How CIOs can lead the charge on AI, data, and business innovation

The growing momentum behind business innovation, particularly in the realm of AI and data, is increasingly driving how businesses operate, invest, and deliver value. Whilst this may not appear different from previous years, the proliferation of new technologies and tools means ensuring a future-proof, modern IT strategy is integral to business success.

CIOs have had an uphill battle following the pandemic, but their newest challenge in AI has also been their greatest business opportunity. How companies navigate this in 2025 and beyond is critical to success, not just requiring insight into opportunities at a global level but also specific to their current organisational goals and needs.

Balancing new technologies with maximising value from your existing data is another key responsibility for modern SME CIOs. Sustainability concerns, keeping your operations flexible and agile for the future, and then shoring up potential weaknesses from cyberattacks are all ongoing threats; these concerns are keeping the modern CIO up at night. Expert guidance to assess operations and supervise critical operational changes are needed but understanding the best steps to address these is the first step.

Understanding AI best practices is a challenge that spans from the C-suite to every layer of your organisation. Implementing digital initiatives now inherently involves AI, so the role of the CIO has expanded to ensure effective implementation and execution. Gartner recently reported that only 48% of digital initiatives meet or exceed their business outcome targets, meaning that the difference between your business thriving or failing lies at the feet of the CIO.

Modern CIOs are therefore choosing to collaborate more closely than ever with their peers,  department heads and key Stakeholders to unlock the greater potential of their data and use it as a springboard for trialling innovative products. In media, for example, AI is being deployed to target consumers directly with highly relevant content. We’ve spotted retail channels exploiting stock and trend data to inform and automate their advertising, and even leading beauty brands utilising AI for everything from robotic colour mixing to creating hyper-personalised product lines based on detailed customer profiles.

While some of these innovations may sound familiar, the evolution of AI tools and software is making them smarter and more impactful. Businesses now have an unprecedented ability to be precise, targeted, and efficient, giving them a significant competitive edge.

A major theme emerging in CIO circles – as highlighted at Gartner’s 2024 Symposium in Barcelona – is the pivot of IT from being “the doers” to becoming strategic enablers on your team. IT teams are finding it more necessary to focus on providing platforms, data and tools for business departments to lead innovation and create new go-to-market products.

An example of this can be seen in modern marketing and sales, which quickly harnesses granular data to target customers better. Similarly, customer services have adopted AI tools to elevate their offering quality – a much-needed improvement that can then be rolled out across many industries.

CIOs are also finding value in enabling their more inward-facing teams to harness their IT for innovating, automating, and streamlining their operations. This shift in the activeness of how IT operates within an organisation empowers every department to lead in their domain while IT guides as a trusted advisor and architectural enabler.

The proliferation of AI-branded products demands scrutiny. Some are simply repackaged machine learning or process automation tools, but others are genuinely groundbreaking. A key area of transformation with this has also been the role of the Chief Data Officer (CDO). For years, the focus was on building perfect data warehouses or lakes with fully structured data. Today, AI tools can integrate structured and unstructured data to deliver meaningful insights. This breakthrough saves businesses time and money, fundamentally altering how data is utilised.

However, efficiency can still open the door to malicious cyber actors, so cybersecurity needs must be balanced. Racing to improve operations by onboarding new technologies can leave back doors open to attack, risking total disruption, data loss, and reputational damage for burgeoning companies. A critical priority, the scale of attacks is staggering – Microsoft reported a staggering 7,000 password attacks per second in 2024, with attackers now breaching systems within an average of 72 minutes after a user simply clicks on a malicious link.

Businesses must prioritise pre-emptive cyber defences, guided by independent, agnostic advisors who offer a holistic view of threats and solutions. Whilst AI may boost your operations, it’s also boosting ransomware campaigns, so instilling robust cybersecurity practices with every onboarding of new technology is just one of many core components of the modern CIO role.

Flexibility in IT remains crucial to businesses and could be the difference between those with a competitive edge and those without. But why do we need to be flexible in our approach to businesses as the world seemingly tilts to the right? For UK CIOs, flexibility is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have to navigate growing uncertainties. From economic volatility and policy shifts at home to geopolitical changes in the US and Europe, the pressure to adapt is intensifying. Creating balance within IT operations through right-sourcing, adaptive partnerships, and scalable contracts enables businesses to respond swiftly and effectively to these challenges. In a world where change is the only constant, agility isn’t just about operational efficiency it’s the backbone of business resilience.

No less important is maintaining sustainable IT. CIOs must balance the operational demands of their function with contributing to the business’s sustainability goals. This requires embedding sustainability metrics into projects and procurement processes. At the enterprise level, architects are increasingly integrating ESG principles into their designs and decision-making. This proactive approach ensures that sustainability isn’t just a buzzword but a tangible part of everyday business operations.

Whether through AI, data innovation, cybersecurity, or sustainability, the role of IT as a strategic enabler has never been clearer. Businesses that embrace this shift will position themselves for long-term success in an increasingly complex landscape.

CIOs should trust in hands-on expertise when consulting their strategy for the year. Whether it’s shaping proactivity and reactivity or advising, guiding, and implementing core technologies and updated practices, experts are there to help. The most important thing is to find an expert with empathy; CIOs need to place their faith in a team that can provide a personal, tailored approach to delivering practical solutions that will drive real results for their organisation.