Dive Brief:

• In the next 12 months, technology is the top investment priority for 26% of CEOs, according to the Marcum LLP-Hofstra University CEO survey, the second in a 2019 series, released Monday.

• The report, based on insights from C-suite executives at 258 companies, found technology is one of the top-three investment priorities for 67% of CEOs.

• Technology is also impacting business planning in the next year, the leading influence for 49% of respondents, according to the report. Access to talent and economic concerns also effect business planning.

Dive Insight:

Amid a trade war, a potential economic downturn and a great talent drought, CEOs have a full plate and must work in concert with the C-suite to keep business flourishing.

Technology is taking an outsized role in shaking up business operations, representing more than 10% of the national economy, according to the Marcum-Hofstra study. It also generates almost $2 trillion in economic output each year.

More CEOs are tying the health of a business to technology performance. The warning from competition is clear: innovate, or face becoming obsolete.

But technology for technology's sake proves useless. Value comes from understanding customer concerns and using those insights to drive innovation. If attention is focused on competition, businesses will always be a step behind.

To get the green light on investments, technology leaders have to prove efficiency outcomes, making decisions grounded in data. A recent survey from Harvey Nash and KPMG found robotic process automation and data analytics helped grow global tech budgets.

Technology may be gaining CEO attention, but CIOs are still the executives leading transformation efforts. In the effort to modernize, CEOs and CIOs are seen as the "most aligned" members of the C-suite as organizations establish tech strategies.