<p>The Chief information officer (CIO) position has been seen as very important to every organization; this includes organizations that have either outsourced   or Insourced their IT function. Various studies have shown that this role emerged as a critical executive position in most organization which helps to shape organizations strategy. CIO has a major responsibility of aligning IT with business strategy that leads to an organization achieving a higher competitive advantage. This  work describeD the various roles of the CIO in organizations with a special focus on IT-business strategy alignment.</p><p>Based on our investigations from previous research, case studies and current interviews with CIOs, we were able to see that the CIO roles are shifting from operational to more strategic one. The CIO is seen to be the bridge between IT strategy and business strategy. As a result of this, they have close collaboration with the CEOs in order to be successful in aligning IT strategy to the business objectives. In view of this, the CIO plays the role of both the chief architect who designs future possibilities for business and the technology provocateur (Intelligent officer) that aligns IT with business.</p>

The Chief information officer (CIO) position has been seen as very important to every organization; this includes organizations that have either outsourced   or Insourced their IT function. Various studies have shown that this role emerged as a critical executive position in most organization which helps to shape organizations strategy. CIO has a major responsibility of aligning IT with business strategy that leads to an organization achieving a higher competitive advantage. This  work describeD the various roles of the CIO in organizations with a special focus on IT-business strategy alignment. Based on our investigations from previous research, case studies and current interviews with CIOs, we were able to see that the CIO roles are shifting from operational to more strategic one. The CIO is seen to be the bridge between IT strategy and business strategy. As a result of this, they have close collaboration with the CEOs in order to be successful in aligning IT strategy to the business objectives. In view of this, the CIO plays the role of both the chief architect who designs future possibilities for business and the technology provocateur (Intelligent officer) that aligns IT with business.

Top executives are interested in more transparent and formalized structures, applicable measurements, and clear justification of alignment. Limited or improper information technology governance (ITG) affects the business strategy that will ultimately influence the overall business alignment in local city government agencies (LCGAs). The problem addressed in this study was the lack of information regarding LCGAs IT/business strategic alignment maturity model (SAMM) level and the LCGAs' employment size. The purpose of this survey study was to evaluate 48 LCGA participants in the Southwestern part of the United States and compare their alignment perceptions with their cities' employment size. The theoretical framework for this study was based on ITG and business strategy as measured by the SAMM instrument. An online survey was used for data collection and data results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and an Analysis of Variance. After using the SAMM instrument, the current snapshot maturity level of LCGAs was 2.49 out of a maximum 5.0 level. Results illustrated no significant relationship between LCGAs alignment maturity levels and a city's size. This study empowers positive social change by providing LCGAs 6 incremental steps to improve the overall alignment maturity level in areas of transparent and formalized structures, applicable measurements, and improved alignment measures.