CIO priorities into 2026
Drawing on the perspectives of CIOs from leading organisations, we are delighted to share our recent research, conducted in partnership with The CIO Circle.
This study highlights the key priorities and challenges that are shaping the technology landscape and leadership agenda as we head towards 2026.
Our findings are drawn from the survey responses and in-depth interviews with 155 CIOs from prominent organisations.
Collectively, these leaders support businesses employing over 950,000* people, with combined revenues exceeding $ 380 billion* and responsibility for IT budgets in excess of $ 6 billion* .
*USD all figures 2024
Scope of Respondent’s Role:
18% Global remit
28% National remit
54% Regional (i.e North America / EMEA)
The vast majority of our contributors represent UK or US headquartered (42% in the US and 46% in the UK with the remainder globally dispersed).
The organisations represented in this research span a broad cross-section of industries and business models. Just over half (54%) operate in B2B markets, with 25% in B2C and 22% serving both. Sector representation is wide-ranging, led by financial services and fintech (11%), retail and consumer (9%), business services (8%), health (8%), and manufacturing (8%), with additional contributions from education (4%) and the public sector (3%). This diversity ensures the findings reflect the perspectives of CIOs working across different market dynamics, regulatory environments, and customer demands.
North American priorities into 2026
For North American headquartered businesses, the priorities reflect a strong strategic emphasis on harnessing emerging technologies. More than half of CIOs identified exploring and implementing AI as their top focus, underscoring the drive to secure first-mover advantage. AI is seen not only as a lever for internal organisational transformation—optimising operations, productivity, and decision-making—but also as a means to enhance external offerings, shaping new products, services, and customer experiences.
Other priorities—data management (30%), security and compliance (24%), and digital migration (15%)—all reinforce the foundational capabilities required to successfully scale AI adoption. Legacy system challenges (12%) remain present but appear secondary to the broader innovation agenda.
In contrast to their North American peers, CIOs in EU and UK place a stronger emphasis on security and compliance (54%), reflecting both the region’s more complex legislative environment and a comparatively less mature data security landscape. upgrading legacy systems (23%) and continued digital migration (23%) also remain significant priorities, underlining the structural challenges many organisations continue to face.
AI adoption appears to be at an earlier stage, with just 18% of CIOs stating the exploration and implementation of this topic as their key focus. From our conversations, UK and EU-headquartered businesses are largely focused on investigating internal applications of AI—optimising processes, efficiency, and workforce productivity—rather than embedding the technology into external products and services at scale.
North America – Challenges
For North American CIOs, the drive to capture first-mover advantage in AI adoption is accompanied by a set of executional and structural challenges. While the ambition to lead is clear, organisations face uncertainty in delivery, rising costs, and constraints in both talent and organisational readiness.
Execution uncertainty in AI (21%)
CIOs highlight concern about how to move from experimentation to scalable, value-generating AI solutions. Questions around governance, integration, and measurable business impact remain unresolved, creating hesitation despite strong intent.
Cost pressures (20%)
Technology inflation and budgetary pressure are significant headwinds. The investments required for cloud, infrastructure, and AI tooling are rising, often outpacing expected returns in the short term, and placing CIOs in difficult trade-off decisions.
IT function capacity (16%)
Many organisations report stretched teams and limited bandwidth to absorb additional change. Competing transformation agendas mean AI projects must vie for resources against critical business-as-usual demands.
Organisational capability (10%)
Beyond capacity, there is a gap in the specialised skills needed to implement advanced data and AI solutions. Building in-house capability or accessing scarce external expertise continues to be a limiting factor.
Organisational readiness (9%)
Finally, broader business alignment lags behind technical ambition. Culture, processes, and leadership confidence are not always keeping pace with technology adoption, slowing the ability to embed AI into the organisation at scale.
EMEA – Challenges
CIOs in EMEA and the UK face a different set of pressures compared to their North American peers, with a stronger emphasis on financial discipline and structural constraints. The challenge is not only to invest effectively in technology but also to manage scarce resources and competing transformation priorities, all while preparing organisations for sustainable change.
Investment in technology (20%)
CIOs cite concerns about the scale of financial commitment required to modernise technology stacks. Balancing long-term infrastructure needs with near-term returns is a recurring theme, particularly in markets where economic conditions drive heightened scrutiny on spend.
Resource scarcity (16%)
A shortage of skilled talent and limited internal capacity continues to hold back progress. Competition for expertise in cloud, data, and AI is acute, while budget constraints often restrict access to external partners who could accelerate delivery.
Uncertainty / Competing priorities (18%)
Many organisations are navigating multiple, overlapping transformation agendas. With pressure to modernise systems, respond to compliance demands, and explore AI, CIOs report difficulty in sequencing and prioritising initiatives to achieve maximum impact.
Organisational readiness (9%)
As in North America, broader business alignment lags behind ambition. Legacy culture and ways of working can slow adoption, with CIOs highlighting the need for stronger leadership buy-in and clearer change management practices.
Competition (5%)
While still a factor, competitive pressure is less acute than in North America. For most EMEA businesses, the immediate challenge is internal execution, rather than being outpaced by rivals in technology adoption.
Our research highlights a CIO landscape characterised by both opportunity and constraint. Across regions, several themes consistently shape the priorities, challenges, and future trajectory of the role.
Regulatory environment and cultural differences are dictating the pace of innovation. In EMEA, stringent compliance requirements and more conservative adoption cultures create a cautious approach, while in North America, a comparatively lighter regulatory burden and greater risk appetite drive faster experimentation, particularly with AI.
Cost optimisation is seen as an essential precursor to innovation. CIOs and CFOs alike are under pressure to deliver efficiencies in BAU and technology operations before committing to further transformation spend.
The balance between “keeping the lights on” and freeing resources for innovation remains a defining tension.
AI presents both opportunity and uncertainty. While North American CIOs are moving quickly to scale adoption, execution risks and questions of return on investment remain unresolved. In EMEA, AI is still largely at an exploratory stage, with organisations prioritising internal applications over customer-facing deployment.
Organisational readiness for change continues to be a limiting factor. Even when budgets and technology ambition are in place, cultural alignment, leadership buy-in, and the ability to absorb transformation pace are frequently cited as barriers.
Talent acquisition and development remain critical. Capacity and capability constraints—particularly in areas such as cloud, data, and AI—are slowing delivery. CIOs emphasise the need to not only recruit but also upskill and retain existing teams to sustain transformation momentum.
The CIO role is evolving into that of a strategic influencer. Beyond technology execution, CIOs are shaping business strategy, educating executive peers, and aligning innovation with commercial outcomes. This shift reflects a broader redefinition of the CIO from operational technologist to enterprise-wide change leader.
The CIO agenda is being defined by a delicate balance—between risk and innovation, efficiency and growth, aspiration and readiness. Success will depend on the ability to navigate regulatory and cultural constraints, optimise costs, embrace AI with confidence, and lead organisations through transformative change.
Budget Pressures and Investment Shifts
Overall, respondents reported healthy increases in IT budgets to accommodate continued investment in transformation. However, this growth is accompanied by significant year-on-year increases in both in-costs and on-costs, creating tension in BAU funding. CIOs consistently highlighted the pressure of balancing keeping the lights on with investing in the future.
In North America, an interesting shift has emerged: the growing adoption of AI tools in customer service and service desk environments is reducing reliance on outsourced solutions. This signals not only a cost-optimisation opportunity but also a rebalancing of operating models. Across both North America and EMEA, cost optimisation remains a shared and pressing concern for CIOs and CFOs alike.
The Evolving Role of the CIO - From Technologist to Business Strategist
CIOs are clear that their role is undergoing a fundamental shift. No longer confined to the operational and technical, the position is expanding to encompass broader business influence and leadership.
Business–Technology Alignment – CIOs are increasingly expected to act as integrators, ensuring that technology decisions directly enable strategic business outcomes.
Expansion of Strategic Influence – The CIO’s voice is becoming more prominent at the executive table, shaping decisions that go far beyond IT.
Data and Security Emphasis – With rising regulatory demands and cybersecurity risks, CIOs are the guardians of trust, compliance, and resilience.
Technology Adoption and Agile Practices – CIOs are leading efforts to accelerate innovation cycles and embed agility across the enterprise.
Researcher and Educator – Many see their role as both explorers of emerging technologies and educators, helping boards and executive teams understand implications.
Shift Away from the “Traditional” CIO – The old perception of the CIO as purely a technical operator is being replaced by a more strategic, outward-looking leadership identity.
