IDC: 80% of CIOs to Embrace AI and Automation for Agility and Insights-Driven Businesses by 2028

Contact

• Miguel Carreon  Email: mcarreon@idc.com
• Michael De La Cruz  Email: mdelacruz@idc.com

CIO Predictions in Asia/Pacific* for 2024 and Beyond Revealed by IDC

SINGAPORE, 29 February 2024 – In a recent FutureScape report, IDC FutureScape: Worldwide CIO Agenda 2024 Predictions — Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) Implications, By 2028, 80% of CIOs will leverage organizational changes to harness AI, automation, and analytics, driving agile, insight-driven digital businesses. This prediction highlights the role of CIOs as key players in shaping the future of their companies, guiding them through new tech trends while putting data at the heart of their business strategies.

In IDC’s 2023 Asia/Pacific CEO Sentiments Survey, the top 3 concerns among C-suite executives were in digital skills, the lack of LOB trust in IT, and the lack of digital business know-how of C-suite executives. Given this backdrop, the major challenge for CIOs is transitioning from being a technical to a strategic business leader, largely driven by the rising technology influence of operational business leaders and the complexity of enabling and driving digital business strategies.

IDC emphasizes CIOs’ critical shift towards AI integration in business strategies. These predictions show a pressing need for CIOs to adapt and innovate, and highlight the growing significance of AI and GenAI in shaping business practices:

• Optimized IT Investments: By 2024, 65% of CIOs will face pressure to adopt digital tech, such as generative AI and deep analytics, but limited IT support will diminish the benefits and heighten risks.

• AI Strategy and Governance: About 55% of CIOs will team up with LOB executives to establish robust federated governance for cohesive AI strategies, driving swift and seamless generative AI adoption in worker augmentation and automation by 2025.

• AI for Digital Reinvention: By 2024, 35% of CIOs will embrace generative AI, securing an early short-term advantage over competitors while cultivating a foundation of talent, experience, and training data.

• Rethinking Software Strategy: By 2025, 55% of CIOs will leverage business-savvy in-house developers and tools that use generative AI and low-/no-code as they and LOB developers build competitive differentiation through custom apps.

IDC believes in a holistic approach for the future where technology is the central pillar of business strategy. This forecast extends beyond the realm of AI, casting a wide net over the critical spheres of cybersecurity, data culture, resilient leadership, ESG compliance, and trust-driven customer engagement. Together, these elements underscore the necessity for CIOs to architect a comprehensive technology approach that is seamlessly interwoven with every facet of business operation to remain competitive and secure in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

• Embedded Cybersecurity: By 2026, 75% of CIOs will integrate cybersecurity measures directly into systems and processes to proactively detect and neutralize vulnerabilities, fortifying against cyberthreats and cyberbreaches.

• Data Culture: By 2025, 40% of CIOs will prioritize strategic data management and foster a data-centric culture, ensuring competitive differentiation in the digital era.

• Resilient Leadership: Two-thirds of CIOs will not meet their 2025 digital revenue goals because of misaligned investments hindering business performance.

• ESG for Competitive Advantage: To mitigate legal risks and enhance their brand and competitive advantage, nearly half of CIOs will be motivated to automate regulatory compliance and ESG by 2025.

• Trust-Driven Engagement: By 2026, 45% of CIOs will forge unified strategies with CMOs, dismantling silos of customer data to enable the delivery of expected engagements within a trusted digital experience.

"As we navigate a world transformed by technology, the imperative for CIOs is clear: evolve or be left behind. CIOs role is to embed technologies like AI into the very DNA of business as a strategic ally in addressing business challenges and opportunities, while ensuring their data is secure and regulatory requirements and ESG goals are met . It's this fusion of vision and vigilance that will define the successful CIOs of Asia/Pacific and beyond," says Franco Chiam, Vice President, Cloud, Datacenter, Telecommunications, and Infrastructure Research, IDC Asia/Pacific.

Discover how to harness AI for business success in our exclusive report. Gain crucial insights on IT strategy, data-centric culture, and AI governance for Asia/Pacific tech leaders. Access your FREE copy of IDC's Top 10 CIO Predictions for 2024 and beyond HERE. 

Each year, IDC releases its top technology predictions at worldwide, regional and country level through its IDC FutureScape R eports  and gives a crystal ball view of what is ahead for the rapidly changing IT industry. These predictions have been used to shape the strategies and business objectives of technology leaders and business executives in the next 1-5 years. All the predictions stated here cover Asia/Pacific implications.

Catch an on-demand replay of IDC's 2024 Predictions presentation that will be available as part of a series of FutureScape webinars addressing the IT Industry, AI and Automation, Digital Business, CIO Agenda, and Emerging Technologies. If you would like to attend any of these webinars, register and learn more HERE.

Asia/Pacific Japan FutureScape Reports come with a complimentary report that provides specific recommendations for tech vendor sales and marketing leaders. Leverage on IDC insights to better understand clients’ priorities and enhance your storytelling and go to market plans, access the IDC IDC FutureScape: CIO Agenda 2024 Predictions — Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) Implications: Positioning for Success — Opportunities for Tech Sales and Marketing Leaders market presentation HERE.

For more information about IDC FutureScape and other resources, please visit our regional FutureScape site. For sales inquiries on the IDC FutureScape framework and reports, please contact your IDC account manager or Tessa Rago at trago@idc.com. For media queries, please contact Michael de la Cruz at mdelacruz@idc.com   or Miguel Carreon mcarreon@idc.com.

-Ends-

About IDC FutureScape

IDC FutureScape reports are used to shape IT strategy and planning for the enterprise by providing a basic framework for evaluating IT initiatives in terms of their value to business strategy now and in the foreseeable future. IDC's FutureScape reports are comprised of a set of decision imperatives designed to identify a range of pending issues that CIOs and senior technology professionals will confront within a typical five-year business planning cycle.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDCAP and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.

Coverage