IT executives’ top objectives are AI, digital transformation, and cybersecurity, according to the tenth annual CIO Report from global IT services company Logicalis US. The majority of firms (85%) are investing in AI technologies with revolutionary potential in 2024, despite economic uncertainties, according to the report, which polled over 1,000 CIOs worldwide.
While 87% of respondents have already created AI workstreams and a similar proportion are investing in AI capabilities despite the technology being in its very early stages, the survey indicated that most CIOs feel internal pressure to immediately grab new tech possibilities. Additionally, 86% of CIOs have started formal AI policies inside their organizations.
CIOs must constantly reevaluate and adjust objectives due to a variety of disruptive and difficult factors, in addition to AI. Implementing digital transformation is difficult for almost all CIOs (95%) and many of them cite a lack of digital vision and expertise as their main obstacle.
In 2024, strong technologies like quantum computing will drive rapidly changing cyber threats, which will be a major worry for CIOs, according to Logicalis’ study. Despite advancements in cybersecurity, 83% of companies experienced a cyberattack in 2023, which caused serious harm to their operations, including unplanned downtime, lost sales and consumer information, and penalties from the government. Consequently, just 43% of CIOs feel adequately prepared for another breach, indicating that confidence is still low.
“In 2024, we’re seeing a culmination of disruptive forces for the CIO, ranging from AI to advancing security threats,” said Logicalis US CEO, Jon Groves. “CIOs are facing the challenge of how to drive innovation and growth, while protecting their organizations from the evolving digital threat landscape. To be successful, future tech leaders need to have a diverse set of skills, from visionary thinking to strategic execution, becoming the master of the balancing act and choosing carefully where to focus.”
AI, IT Security, Connectivity, Digital Transformation
CIOs acknowledged the value of connectivity infrastructure in fostering innovative expansion as well. The Internet of Things (IoT) and Private 5G were the two main investment areas that respondents pointed out. 93% of respondents said they were investing in or planned to invest in Private 5G for a variety of purposes, such as enhancing the experiences of customers and employees, connecting remote areas, and opening up new revenue streams.
Key findings on AI include the following:
- CIOs’ top priority this year will be integrating AI technology
- 86% of respondents are investing in AI expertise, and the same percentage have started official AI policies
- 86% think that deploying AI will result in cost savings for the whole company
- Of those surveyed, 85% had funds set up expressly for the research and use of AI
- Of CIOs, 72% are concerned about the difficulties in regulating AI
Key findings on cybersecurity include the following:
- 41% of respondents think malware and ransomware will be a major risk to their company over the next 12 months; a much smaller percentage feels the same way about data breaches (36%) and phishing (35%)
- Almost equally frequent among the 83% of respondents who reported having been the victim of a cyberattack in 2023 were fraud, hacktivism/online/social media defacement, ransomware/extortion, data exfiltration, hacktivism, and cyberjacking
- Nearly all of the victims of attacks encountered a similar array of repercussions, including unplanned downtime, reputational harm, income loss, customer and staff data loss, and penalties from the authorities
- Only 43% of CIOs believe their company is well equipped to deal with another significant cybersecurity incident
Key findings on connectivity include the following:
- 75% of CIOs believe that infrastructure related to connectivity prevents them from executing IoT projects
- 93% of CIOs stated that they have invested in or plan to invest in private 5G for a variety of purposes, such as enhancing the experiences of clients and staff (55%), facilitating real-time asset oversight and inventory (50%) and connecting remote areas (48%), opening up new revenue streams (43%), enabling predictive maintenance (40%), and robotics (28%).
- Currently, 98% of CIOs are running Internet of Things projects including asset tracking, remote monitoring, and workplace safety.
Key findings on digital transformation include the following:
- According to 85% of CIOs, more money will be spent on digital transformation in 2024
- The majority of respondents expect expenditure to rise in the following areas: Cloud operating costs, digital transformation, customer experience, supply chain resilience, risk management, environmental, social, and governance, talent management, business automation and efficiencies, and outsourced IT management
- The availability of skills, a vague digital vision, and security concerns rank as the top three obstacles that almost all (95%) confront in the process of digital transformation
