It is all well and good — and true — to say that the role and mandate of the CIO are expanding. Smart commentators here and elsewhere have described why and how that is happening. But too many organizations are stretching their Chief Information Officers (CIO) too thin. CIOs are being tasked with managing internal business systems, cloud-based services, big data innovation, data security, and the 24×7 needs of global customers who access company data on personal devices. Effective leadership and management across these areas is possible, but not without without providing CIOs with the proper support structures and instituting necessary organizational alignment.