According to a 2024 Gartner survey, CIOs across the world struggle with expected budget increases. It appears that the planned financial resources slightly exceed the projected inflation and fall significantly below the anticipated growth in revenue. This statement is made in the context of the rapid emergence of AI during the past year, shaping the tech environments where CIOs operate, regardless of the sectors of their organizations.
The AI disruption prepared the ground for the reevaluation of IT leaders’ key priorities for 2024 as a strategy to adjust to rapidly evolving technologies and business ecosystem. In 2024, CIOs have at the top of their list, priorities such as scaling AI business models, data control, talent development plans, digital delivery franchises, among others. Read further for a closer look at them.
1. Strong data management strategies
A solid data foundation is essential for driving effective technological change. Implementing generative AI, analytics, cloud migration, and other cutting-edge technologies can be time-consuming, and requires robust data management strategies.
According to a PWC report, CIOs should focus on data modernization in 2024 from an extensive perspective, going beyond technology. This approach provides a secure method to break down barriers within their organizations, offering the entire business a clear, company-wide understanding of data. Additionally, prioritizing data-driven projects can directly enhance customer experience and hold the potential for significant business impact.
2. Increased focus on cloud engineering
In January 2023, 78% of CIOs and other executives stated that they have adopted cloud in most or all part of their business, but more than half did not achieve the expected results. However, a strong focus on cloud engineering is crucial. The same PWC report emphasizes that companies leveraging cloud-native software development for tasks like data migration, infrastructure and application updates, and encouraging faster idea realization are more prone to generating a significant ROI.
3. Scaled Generative AI for more business innovation and efficiency
CIOs are commonly associated with digital change, and a transformative approach to generative AI is a priority not to be ignored in 2024. By considering strategies to scale AI effectively, safely, and responsibly in their organizations, CIOs can support workforce transformation, and encourage employees to reshape their roles and develop new skills. Additionally, with the growing attention to corporate green policies, the adoption of generative AI across businesses is going to sustainably impact the efforts of reducing carbon usage.
4. Evolving digital delivery franchise
Gartner research found that CIOs achieve optimal results in delivering business outcomes from digital initiatives when they collaborate with their C-suite peers, sharing responsibility through a franchise model for digital delivery.
The franchise approach suggested by the research and consulting platform focuses on CIOs closely working with executives from their organizations to address talent and budget limitations, handle compliance, mitigate risks, and enable business teams to provide secure and robust digital capabilities.
As suggested by Gartner, the 2024 CIO agenda should focus on three main pillars:
- Co-Lead by encouraging, educating, and equipping leaders to share business ownership for digital initiatives within their corporate domains.
- Co-Deliver by developing a sense of shared responsibility and creating fusion teams of IT and business team members.
- Co-Govern by scaling governance through the creation of Communities of practice (or CoPs). CoPs should be launched by bringing together IT and business technologists from the organization and setting clear and secure development best practices.
5. Durable talent development plan
CIOs are emerging tech advocates, but to successfully integrate their innovation strategies within the company’s business strategies, they should also invest in educating internal talents at all levels along 2024. Nurturing a culture of learning and self-development, where skill-building is considered an asset, is going to help businesses outperform in the current fast-paced technology ecosystem.
2024 is going to be a challenging year for organizations as executives must learn to leverage emerging technologies with business best practices. For CIOs, this is the year of building strategies where IT operations adapt to disruptive tech and achieve ROIs.
Have you already set your agenda for 2024? What is at the top of your priorities list?