization with tech-savvy
business leaders is more likely to succeed.”
Strongly agree
40%
Agree
59%
Disagree
1%
n = 341
Strongly disagree 0%
While many characteristics are associated with tech-savvy business leaders, most
respondents say these leaders are able to communicate (58%), keep up with current
trends (53%), and know the right questions to ask (49%).
Which 3 of the following
characteristics do you most associate
with a tech-savvy business leader?
Keeps up with
current trends
53%
Knows the
right questions
to ask
49%
Ability to
communicate
58%
Ability to embrace change 44%,
Technology knowledge 43%,
Business knowledge 33%,
Strong leadership skills 33%,
Engages employees 16%,
Decisive 15%, Other 0%
n = 341
“Tech-savvy leaders often develop innovative solutions.”
-Director, finance industry, 5,000-10,000 employees
“Especially in [the] IT sector — [tech-savviness is] a requirement,
regardless of other qualities — the leader SHOULD know the
subject, the trends and be able to predict the directions.”
-VP, software industry, 50-200 employees
Some find their business leaders lack tech-savviness,
but training could help
One-quarter (25%) of
respondents would not
describe their
organization’s business
leaders as tech-savvy.
Would you describe your
organization’s business
leaders as tech-savvy?
66%
Yes
25%
No
9%
Not sure
n = 341
Most (72%) largely attribute the lack of tech-savviness in their business leaders to a
mindset where technology and business are separate. More than half (58%) say a focus
on non-technology business issues is a major factor.
n = 341
What do you perceive as the main
factors preventing your business
leaders from being tech-savvy?
72%
58%
45%
34%
22%
7%
0%
A mindset where
technology and
business are separate
Too focused on
non-technology
business issues
Resistance to digital
transformation
Lack of structure to
deliver training
Other
None of these
Lack of institutional
knowledge about
technology
“More senior technologists need to be open to moving into
business roles to expedite the process of shifting business leaders
to be tech-savvy.”
- Director, finance industry, 10,000+ employees
A majority (57%) of
respondents have or plan
to implement a training
program to assist their
business leaders in
becoming more tech-savvy.
About a third (34%) do not.
Does your organization have
or plan to implement a
training program to assist
your business leaders in
becoming more tech-savvy?
Yes, within
12 months
8%
No
34%
Yes, within
6 months
10%
Yes, within 1-2 years
2%
Yes, within 3-5 years
1%
Not sure
8%
Yes, we currently
offer this
28%
n = 86
For organizations where digitalization is tied to success,
business leaders must understand the technology
61%
How central is digital strategy/
transformation (digitalization) to
your organization’s success?
of respondents believe
digitalization can help their
organization grow, while
35% say digitalization is key
to their success.
35%
It is the key to
our success
61%
It can help us
to grow
2%
It will have no
effect on our
success
n = 341
Not sure 1%
How important is it to your digitalization that your
business leaders have an understanding of the
technology your organization uses or plans to use?
Not at all important
1%
Not particularly
important
2%
Moderately important
22%
Critical
19%
Important
57%
n = 328
Not sure 0%
Alignment of business and digital initiatives is
important and most feel their digital and business goals
are at least somewhat aligned
80%
of respondents say it is important or critical to have digital leadership
that aligns digital initiatives with business initiatives. None believe this is
not at all important.
How important is it to have business leadership that
aligns digital initiatives to business initiatives?
25%
Critical
55%
Important
1%
Not particularly
important
1%
Not sure
18%
Moderately
important
n = 341 Not at all important 0%
Digital and business goals are at least somewhat
aligned at organizations for 83% of respondents.
How aligned are your organization’s digital and
business goals, currently?
1% Not sure
2% Completely misaligned
15% Somewhat misaligned
16%
Fully
aligned
67%
Somewhat aligned
n = 341
“Tech-savvy business leaders usually [have] the tendency to embrace
change on other levels of the business and to have a unified vision of
aligning digital and tech systems with the organization’s goals.”
- Director, software industry, 51-200 employees
“As well as the benefits to the business that [tech-savyy] leaders
bring, they also help keep the technology staff feeling empowered,
engaged, and supported. [Their] alignment with the initiatives of the
technology organisation help to retain technology staff, and enables
the business to support technology initiatives that it needs with
greater agility.”
- C-suite, finance industry, 10,000+ employees
“Tech-Savvy business leaders seem to be more self-sufficient and
take less hand holding on trying to embrace new solutions whether
technology or process. The more leaders are technology-aligned the
easier it is to conduct business.”
- Director, software industry, 5,000-10,000 employees
Respondent Breakdown
Region
Company Size
Title
North America 74%
APAC 9%
EMEA 17%
This content, which provides opinions and points of view expressed by users, does not represent the views of Gartner; Gartner
neither endorses it nor makes any warranties about its accuracy or completeness.
VP
C-Suite
<1,001
employees
10,001+
employees
Director
Manager
1,001-5,000
employees
5,001-10,000
employees
17%
36%
23% 23%
© 2022 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Source: Gartner Peer Insights, Tech-Savvy Business Leaders survey
25%
22%
32%
22%
Yes,
unknown
timeline
8%
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