CIO状态研究：IT领导者引领主流AI

The 2026 State of the CIO finds IT leaders on the frontlines asenterprises move beyond AI experimentation to transformative As the frenzy of ad hocexperimentation gives wayto a concerted effort to mainstream AI, CIOs are spearheading the IT architecture, organizationalstructures, and process transformation necessary to driveadoption and business value at enterprise scale. CIOs continue to carry the digital and business transformationagenda, which is now heavily weighted towards AI. Working closelywith line of business, CIOs are rallying to respond to the C-suite In its 25th annual State of the CIO research,Foundry canvassed 662 IT leaders and249 line of business users to understandCIOs’ evolving role and their agenda for the cited by 27% of respondents and verymuch in sync with last year (26%). CEOsin the services (40%) and high-tech (32%)sectors are more likely to designate AI To illustrate the speed at which companiesare trying to lock down and execute theirAI agenda, consider the top business In fact, according to the 2026 State ofthe CIO research, the top CEO priority with between $1 billion and $5 billion inrevenue (82%). EMEA companies laggedtheir global counterparts, with only Business initiatives in 2026 1.Accelerating AI-driveninnovation and applications(39%) 2.Increasing operational The continuously 3.Increasing cybersecurityprotections(32%) The evolution of the CIO role fromoperational caretaker to business strategistand transformation leader continues, ata more accelerated pace. CIOs remain at IT investment, cited by 39% of CIOs. AItechnologies, including generative AI andagentic AI, are also flagged as the most In comparison, AI didn’t make the cutfor the top three business initiativesjust a year ago. In the 2025 research,monetizing company data topped the list, Most importantly, CIOs are activelyengaging with line of business to driveAI adoption and direct focus to high-value efforts. For instance, 79% of IT Cumulatively, the fixation on AI isstarting to have impact. Nearly threequarters (74%) of 2026 respondentssaid AI is already or is beginning to 82% of IT leaders say they are tasked withresearching and evaluating possible than last year at 75%. Forty percent ofrespondents report directly into the CEO,down from last year at 48%. This year, EMEA PR, and media sector, at 92%. Threequarters of both respondent groups Both constituencies credit the ITdepartment with driving AI adoptionefforts with business units which thenalign their strategies accordingly (78%).There’s a slight gap between respondents The CIO position continues to be peggedas more digital and innovation focused,according to 84% of IT and 78% ofLOB respondents. At the same time, There are other trends reflecting the doublenature of the CIO role as it continues tomature. CIOs are increasingly viewed as achangemaker, cited by 83% of IT leaders There is also alignment on where AIprojects are currently focused. Threequarters of IT leaders and LOB respondentsconfirmed AI is primarily being tapped toautomate internal processes rather thancustomer-facing applications. Sixty-six Almost half (46%) of survey respondentsview the CIO as a business leader whoproactively identifies business needs Outside of AI, the CIO role continues togain stature and take on more of a businessorientation. Current economic factors,coupled with growing enterprise visibility, request to evaluate and advise on businessneeds, technology choices, and potentialproviders. Even fewer, 14%, are counting CEO’s top priorities for ITleaders in the coming year: 1.Research and implementAI products/projects2.Upgrade IT and data security There are some differences whenyou compare perceptions of the CIOleadership role across global regions.APAC respondents were more likely leadership’s no. 1 priority for CIOs is toorchestrate the usual technology-orientedprojects, including upgrading IT and datasecurity, cited by 25% and higher thanlast year at 20%. The mandate for datasecurity, more pronounced in healthcare In all cases, the duality of the CIO chartercreates constant friction for IT leadership.Three quarters say it is difficult to strikethe right balance between businessinnovation and operational excellence—a challenge that hasn’t dissipated much As organizations map out specific businessinitiative investments, innovation tied toAI comes first. Beyond that, State of theCIO respondents are earmarking dollars Top technology investments While AI dominates, there are plenty ofother initiatives on the CIO plate. Top AI (65%) over the coming year. Theadvertising/marketing/PR/media segmentis especially invested in expanding use of Beyond AI technologies, organizations areexpanding technology initiatives in areaslike business process and IT automation(56%), security and risk management(55%), and data and business analytics(54%). Investments are declining in areaslike virtual reality and augmented reality Agentic AI Business process/IT automa