Editor’s note: The following is a guest post from Cameron Adams, co-founder and CPO at Canva.
Second-order effects for CIOs are starting to emerge 15 months after generative AI disrupted the technology scene.
While CIOs grapple with the rapid influx of AI-powered applications and closely consider the new tools' impact on their tech stack, they need to balance the speed of adoption with safety and cost considerations.
AI continues to empower the workplace, and CIOs face the task of keeping up with the speed at which the technology is evolving, which can feel next to impossible. It’s why Principal Financial Group EVP and CIO Kathy Kay has a 70-person, cross-functional team to help, testing out generative AI apps to cut the wheat from the chaff.
To better understand where tech leaders across industries are with their IT priorities, Canva recently surveyed more than 1,360 CIOs to uncover how executives are adjusting to the AI era, their concerns about app sprawl and how they are budgeting tech, among other items.
Here are three key takeaways from the research.
1. Beware app sprawl and fragmentation
An abundance of options — or choice overload — can tax decision-making and lead to confusion. It’s clear there are more than enough AI apps on the market: the survey found that 84% of CIOs believe there are too many apps available.
While AI was meant to simplify our lives, a saturated landscape has introduced more complexity.
Last year was an AI gold rush but, in 2024, CIOs must think critically about which apps are the right ones to implement. Canva’s survey found that, in 2022, two-thirds of CIOs introduced 20 to 40 new software applications.
That upward trajectory has been maintained, as 60% of companies surveyed were expected to add 30 to 50 more apps in 2023. And the survey results suggest a further increase this year, with 71% of CIOs planning for 30 to 60 new apps.
Tech stacks are in a fluid state. Slightly more than half of CIOs are contemplating app consolidation, with 24% aiming for a substantial reduction. The need for consolidation comes from IT teams stretched thin, with nearly two-thirds of CIOs saying they lack staff to train employees on new apps.
The upshot: there's been a deluge of new AI apps that challenge CIOs to cut through the noise. While the future will probably entail fewer single-point solutions and more end-to-end platform offerings, right now tech leaders appear to be shopping — sometimes extensively — before finding the apps that fit their companies' needs.
2. The promise of workplace efficiency drives spending
While CIOs acknowledge tool sprawl, their AI investments continue to rise as the technology improves workflows. Canva’s survey found that 94% of CIOs plan to increase their budgets in 2024 to accommodate new AI apps.
Further, most CIOs agree that AI tools have the potential to dramatically enhance the employee experience, as they see AI as a catalyst for increased efficiency and smarter workflows.
AI’s potential to save workers time on mundane tasks that they can use on more important or creative work intrigues CIOs, who also agree there need to be guardrails around how emerging technology is used in the workplace.
Canva's study found CIOs are concerned about employees not adhering to directives around AI, including established IT procedures and ensuring secure deployment and risk management.
Altogether, these stats reveal that CIOs see tremendous potential value in AI tools, but getting their teams on the same policy page across the whole organization remains a work in progress. CIOs need to understand which solutions scale, which cover the most use cases and which help individuals get up to speed.
3. AI needs to be atop CIOs' 2024 agenda
CIOs are evolving along with the surge of AI apps in the marketplace. Canva’s survey demonstrates AI needs to be atop CIOs' agendas this year, as they face challenges that necessitate a strategic approach to ensure they adopt the right tools for their company's needs.
Generative AI’s growth over the last 15 months has been a fast-paced ride with a few bumps in the road, but CIOs are managing the velocity and closing in on the technology’s capabilities.
Over the next year, I expect generative AI tools to advance dramatically, requiring more evolutionary thinking by tech leaders and making CIOs more crucial to a company's success than ever before.
