Happy New Year, CIOmovers, wherever you are!
This year, you will once again face major challenges in preparing your IT and IT strategies for the future – in an environment characterised by ongoing major challenges, growing competition, complex international situations and rapidly advancing technologies.
We have taken a look at key predictions for 2026 to identify the topics that will accompany us this year – including, and above all, at CIOmove from Paris to Brussels from 25 to 28 June. Here are a few theories:
- Artificial intelligence will evolve from a field of experimentation to a strategic factor. Gartner goes so far as to say that AI will become the dominant operating system for IT. AI will no longer just support operational processes, but will increasingly make independent decisions as agentic AI.
- However, this can only work if AI no longer operates as an autonomous system, but as an integral part of the IT infrastructure with access to all of a company’s data. All too often, however, inadequate data infrastructure stands in the way of this prerequisite for productive AI deployments. Those who fail to bring their IT up to speed will not be successful with AI.
- The increasing amount of data generated and managed by AI is overwhelming IT infrastructures that are not at all prepared for such data volumes. IT landscapes are also still designed for “human speed,” not AI-generated data volumes. This needs to be addressed!
- With growing amounts of data and companies’ increasing dependence on data, data protection is becoming even more critical than before, especially as the number of attacks on data stocks will also continue to grow. Gartner is calling for companies to move from reactive to proactive security models – with deception, predictive intelligence and moving target defence.
- In view of the volatile global situation, cloud strategies are changing: companies are increasingly shifting critical workloads to sovereign clouds, national providers or even their own data centres in order to minimise geopolitical risks.
- Sustainability remains an important issue, not least because IT is consuming more and more energy. You need to ensure that your IT infrastructures are not only powerful, but also contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and are used in a resource-efficient manner.
- The long list of tasks and the increasing complexity of requirements call for efficient IT governance that regulates the use of data and the ethical application of modern technologies in a legally compliant manner. Companies and employees need clear guidelines and control mechanisms for dealing with technology, especially AI.
All these developments call for growing investment in IT – and this at a time of continuing economic stagnation, in which investments in AI are increasingly coming under pressure to justify their usefulness. Nevertheless, all predictions agree: companies that do not integrate AI into their strategy will not be successful in the future.
But developments are not only characterised by challenges, problems and risks, but also by opportunities: under the right conditions, AI can significantly boost productivity, accelerate product development, strengthen customer loyalty and improve IT security. AI can also alleviate the ongoing shortage of skilled workers, as it is increasingly able to perform tasks independently. AI is therefore never just a challenge, but in the best case scenario, always part of the solution.
What would you like to discuss at CIOmove 2026, what questions are burning under your fingernails, what answers can you already give to these challenges? We look forward to receiving your topic suggestions and theses for discussion and will get back to you shortly to identify, sort and prepare these topics so that they will spark lively discussions at CIOmove! Feel free to contact Claudia Michel or Stanislaw Rahm with your ideas and suggestions!