The CIO challenge: turning technology investment into transformation value
With research insights provided by:
CIOs face one of the toughest balancing acts in the C-suite
CIOs are being asked to solve one of today’s hardest business problems: drive growth and efficiency at the same time. Both are key business outcomes, yet the 2026 edition of The Transformation Index finds that only 21% of organisations have reached advanced or leading transformation maturity, and just 6% consistently deliver strong transformation outcomes.
This gap should matter to CIOs. Technology sits at the centre of the growth-efficiency challenge, but the test is whether investment is shifting business performance, not just improving speed, productivity or process efficiency.
But the harder questions remain: are returns strong enough? Are people ready to adopt the change? And can the organisation keep pace without exhausting itself?
Leading organisations turn technology investment into better decisions, simpler work, stronger resilience and measurable value. That puts the CIO in a pivotal position: one of the few leaders with visibility across the systems, data, processes, risks and investment choices that determine whether transformation delivers.
46%
of CIOs ranked both growth and efficiency in their top priorities
About The Transformation Index
To understand organisations approaches to transformation and their transformation maturity, Gate One commissioned a global IDC study of 750 participants. Using a mixed-method approach, the research examines transformation maturity across large global organisations, analysing how they’re progressing through their transformation journeys and where the gaps between ambition and execution are widest. It also identifies the defining characteristics of transformation Leaders, the top 11% of organisations that have built transformation into a sustained organisational capability and translates those findings into concrete guidance for leaders looking to accelerate their transformation impact now.
If you’re interested in the full report and methodology, you can get this year’s Transformation Index here.
Delivering value
Creating new revenue streams through innovative business models, products and services
Improving performance
Driving greater efficiency by standardising and unifying core processes
Evolving people
Strengthening workforce, skills and culture across structures and teams
Notes:
n = 750. Figures may not total 100% due to rounding
Source: IDC White Paper “The Balance Advantage: How organisations crack the growth-efficiency code” (IDC #EUR154681426, July 2026); n = 750.
The four pillars of technology leader success
While AI and emerging technologies continue to dominate the conversation, the organisations seeing the greatest return are focusing on a broader transformation agenda. Our research highlights four priorities for CIOs looking to turn technology investment into measurable business value that come together to provide a practical framework for translating technology ambition into sustainable business performance.
1. Prove the value of your technology
20
%
view technology investments as fundamental to business strategy and a key driver for market differentiation.
20
%
treat technology as a source of competitive advantage.
What this means for CIOs?
If technology investment is not improving revenue, margin, productivity or resilience, it’s not solving the growth-efficiency challenge. CIOs need to make value visible early and keep proving it.
2. Redesign the work
AI is improving speed and removing manual effort. But faster work is not the same as better work. The bigger prize is redesigning how work gets done.
60
%
say AI is improving process speed.
63
%
say AI is automating routine or manual tasks.
What this means for CIOs?
AI will not deliver growth and efficiency if it speeds up bad work. CIOs can help remove complexity first, so AI scales simpler processes and lower cost to serve.
3. Build the workforce that can use the technology
The biggest barriers are often human. At the same time, people are being asked to absorb constant change. Without capacity and support, even good technology will struggle to stick.
55
%
cite skills and capability gaps as a people-related barrier to technology adoption.
75
%
view digital and AI skills (74%) as critical for future workforce readiness.
What this means for CIOs?
Platforms alone will not solve the growth-efficiency challenge. CIOs need the skills and change capacity to turn technology into performance improvement, without adding to existing fatigue.
4. Fix the foundations before scaling the ambition
While AI attracts attention, scaled transformation depends on the less visible work: data platforms, cloud infrastructure, architecture, cyber resilience and governance.
55
%
see skills gaps as a structural challenge that doesn’t disappear with experience.
18
%
actively manage data to create value, with integrated datasets supporting decision-making and measurable outcomes.
What this means for CIOs?
Growth needs speed. Efficiency needs control. CIOs can make both possible by fixing the foundations before ambition outpaces the organisation’s ability to scale.
Note: n = 750
Source: IDC White Paper “The Balance Advantage: How organisations crack the growth-efficiency code” (IDC #EUR154681426, July 2026); n = 750.
What sets leading CIOs apart
The Transformation Index shows how few organisations are getting this right. The leading 21% build the conditions for growth and efficiency to reinforce each other, rather than treating transformation as a set of technology projects.
Align their strategy, operating model, people and technology.
Redesign processes before automating them.
Treat data and governance as strategic assets.
Build workforce readiness alongside technology adoption.
This is where CIOs can lead. Aligned well, they can help move their organisation towards the 6% that consistently convert transformation effort into results.
Five moves for CIOs now
1. Shift the conversation from investment to value
Define the business value before delivery starts, then track what matters: growth, efficiency, resilience, customer experience and productivity.
2. Redesign processes before scaling AI
Use AI to simplify end-to-end processes, not to automate complexity faster.
3. Treat skills as critical infrastructure
Build the digital, AI, data and delivery skills that make technology useful in everyday work.
4. Strengthen the foundations
Prioritise data, cloud, architecture, cybersecurity and governance as the foundations for transformation that can scale.
5. Build organisational capacity for change
Make priorities explicit, sequence change properly and give teams the capacity and support to deliver.
How Gate One helps CIOs turn technology into business value
Gate One helps CIOs close the gap between technology investment and business value, connecting strategy, operating model, process, people and data so transformation supports growth and improves efficiency.
If only 6% consistently deliver, the question for you is simple, what will it take to be one of them?
Our technology leadership team brings the insight and agility to solve your toughest challenges.
Ready to learn more?
Contact us to explore what the findings of the Transformation Index mean for your organisation.
