At the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2024, analysts discussed four emerging challenges facing Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in delivering value securely and at scale with AI.
A survey of 451 senior technology leaders found that 57 percent of CIOs are responsible for their organization’s AI strategy. A Gartner analyst emphasized that CIOs often face high expectations due to constant technological innovation, while the reality of actually realizing value from AI remains complex.
“However, CIOs can set the pace in their AI outcomes race,” said VP Analyst Hung LeHong. “If you have modest AI ambitions in an industry not yet reshaped by AI, you can afford to maintain a more moderate pace. This is a steady AI pace.”
“For organizations with greater AI ambitions, or in an industry reinvented by AI, the pace will be faster. This is an AI-accelerated pace. Whether you move at a steady or accelerated AI pace, you need to deliver value and results.”
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We explain the four AI challenges in more detail below.
1. Business benefit of AI not always obvious
According to a Gartner survey, employees saved an average of 3.6 hours per week by using generative AI. But productivity is not increased uniformly by AI for everyone. That increase varies widely and depends on several factors. Those factors include personal interest, level of adoption, experience level and job complexity. This poses a challenge for CIOs responsible for rolling out AI solutions.
Companies are looking at more benefits than just improved productivity. Operational and business-level improvements also add value. Such as automating key business processes or reallocating roles to work with chatbots.
It is important to manage AI benefits as a portfolio and determine the deployment of AI based on the specific areas where it can add value. Think process improvements, automation or new revenue streams.
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2. Cost management is critical
The cost of AI can quickly spiral out of control. Especially if organizations do not properly understand the pricing structures and scaling of AI solutions. Gartner warns that CIOs can overestimate their AI spending by 500 percent to 1,000 percent if they don’t estimate correctly.
More than 90 percent of CIOs indicated that cost management is a major challenge. CIOs therefore need to understand cost components and pricing models and negotiate effectively with vendors. LeHong emphasizes that conducting Proofs of Concepts should test not only the technology, but also the cost impact. With a Proof of Concept, you prove the feasibility of a project.
3. Decentralization of AI and data
Now that AI and data are everywhere in the enterprise, the IT department no longer manages them directly. According to Gartner, on average, only 35 percent of AI capabilities will still be built by IT teams. This calls for new ways to securely manage data and AI value.

Gartner therefore introduces the concept of the tech sandwich. LeHong explains: “At the bottom of the sandwich is all the data and AI from IT, usually centralized. On top is the data and AI coming from everywhere, usually decentralized. And in the middle are the TRiSM (Trust, Risk and Security Management) technologies that make it all secure. That’s what you have to create to give AI and data coming from everywhere a place.”
This approach helps manage the complexity of AI and data while continuing to exploit new opportunities.
4. What impact does AI have on employee performance and well-being?
AI affects not only business processes but also employees. Some employees feel threatened or resentful by the rise of AI. This can lead to undesirable behavior, such as jealousy or over-reliance on AI tools.
Only 20 percent of CIOs said their organization pays attention to mitigating the negative effects of AI on employee well-being. Gartner advises companies to deploy change management and carefully define who is responsible for managing behavioral outcomes.
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These insights show that CIOs need a clear strategy to implement AI securely, cost-effectively and with attention to human well-being. This requires a structured approach that focuses on balancing technological and organizational aspects.