CIOs today face increasing pressures, disruptive emerging technologies, talent shortages, and a slew of other challenges. What are their top concerns, priorities, and technology bets that will define the future direction of IT?
CIO responses to our Future of IT 2024 survey reveal key insights on spending projects, the potential disruptions causing the most concern, plans for adopting emerging technology, and how firms are responding to generative AI.
See how CIOs are sizing up the opportunities and threats of the year ahead
Map your organization’s response to the external environment compared to CIOs across geographies and industries. Learn:
- The CIO view on continuing concerns such as cybersecurity.
- Where they rate their IT department’s maturity.
- What their biggest concerns and budget increases are.
- How they’re approaching third-party generative AI tools.
Annual CIO Survey Report 2024 Research & Tools
Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:
1. Future of IT Survey 2024 – A summary of key insights from the CIO responses to our Future of IT 2024 survey.
Take the pulse of the IT industry and see how CIOs are planning to approach 2024.
- Annual CIO Survey Report for 2024
Further reading
Annual CIO Survey Report 2024
An inaugural look at what's on the minds of CIOs.
1. Firmographics
- Region
- Title
- Organization Size
- IT Budget Size
- Industry
Firmographics
The majority of CIO responses came from North America. Contributors represent regions from around the world.
| Countries / Regions | Response % |
| United States | 47.18% |
| Canada | 11.86% |
| Australia | 9.60% |
| Africa | 6.50% |
| China | 0.28% |
| Germany | 1.13% |
| United Kingdom | 5.37% |
| India | 1.41% |
| Brazil | 1.98% |
| Mexico | 0.56% |
| Middle East | 4.80% |
| Asia | 0.28% |
| Other country in Europe | 4.52% |
n=354
Firmographics
A typical CIO respondent held a C-level position at a small to mid-sized organization.
Half of CIOs hold a C-level position, 10% are VP-level, and 20% are director level
38% of respondents are from an organization with above 1,000 employees
Firmographics
A typical CIO respondent held a C-level position at a small to mid-sized organization.
40% of CIOs report an annual budget of more than $10 million
A range of industries are represented, with 29% of respondents in the public sector or financial services
2. Key Factors
- IT Maturity
- Disruptive Factors
- IT Spending Plans
- Talent Shortage
Two in three respondents say IT can deliver outcomes that Support or Optimize the business
Most CIOs are concerned with cybersecurity disruptions, and one in four expect a budget increase of above 10%
How likely is it that the following factors will disrupt your business in the next 12 months?
Looking ahead to 2024, how will your organization's IT spending change compared to spending in 2023?
3. Adoption of Emerging Technology
- Fastest growing tech for 2024 and beyond
CIOs plan the most new spend on AI in 2024 and on mixed reality after 2024
Top five technologies for new spending planned in 2024:
- Artificial intelligence - 35%
- Robotic process automation or intelligent process automation - 24%
- No-code/low-code platforms - 21%
- Data management solutions - 14%
- Internet of Things (IoT) - 13%
Top five technologies for new spending planned after 2024:
- Mixed reality - 20%
- Blockchain - 19%
- Internet of Things (IoT) - 17%
- Robotics/drones - 16%
- Robotic process automation or intelligent process automation - 14%
n=301
Info-Tech Insight
Three in four CIOs say they have no plans to invest in quantum computing, more than any other technology with no spending plans.
4. Adoption of AI
- Interest in generative AI applications
- Tasks to be completed with AI
- Progress in deploying AI
CIOs are most interested in industry-specific generative AI applications or text-based
Rate your business interest in adopting the following generative AI applications:
There is interest across all types of generative AI applications. CIOs are least interested in visual media generators, rating it just 2.4 out of 5 on average.
n=251
Info-Tech Insight
Examples of generative AI solutions specific to the legal industry include Litigate, CoCounsel, and Harvey.
By the end of 2024, CIOs most often plan to use AI for analytics and repetitive tasks
Most popular use cases for AI by end of 2024:
- Business analytics or intelligence - 69%
- Automate repetitive, low-level tasks - 68%
- Identify risks and improve security - 66%
- IT operations - 62%
- Conversational AI or virtual assistants - 57%
Fastest growing uses cases for AI in 2024:
- Automate repetitive, low-level tasks - 39%
- IT operations - 38%
- Conversational AI or virtual assistants - 36%
- Business analytics or intelligence - 35%
- Identify risks and improve security - 32%
n=218
Info-Tech Insight
The least popular use case for AI is to help define business strategy, with 45% saying they have no plans for it.
One in three CIOs are running AI pilots or are more advanced with deployment
How far have you progressed in the use of AI?
Info-Tech Insight
Almost half of CIOs say ChatGPT has been a catalyst for their business to adopt new AI initiatives.
5. AI Risk
- Perceived impact of AI
- Approach to third-party AI tools
- AI features in business applications
- AI governance and accountability
Six in ten CIOs say AI will have a positive impact on their organization
What overall impact do you expect AI to have on your organization?
The majority of CIOs are waiting for professional-grade generative AI tools
Which of the following best describes your organization's approach to third-party generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT or Midjourney)?
Info-Tech Insight
Business concerns over intellectual property and sensitive data exposure led OpenAI to announce ChatGPT won't use data submitted via its API for model training unless customers opt in to do so. ChatGPT users can also disable chat history to avoid having their data used for model training (OpenAI).
One in three CIOs say they are accountable for AI, and the majority are exploring it cautiously
Who in your organization is accountable for governance of AI?
More than one-third of CIOs say no AI governance steps are in place today
What AI governance steps does your organization have in place today?
Among organizations that plan to invest in AI in 2024, 30% still say there are no steps in place for AI governance. The most popular steps to take are to publish clear explanations about how AI is used, and to conduct impact assessments (n=170).
Among all CIOs, including those that do not plan to invest in AI next year, 37% say no steps are being taken toward AI governance today (n=243).
6. Contribute to Info-Tech's Research Community
- Volunteer to be interviewed
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If you haven't already contributed to our Future of IT online survey, we are keeping the survey open to continue to collect insights and inform our research reports and agenda planning process. You can take the survey today. Those that complete the survey will be sent a complimentary Tech Trends 2024 report.
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Methodology
All data in this report is from Info-Tech's Future of IT online survey 2023 edition.
A CIO focus for the Future of IT
Data in this report represents respondents to the Future of IT online survey conducted by Info-Tech Research Group between May 11 and July 7, 2023.
Only CIO respondents were selected for this report, defined as those who indicated they are the most senior member of their organization's IT department.
This data segment reflects 355 total responses with 239 completing every question on the survey.
Further data from the Future of IT online survey and the accompanying interview process will be featured in Info-Tech's Tech Trends 2024 report this fall and in forthcoming Priorities reports including Applications, Data & EA, CIO, Infrastructure, and Security.