Dive Brief:
- The responsibilities of CIOs continue to shift, with tech leaders listing the alignment of IT strategy to business objectives as the role’s most important job, overtaking 2025’s priority of managing cybersecurity, the CIO 2026 Outlook report from Experis found. The tech services firm surveyed 1,900 CIOs and other tech leaders on how they’re navigating technological change and the future of work.
- Amid the ongoing role changes, AI investments are coming into focus for IT chiefs, with more than half reporting positive ROI and adequate investment levels in their organizations. However, nearly one-third believe their companies are overinvesting in the technology.
- In this transition period, the leaders that treat technology as a business leadership function with complementary investments will succeed, said Kye Mitchell, president of Experis U.S., in a statement. "CIOs are being asked to lead AI transformation, drive growth, improve productivity, and manage risk all while facing significant talent shortages,” she said.
Dive Insight:
Enterprise tech leaders are balancing shifting responsibilities and talent acquisition challenges while trying to prove financial viability for their tech projects.
The report found tech leaders feel pressure to make timely decisions, manage cybersecurity risks and stay competitive with new technologies. Nearly half of respondents said the top barrier for CIOs is to keep up with the pace of change. An April survey from Writer found 61% of tech leaders fear for their jobs if they fail to navigate tech transformations well.
As marrying tech projects with business outcomes becomes more important to the C-suite, 61% of CIOs said they feel their peers do not fully understand the CIO role, up from 49% last year.
"Many CIOs are finding themselves in a balancing act right now,” Mitchell told CIO Dive in an emailed statement. “On one hand, there is tremendous pressure to invest in AI and keep pace with innovation. On the other, boards and executive teams are increasingly asking where the business value is coming from.”
Despite plans for adoption, many organizations are not adequately addressing the talent needs within their teams, the report found. Fewer are conducting programs for rising talent than last year, and IT leaders are looking to external candidates to fill open roles rather than promoting from within, Experis found.
In an era where tech leaders will need to prove their AI and IT spending is worth it, CIOs should avoid deploying AI for AI's sake, Mitchell told CIO Dive. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and competition, but it’s a waste without training people and defining the business problem at hand, she said.
“AI has enormous potential, but the organizations realizing the greatest ROI are the ones aligning technology investments with clear business priorities and helping their people adopt new ways of working,” Mitchell said.
