New Delhi, Jun 1 (IANS): A whopping 98 per cent per cent of Indian CIOs had to take extra responsibilities as a result of Covid-19 pandemic, compared to their counterparts in the US (92 per cent), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (83 per cent) and Asia-Pacific (94 per cent), according to new survey by Adobe.

The survey was conducted by Adobe in association with Advanis between February 18 and March 4, 2021 and captures insights from CIOs from India, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Australia and Singapore-based firms from various industries and with at least 100 employees.

About 98 per cent Indian CIOs shared that their organisational structures have been reimagined to meet the changing needs brought on by a transition to a digital-first economy.

"In just a year, we went from a world with digital capabilities to a digital-first economy, which placed immense pressure on many leaders, including CIOs -- many of whom were tasked with taking on a range of new responsibilities," Adobe India Managing Director, Digital Experience, Nitin Singhal, said in a statement.

"Besides the pressure to accelerate their organisation's digital transformation at record pace, they had to embrace their expanded role and influence as an opportunity to drive progressive digital-first programs and further collaborate with other business leaders to succeed in today's new digital-first reality," Singhal added.

Among the many priorities CIOs must now manage, customer experience is ranked the highest by Indian CIOs (92 per cent) compared to the US (38 per cent), EMEA (67 per cent) and APAC (74 per cent).

As a result of the new "work from anywhere" concept, 80 per cent of Indian CIOs foresee their organisation focusing more on productivity than time measures compared to the US (36 per cent), EMEA (41 per cent), and APAC (57 per cent).A

In addition, 71 per cent Indian CIOs are also willing to hire from anywhere in the country and world (compared to 29 per cent for the US, 37 per cent for EMEA, 44 per cent for APAC) and 63 per cent are ready to implement a shorter workweek for their employees as compared to the US with 7 per cent, EMEA with 27 per cent, and APAC with 41 per cent.