Only 13% of Hong Kong's CIOs think their companies are innovative

They're prioritising data infrastructure to boost innovation.

According to an independent survey from recruiter Robert Half, Hong Kong Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are increasingly embracing the innovation trend, with 96 per cent implementing measures to boost innovation in their company over the next 12 months.

When asked to rate how innovative they think their company is on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = not innovative; 5 = highly innovative), less than one fifth (13 per cent) of Hong Kong CIOs give themselves a score of 5 out of 5. The majority still believe there is room for improvement as the average score given by CIOs is 3.7 out of 5.

Adam Johnston, Managing Director Robert Half Hong Kong said: “As one of the world’s key commercial hubs, Hong Kong businesses are increasingly adopting innovative methods to drive their company agenda. Moreover, by pioneering innovation, Hong Kong companies are increasing their competitiveness within the global marketspace at a time when many regional competitors are offering lower cost structures.”

The overall majority of Hong Kong companies are taking measures to boost innovation with an approach that consists of a combination of both technology and people. Data infrastructure tops the list with more than half (53 per cent) of Hong Kong CIOs planning to build more data centres to leverage data more efficiently.

Almost half (49 per cent) will reshape network infrastructure to improve operational processes, followed by 41 per cent who plan to hire new IT talent with the unique skills needed to build a more innovative business.