It wasn’t long ago that CIOs were viewed as technology leaders first, business leaders second — if they got involved in business decisions at all, other than deciding what technology to use to hit preset business targets. Today, as technological advancements move as swiftly as ever and there is no real separation between business and technology, the role of the CIO has changed dramatically.
Today’s CIOs operate more as equal peers in the C-suite than IT support, with more CIOs reporting directly to their CEO than ever. According to a recent Deloitte survey, 53% of CIOs report directly to their CEOs, yet when an enterprise does not prioritize digital, only 25% of CIOs report to the CEO. The result? CIO’s focus has shifted from technology cost optimization to a focus on revenue generation through the development of agile technology-enabled business models.
Daniel Clydesdale-Cotter, CIO at technology services provider EchoStor, stresses how CIOs must continue to be much more business-focused than technology-focused in the years ahead. “CIOs today must be “extremely well linked to the business and what the business is trying to achieve” to be successful in their roles,” says Clydesdale-Cotter.
Moving forward, traditional technology-driven CIOs will likely continue to lose leadership influence and C-suite presence as more strategic, business-focused CxOs move in. “There is a growing divergence. And the CIO that plays more of a modern CTO role will not have a set at the table,” Clydesdale-Cotter said.
This increased business focus demands CIOs not only have a broad and deep technical understanding of how new technologies impact the nature of their company’s relationship with the broader market and impact on how the business operates, but also command fluency in the vertical markets of their business and not only accountability for the ROI on digital initiatives but the broader success of the business as well. There’s probably no technology having a more significant impact today than AI adoption.
The CIO as AI Whisperer: Beyond Experimentation
CIO strategic advisor at AVOA says AI deployments are pushing CIOs to become even more aligned with the business. “CIOs need to understand how AI can drive business outcomes like revenue expansion, cost reduction, and market differentiation,” Crawford says.
The maturation of generative AI is moving CIOs from managing pilot deployments to enterprise-scale initiatives. Starting this year, analysts expect about half of CIOs to increasingly prioritize the cultivation of fostering data-centric cultures, ensuring clean, accessible datasets to train their AI models. However, challenges persist: a 2024 Deloitte survey found that 59% of employees resist AI adoption due to job security fears, requiring CIOs to lead change management programs that emphasize upskilling.
As these AI programs grow, CIOs must shift their successful AI pilots to operationalized systems and embed AI into their core enterprise workflows, such as supply chain optimization, customer service automation, and predictive analytics. According to the research firm Gartner, such AI-driven process improvements will account for 30% of enterprise efficiency gains in the next year. “CIOs are expected to make strategic decisions about where and how to apply AI within the organization, focusing on areas like customer experience and business process optimization,” says Jonathan LaCour, CTO at technology services provider Mission.
CIOs are also expected to invest heavily in unifying their data systems while ensuring data governance and compliance. CIOs will likely partner even more with the AWS, Google Compute Platform, and Microsoft Azure hyperscalers as organizations seek pre-existing and trained AI models that could reduce development costs and alleviate some of the AI/ML talent crunch.
Low-code development platforms with AI development tools further blur the lines between traditional IT and business boundaries. Whether it’s HR teams or marketing teams, business units throughout organizations are deploying applications and AI-driven campaigns without IT oversight, which creates another change management challenge for CIOs and the creation of balanced governance that enables low-code innovation while maintaining security and compliance targets. This demands CIOs to collaborate even more closely with business units across their organizations.
Simultaneously, CIOs face pressure to demonstrate ROI, leading to a pivot from “innovation for its own sake” to measurable outcomes. IDC predicts that 45% of enterprises will tie AI funding directly to revenue targets—such as using generative AI for personalized marketing.
However, these moves come with plenty of risks. According to a KMPG survey, 41% of CIOs believe algorithmic bias is a big concern and will prove to be a catalyst for increased investment in AI frameworks and AI monitoring capabilities.
Talent and Organizational Agility
The CIOs and other experts we interviewed suggest that successful CIOs will be those who create learning organizations capable of constant adaptation to new technologies and market demands. “This involves nurturing a culture of continuous learning and innovation within their teams. And there’s a strong need and emphasis on CIOs needing to work closely with other C-suite executives to align their talent strategies with overall business goals, ensuring that the organization has the right mix of skills to drive their digital transformation initiatives forward,” said Clydesdale-Cotter.
The AI skills gap will intensify. According to a Wakefield Research survey of 1,000 HR leaders, 73% of those surveyed in the US struggle to recruit AI/ML talent. CIOs will respond by reskilling IT teams in prompt engineering and AI ethics while leveraging gig economy platforms for niche expertise. “CIOs need to focus on attracting and retaining AI talent, as well as upskilling existing IT staff to work with AI technologies,” says Patrick Dey, vice president of data and innovation and office of enterprise transformation at Rockwell Automation. “And CIOs themselves need to evolve their skill sets to include understanding of AI technologies, data science, and machine learning to lead AI initiatives effectively,” Dey says.
“Facing the challenge of reskilling their workforce, there’s also a growing need for data engineers and professionals who can effectively manage and leverage data for AI initiatives,” says Krishna Prasad, chief information officer and chief strategy officer at technology services provider UST.
Over the past couple of decades, the CIO’s role has evolved from back-office facilitator to enterprise futurist – and it continues growing as more technological disruptions head their way, such as quantum computing and neuromorphic chips.
Successfully moving forward will require focusing on responsible AI deployment, data privacy, and environmental sustainability while building business-technology infrastructures resilient to technological stagnation and regulatory fragmentation. “Smart CIOs are stepping into those roles. They realize it’s not just about running the business efficiently but preparing it for the change needed to see the organization through its current and future transformations,” Prasad says.
