CIO Executive Council

This report explores the results of IDC’s CIO/CTO Pulse Survey on Technology Modernization and Data Readiness to provide insights into how senior IT leaders are approaching technology modernization and data readiness in the context of scaling AI initiatives. The survey highlights that leadership perspectives on modernization priorities, business drivers, obstacles, IT budget allocation, decision criteria, data architecture maturity, data quality, and the data-related initiatives organizations are prioritizing to enable AI use cases over the next 12–18 months. This analysis is based on the full international set of respondents from IDC’s CIO/CTO Pulse Survey on Technology Modernization and Data Readiness.

This IDC study highlights the growing complexity of AI cost structures, the impact of agentic AI on resource consumption, and the need for robust cost governance. As AI becomes integral to enterprise operations, CIOs are shifting focus from rapid deployment to engineering sustainable AI economics. Best practices include early FinOps integration, architectural optimization, and disciplined vendor management to ensure measurable business value and cost efficiency as AI adoption scales.

This IDC Perspective, prepared by Robert Parker, Shari Lava, Daniel Saroff, Stephen Elliot, Jevin Jensen, Heather Herbst, Tiffany McCormick, Alessandro Perilli, Teodora Snoddy, and Tim Law, details a framework built for practitioners: architects, platform engineers, and product managers deploying agents at scale who need a repeatable approach to controlling costs without stifling innovation. It is also intended for technology and business leaders who need to understand how to govern AI consumption without slowing down the teams building on it.

This IDC presentation, prepared by Alison Brooks, PhD, Research Vice President, Worldwide Public Safety, and Ruthbea Yesner, GVP, Government Insights, Education & Smart Cities, analyzes how U.S. regional and local governments are moving AI from pilot to production. The study draws on an IDC survey of 383 senior IT and non–IT leaders across state agencies, counties, and municipalities, combined with analysis of publicly disclosed AI use cases from state CIO offices, NASCIO reporting, and municipal AI inventories.

This IDC Perspective, authored by Dr. Ron Babin, adjunct research advisor for IDC’s IT Executive Programs, explains that as IT portfolios grow in complexity — driven by SaaS sprawl, cloud proliferation, and decentralized procurement — vendor rationalization has become a strategic imperative for CIOs. This document addresses three questions: Why to rationalize, when to act, and how to execute? The document presents a phased framework anchored in AI-powered discovery, the 4R decision model, TCO modeling, and continuous governance — transforming rationalization from a periodic exercise into a living capability that reduces costs, mitigates risk, and builds a resilient IT supply chain.

This IDC Survey Spotlight, prepared by Gina Smith , PhD, Senior Research Director, IT Skills for Digital Business, examines data from IDC’s 2026 Future Enterprise Resiliency and Spending Survey to explore how organizations are grappling with IT skills validation across four key regions: North America, Asia Pacific, Western Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa.

This IDC Perspective, authored by Niel Nickolaisen, adjunct research advisor for IDC’s IT Executive Programs, describes specific models and tools that leaders can use for the internal upskilling and talent development of the current members of a technology organization. IDC data indicates that upskilling and developing the technology team are consistent priorities for technology leaders. Team development is built around individual development plans that align the talent and interests of technology team members with the evolving needs of the organization in an intentional and consistent way.

Semiconductor shortages fueled by AI infrastructure demand are no longer a temporary disruption — and state and local governments are bearing the consequences. This presentation examines what structural semiconductor scarcity means for government technology planning through 2027, and how agencies can reduce risk, protect budgets, and sustain service continuity in an increasingly constrained supply environment.

As AI increasingly shapes decisions, strategy, and execution, weak thinking is amplified—not replaced. This 60‑minute moderated panel was designed to help leaders move beyond basic AI adoption toward true AI readiness, with a central focus on the critical thinking skills required to work effectively with AI.

In this blog, author Gerald Johnston, Adjunct Research Advisor, IDC, examines the growing complexity of the CIO role. He shares “IT has never been an easy job for CIOs and their teams. There’s the day-to-day reality of running the business, keeping systems available, managing risk, supporting customers, and delivering new capabilities. At the same time, CIOs are expected to keep pace with both the evolution of existing technologies and the steady stream of new ones entering the market. Some of the toughest challenges aren’t technical. They come from friction across roles, overlap, turf, and unclear ownership across IT and the business.” Johnston then considers how AI can help on the technology, while also introducing a new set of challenges.

This IDC Survey Spotlight, prepared by Amy Loomis, Ph.D. and Wayne Kurtzman, ‘examines how regional and industry differences are shaping onsite workplace strategies for 2026. Findings highlight three global priorities — redesigning meeting spaces, adding office AI tools, and optimizing space via subleasing — with clear regional variation (APAC strongest on redesign/subleasing, North America on AI tools, and EMEA more balanced).’

As AI transforms how organizations operate, technology leaders play a pivotal role in shaping the cultural response. Within this presentation, Frank Feagans, former VP IT & CIO, University of Texas at Dallas, examines the ways in which AI adoption affects team dynamics, decision-making, and leadership models. He also shares how to foster a culture of innovation, trust, and ethical AI use to ensure your organization thrives in an AI-driven future.

This IDC PlanScape, prepared by Karen D. Schwartz, Maureen Fleming, Eric Newmark, Robert Parker, Peter Rutten, and David Schubmehl, examines AI process optimization to maximize benefits and avoid risk.

“Embedding AI into business processes has tremendous potential, but it also can introduce increased risk without the right preparation,” says Karen D. Schwartz, adjunct research analyst, IDC’s IT Executive Programs (IEP). “It’s critical to ensure that processes are ready for AI, along with choosing the best use cases, because some processes aren’t good candidates.”

This IDC Perspective, written by Clay Miller, Senior Executive Advisor, maintains that most organizations are solving the wrong problem in core platform decisions. By treating these commitments as onetime procurement events that optimize for current feature sets and initial pricing, enterprises defer the governance decisions that will actually determine long-term outcomes. In an environment where more than half of organizations are considering switching their primary ERP or CRM vendor, where 68% of CIOs are running active vendor consolidation initiatives, and where 40% of organizations are already projected to miss their 2026 AI goals because of implementation complexity and governance gaps, the cost of this deferral is rising sharply.