really quickly, if you’re letting any AI into your company,” Mullery explained. “Your CFO is going to be upset if you’re not getting business outcomes or any value. And while it might feel a little longer term, if you’re not thinking about the behaviors, your people aren’t going to use it. And they may have negative consequences with AI.” Mullery gave an example of using AI in place of notes in meetings, commenting that “If no one is taking notes in meetings anymore because AI is recording it, does that mean we stop listening in meetings? Does that create a behavior we’re not even ready for?” These are the types of questions that CIOs need to be focusing on, as they look to transform business workflows and improve operations. However, there is a hierarchy of needs that must be met before a CIO can get to this stage. Many CIOs today are still dealing with foundational IT challenges that distract and prevent them from focusing on higher-level priorities. Feeling the Heat The pressure is on for CEOs in 2025, with executives looking to advance transformation and deliver big picture results from technology investments. But the reality is that many CIOs lack the means to do this, due to limited resources and conflicting priorities. As a result, turnover remains high among CIOs, who often experience burnout and difficulty executing IT strategy. On top of this, CIOs face growing competition from fractional part-time CIOs promising cost-effective IT guidance and leadership without the cost and commitment of a full-time executive. CEOs and shareholders are often impatient with CIOs who can’t drive meaningful change at the pace that they desire. This contributes to tension and personnel changes. What’s interesting is that in many organizations, CIOs – along with CTOs and CDOs – are still being excluded from critical conversations. This leads to organizational blind spots around data, infrastructure and innovation while making it harder for technology leaders to achieve their goals. “While 43 percent of CEOs say they intend to increase the pace of change for their organization this year, these blind spots are making it difficult for organizations to seize today’s opportunities in artificial intelligence in all its guises – traditional AI, gen AI, machine learning and automation,” explained IBM. Equally alarming, there appears to be a widespread lack of faith among business and technology leaders – including CIOs – about the overall effectiveness of their IT, with IBM reporting that “the percentage of C-suite leaders who claim their IT function is effective in delivering even basic services has plummeted over the last decade.” Amid shifting responsibilities, “CIOs question the effectiveness of the IT function,” said IBM. “A remarkable 63 percent admit their tech organizations are not very effective at leveraging workflows and automation to drive business strategy. But therein lies the opportunity. Winners are transforming in-house functions with the help of an augmented workforce where employes and AI combine to work smarter and faster.” Advisors to the Rescue CIOs are increasingly relying on technology advisors to navigate the complex technology landscape and make informed decisions. There is a growing opportunity for advisors to plug skills gaps with managed services and identify initiatives that can lead to quick wins and favorable outcomes. Advisors can also help CIOs plan for challenging scenarios and avoid pitfalls that contribute to costly mistakes, project delays and wasted resources. This can prove to be especially important for contemporary CIOs who may lack deep technical knowledge or are more concerned with business transformation. For example, executives may understand that they need to deploy AI, but they may not thoroughly understand different types of technologies and appropriate use cases. The CIO is ultimately just one person in the organization – albeit a powerful one, that can provide direct connections to other C-level executives, security teams, IT leaders and business units. By studying CIOs and understanding their challenges and motives, advisors have a chance to get in deep with organizations and set the table for strategic, long-term growth. o 28 CHANNELVISION | JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2025 Source: Gartner Percentage saying the IT organization is effective at providing basic technology services. Source: IBM Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 In the future, for which technological aspects do you anticipate your organization will increasingly rely on partners? Source: KPMG CEOs 2013 Today Today Today 2013 2013 CFOs Tech leaders 64% 36% 50% 47% 69% 60% Gen AI Cloud technologies Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions AI/ML Advanced security measures and data privacy practices IT infrastructure support Developing and leveraging LLMs Augmented reality/Virtual reality 60% 54% 44% 44% 29% 28% 26% 14% Which partner attributes do you anticipate will become more important for your ecosystem in the next 1-3 years? 59% 56% 52% 43% 41% 34%
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