Austin, Texas, USA, July 28, 2025
Futurum Group’s Q2 2025 CIO Survey Finds Every CIO Now Deploying AI While Cybersecurity, Talent, and Platform Realignment Dominate IT Priorities
Austin, TX — July 28, 2025 — The Futurum Group today released its highly anticipated Q2 2025 Global CIO Survey, uncovering a decisive new chapter in enterprise IT: AI is no longer experimental: 100% of CIOs report production deployment and cloud strategy has matured into a deliberate process of optimization. Meanwhile, the pressure to simplify platforms and secure scarce talent is redrawing the IT investment map for 2025.
Conducted with 203 CIOs across North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, the survey captures a moment of strategic clarity in a volatile digital economy.
“Enterprise IT is shifting from ambition to discipline,” said Dion Hinchcliffe, VP of CIO Practice at The Futurum Group. “AI is in production. Cybersecurity is the non-negotiable. Cloud is no longer a vision—it’s a system under constant recalibration. And CIOs are now treating platform spend like a surgical investment.”
Key Findings:
Figure 1: Top IT Buying Drivers
- AI has gone universal: Every CIO surveyed now has AI systems running in production, with deep usage in Sales (68%), Operations (67%), and Marketing (64%). Strategic outcomes like automation (69%) and productivity (67%) are top targets.
- Cybersecurity is the dominant driver: 59% of CIOs say it is the most influential factor in tech investments, and 81% rank it among their top strategic priorities.
- Efficiency pressure is intensifying: 25% of CIOs now cite cost-cutting as a core buying driver—up sharply—while 35% highlight ransomware as a distinct concern.
Figure 2: Emerging Technologies Prioritized by CIOs
- AI/ML dominates the tech agenda: A staggering 86% of CIOs are prioritizing AI/ML technologies across departments.
- Cloud modernization leads infrastructure focus: 36% cite it as a critical area for innovation, anchoring broader transformation efforts.
- Process automation and AI chatbots surge: 29% use AI to accelerate internal processes; 22% are rolling out chatbots at scale.
Additional Highlights
- Cloud strategy splits in two: While 54% of CIOs will reevaluate workload placement to optimize cost, performance, and security, 28% now report no planned changes, up from last quarter, suggesting cloud strategies are maturing and stabilizing.
- Talent crisis eclipses technology gaps: 72% of CIOs say hiring and retaining skilled talent is their top issue, surpassing even cyber threats (49%) and tech integration (31%).
- Platform investments realign: CIOs are doubling down on ServiceNow (41%), Salesforce (38%), and Microsoft Azure (35%), while AWS, Cisco, and legacy vendors see cuts and consolidation.
- Governance and risk management rise with AI: Concerns over data privacy (79%) and bias (57%) are prompting 68% of CIOs to implement formal AI governance strategies.
About the Report
This press release summarizes findings from the CIO Insights Global Survey, Q2 2025, published by The Futurum Group in July 2025. The full report is available to subscribers on the Futurum Intelligence Platform, allowing drill-down by industry, region, and company size. Non-subscribers can click here for inquiry and access.
About Futurum Intelligence for Market Leaders
Futurum Intelligence’s Digital Leadership & CIO IQ service provides actionable insight from analysts, reports, and interactive visualization datasets, helping leaders drive their organizations through transformation and business growth. Subscribers can log into the platform at https://app.futurumgroup.com/, and non-subscribers can find additional information here: Futurum Intelligence.
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Other insights from Futurum:
Microsoft Q2 FY 2025: Cloud and AI Strength Offset Margin Pressures from Rising Capex
RSAC 2025: Cisco Raises the AI Security Stakes
Hybrid Cloud & AI: The Future of Enterprises – Six Five On The Road
Author Information
Dion Hinchcliffe is a distinguished thought leader, IT expert, and enterprise architect, celebrated for his strategic advisory with Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies. With over 25 years of experience, Dion works with the leadership teams of top enterprises, as well as leading tech companies, in bridging the gap between business and technology, focusing on enterprise AI, IT management, cloud computing, and digital business. He is a sought-after keynote speaker, industry analyst, and author, known for his insightful and in-depth contributions to digital strategy, IT topics, and digital transformation. Dion’s influence is particularly notable in the CIO community, where he engages actively with CIO roundtables and has been ranked numerous times as one of the top global influencers of Chief Information Officers. He also serves as an executive fellow at the SDA Bocconi Center for Digital Strategies.
