The CIO Paradox: Adopt AI, get IT sprawl under control

As enterprises rush to embrace AI, CIOs are grappling with how to merge their enterprise’s IT past and future. 

Increasingly, in-house technology leaders are tasked with the seemingly impossible mandate of reaping the benefits of next-generation systems while simultaneously reducing legacy technical debt and costs and managing risk.  

Over the past decade, businesses rapidly adopted new digital applications to help with everything from supply chain management to human resources. While this explosion in specialized tools brought great benefits to the modern enterprise, it also injected tremendous complexity into corporate IT stacks. 

Now, systems that were intended to help improve productivity and work life for the workforce are overwhelming IT teams tasked with managing those applications. And instead of simplifying workflows, they’re growing more complex than ever, with employees often having to shuffle between multiple programs to get work done. 

The problem is only poised to get worse. In fact, 71% of CIOs expect to adopt as many as 60 new applications in 2024, according to a Canva survey conducted by Harris Poll – up from as many as 40 apps in 2022. That’s on top of the hundreds, maybe thousands of systems that enterprises were already running. 

As custodians of the IT portfolio, it falls to the CIO to manage that complexity. And a majority (51%) of the 1,369 CIOs surveyed by Canva say they're planning for some consolidation to their application portfolio, while 23% are expecting a significant simplification. 

That pivot is leading software vendors to launch new products and features that expand the audience for their tools and let customers do more within a single platform. For example, Canva recently unveiled a suite of AI-powered design tools known as Magic Studio that make it simple for employees across an organization— regardless of background or expertise — to quickly create compelling visual presentations, documents, reports, and other workplace content. 

AI: The cause of, or solution to, IT problems?  

Most IT leaders recognize the transformative power of AI and are eager to free up resources to allow employees to start to experiment with how it can accelerate productivity and improve efficiency. 

Of the CIOs surveyed, 90% believe that AI has the potential to improve work life for both themselves and their employees. And the proof is in the numbers: 94% plan to boost AI investments in the coming year, with roughly 40% expecting to increase their budget for the technology by more than 50%. 

But while there’s broad optimism that AI will help address the IT sprawl issues, there’s also widespread concern that it will only amplify the problem further. The key benefits that CIOs report to expect from AI include: increased productivity when it comes to creative or strategic tasks (52%), a reduction in applications (50%), and improved business intelligence (50%). 

And as vendors roll out an avalanche of generative AI-enabled point solutions, customers are overwhelmed. In fact, 84% of CIOs believe the AI market is already too crowded and that the influx of tools is creating confusion for purchasers and users alike. Other concerns highlighted include the security of new AI applications (40%) and employees not following the right IT protocols (41%). 

To mitigate the negative impacts of the technology, CIOs are focused on upskilling their workforce. CIOs are in near universal agreement (89%) that training employees on new applications and technology is useful, while 43% said it was “extremely effective.” 

However, 64% report having trouble finding the appropriate individuals to conduct the training. And it’s a major commitment, with 44% of CIOs reporting that their teams were already spending more than half of their time on training and education. 

CIOs in the spotlight 

Given these challenges, many companies are grappling with the desire to quickly invest in AI and concerns over the added IT complexity and ultimate return on investment. 

In the end, a CIO’s strategy is only as successful as their employees’ ability and willingness to engage with technology in an efficient, effective, and secure manner. CIOs need to understand which AI tools scale, where capabilities transcend individual apps and features, and get employees up to speed. 

AI is changing everything, including the CIO’s responsibilities. And as with most technology upheavals, those who are quicker to recognize the changes ahead and prepare accordingly are poised to reap the benefits that come with the first-mover status.