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Top business leaders are prioritising technology in a bid to boost business this year. Reuters

Chief executives at some of the world's largest companies are prioritising technology related growth this year, according to a survey.

The Gartner CEO and Senior Executive Survey, which polled 410 business leaders, revealed that 33% of respondents named growth in 2014 as their top priority, and CEOs and executives will be taking a stronger approach towards technology related business growth.

"The next step will be for CEOs and CIOs to work together to match the use of modern technologies to the specific kind of growth that the business is trying to win," said Mark Raskino, Gartnet vice president.

IT related issues, which included mentions of digital, were much higher on the agenda this year as 7% of CEOs ranked IT as one of their top priorities. "This supports a broader observation that CEOs are taking a higher personal interest in applying technology more aggressively in their firms," Raskino continued.

Almost half of those surveyed mentioned digital, online or modern technologies as the key to development, with social media, cloud and mobile all regarded as particularly important to obtaining growth.

Tom Brennan, vice president of marketing for FinancialForce.com, has his reservations about the amount of interest IT related growth is receiving.

"While it is fantastic to see CEOs are taking a higher personal interest in applying technologies on social, cloud and mobile for their organisations, it is also critical that this renewed attention is focused on the right areas," says Brennan

"The results highlight that CEOs minds are firmly set on applying technology which will boost the front of office. Increasing sales for any company should be a priority, but CEOs should also be wary of the consequences of spending too little attention on its back office.

"This provides the backbone of any organisation, as if this isn't in order, problems will occur leaving customers disappointed, regardless of how good an organisation's sales or marketing team is. This is particularly important with the emergence of a digital world and customer-based economy, when competitors are just a click away."