IBM recently interviewed over 2,500 CIO’s to learn how their roles are evolving, and what they view as important. It’s an interesting report and an easy read.

So here’s one of the stunning results: 83% of those surveyed stated that business intelligence was their top priority.

83%! Seriously…have 83% of people ever agreed on anything? This is either a great sign or a sign of Groupthink Gone Wild ™.

I’ll side with the former and say that these C-level folks do have a clue about what is important.

Second on their list was virtualization at 76%. Virtualization came in second? Is anyone else surprised by this? Virtualization is primairily about cutting costs. Business Intelligence is about decision making. This is a big deal for CIO’s. Now, CIO’s are thinking strategically instead of thinking just in very simple terms of how to cut costs. (which was one of the major points made by IBM in the report)

Now the reality is that business intelligence, when properly utilized, will lead the CIO’s, and their minions, to make better decisions. And that will likely save them more $$$ than any virtualization exercise.

Nonetheless, it’s a little stunning to see the C-level thinking a little more on the abstract level…especially given the economic circumstances.

My day has been made.