organizations are also more likely to say that CIOs should be experts in providing technology support. In light of this, technology advisors are encouraged to spend time getting to know each CIO’s individual perspective, leadership style and core objectives – as well as their place in the organization. This is key for building rapport and influencing strategy. IT Priorities for 2025 In many organizations, IT is shifting from a cost center to a profit center, with CEOs depending on CIOs to find new ways of leveraging technology and gaining competitive advantage. According to a Fortune/Deloitte survey, roughly half of CEOs say they will continue to prioritize investments in AI and generative AI as they shift away from the hype cycle and into practical and transformative applications. At the same time, most CEOs are prioritizing business growth (88 percent) and core business transformation (52 percent). Foundry reported that CIOs are spending more time on security management, improving IT operations and systems performance, and aligning IT initiatives, while spending less time on tasks like managing IT crises, negotiating with IT vendors, and cost control/ expense management. Meanwhile, a separate Gartner report listed cybersecurity, generative AI and business intelligence as the top priorities for CIOs in 2025, while legacy infrastructure and data center technologies came in last. Challenges for CIOs CIOs are facing enormous challenges in 2025, with IT departments taking on more risk and responsibility. Besides advancing AI and enabling data-driven decision-making, CIOs must also continue to ensure reliable, secure and compliant operating environments. Companies today face a complex and evolving threat landscape, along with a widespread talent shortage that spans AI, automation, cybersecurity and IT. What’s more, CIOs are under rising pressure to deliver value and ROI from technology, while also controlling costs and reducing budgetary waste. According to Foundry, 75 percent of CIOs are struggling to balance the demands for business innovation with operational excellence. And in a 2024 IBM study, more than half of tech leaders said they are having difficulty balancing growth and productivity, while admitting that juggling tasks is negatively impacting internal operations. One of the most pressing challenges for CIOs in 2025 involves delivering and scaling AI outcomes. As Gartner vice president of research Alicia Mullery recently noted on the CIO Mind podcast, CIOs need to balance and deliver outcomes across technology, business operations and organizational behaviors to be successful. Yet this can be exceedingly difficult. “You need technology outcomes otherwise things are going to get unsafe 26 CHANNELVISION | JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2025 What are the defining characteristics of a leading CIO? Source: Uptime Institute; 2022 Source: Deloitte A technical guru (46%) An expert in providing internal technology support (55%) Mitigates risk (50%) Achieves operational efficiency (41%) Manages bottom-line cost (43%) A leader in technology (59%) Executes business priorities (51%) A change agent (54%) Conventional CIOs Contemporary CIOs An expert in working directly with client (45%) Takes risk (50%) Enables transformation & innovation (59%) Delivers topline value (57%) A business leader (41%) Influences business strategy (49%) Source: Uptime Institute; 2022 CIO Priorities for 2025 Source: Gartner Source: Deloitte Percentage saying the IT organization is effective at providing basic technology services. Source: IBM Decreasing Increasing Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 In the future, for which technological aspects do you anticipate your organization will increasingly rely on partners? Cyber/Inforamtion security Generative AI Artificial intelligence Business intelligence and data analytics Cloud platforms Application modernization Integration technologies/APIs/API architecture Hyperautomation Low-code/no-code platforms Legacy infrastructure and data center technologies 32% 55% 58% 71% 74% 79% 82% 84% 87% 87% 2% 2% 2% 3% 4% 5% 3% 6% 7% 43% CEOs 2013 Today Today Today 2013 2013 CFOs Tech leaders 64% 36% 50% 47% 69% 60% 60% 54% 44% 44%
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