The Enterprise Technology Questions Leaders Are Facing Today

• Why is enterprise architecture now a strategic priority rather than just an IT upgrade?

  Enterprise architecture is now a strategic priority rather than just an IT upgrade because it’s become the backbone of scaling AI at speed. The CIO sits at the center of that shift, moving from “keeping the lights on” to acting as a strategic partner and catalyst for change.

  Legacy stacks were built for predictable, request-response transactions, not the adaptive, multistep workflows that AI demands. Scaling AI means moving beyond fragmented legacy systems toward a unified architecture. This is a structural overhaul, not a lift-and-shift of the old stack.

  Leading organizations are aligning technology strategy with business ambition, modernizing through a phased roadmap, and making deliberate buy-versus-build choices about where to invest. When done well, architecture stops being an operational concern and becomes a strategic foundation that determines how, where, and at what scale AI creates value. AI moves from isolated experiments to a scalable operating capability.

• How can a CIO reduce technology cost without disrupting the business?

  A CIO can reduce technology cost without disrupting the business by combining visibility into spending, in-year savings, a savings roadmap, execution discipline, and ongoing cost management.

  The stakes are real. Bain’s research finds that 90% of companies have run technology cost programs in recent years, yet three out of four didn’t achieve their cost productivity targets. Nearly half missed their targets by more than 50%. And costs that are saved often creep back in.

  One trap to avoid: across-the-board cuts, which can be risky, as companies can reduce their capabilities in ways that impair results. Leading CIOs take a holistic view of risk instead, weighing business, execution, strategic, and reversibility considerations.

  They also establish an executable portfolio of initiatives across time horizons, complete with required timelines, trade-offs, and investment commitments. These initiatives cluster into three waves: reduce costs with short-term actions, replace technology with more efficient options, and rethink architecture and operating models for lasting change. With this roadmap, CIOs can shift spending from “run” to “grow,” freeing up funds to invest in future technology.

• Why is cybersecurity spending rising, and how should leaders prioritize it?

  Cybersecurity spending is rising because AI has sharply lowered the cost and effort of launching increasingly sophisticated attacks, making every weakness a realistic target. AI doesn't create new vulnerabilities. It exposes the ones already there, turning years of underinvestment into an immediate, material business risk.
  
  Based on Bain’s experience helping large organizations step up their cybersecurity capabilities, many will need to roughly double their current spending—or more. The increases planned by most organizations today—about 10% annually—are nowhere near enough.
  
  The mistake is treating cybersecurity as a technical problem to delegate downward rather than a business risk of the highest order. That repeated choice to deprioritize it has left most organizations exposed.
  
  The immediate priority is strengthening cybersecurity fundamentals: robust access controls, network segmentation, automated patching, zero trust architecture, and anomaly detection. Strong foundations can provide significant protection against AI-enabled attacks, and they belong on every leadership team’s agenda.

• How are enterprise technology priorities shifting as companies scale AI?

  Enterprise technology priorities are shifting toward integrated AI, data, cloud, and security as companies move AI from experimentation to enterprise value. Bain’s survey of 280 tech services decision makers reveals that cybersecurity and AI-led initiatives are consistently at the top of the agenda. Meanwhile, foundational investments in core system modernization, cloud, and data are being reframed through the lens of AI readiness.

  AI is no longer a standalone capability but a unifying layer across enterprise enablement, so isolated upgrades are giving way to integrated, future-back transformation programs. According to Bain’s survey, customers of technology services expect their overall IT spending to stay broadly flat from 2025 to 2026, while spending on technology services is set to increase modestly. And across most industries, 75% of executives expect at least 5% to 10% of tech spending to focus on AI and machine learning.
  
  So where should technology leaders start? The mandate is to reallocate and simplify before spending. Leaders can reduce technical debt, consolidate internal software, and rationalize spending on vendors to lower ongoing costs. They can redirect those savings to the data foundations and modern platforms AI needs, integrating those layers rather than bolting AI onto an unchanged stack. The companies pulling ahead don't treat IT as overhead. They translate their investment into reusable platforms, cleaner data, and faster deployment, turning technology spending into operating leverage.

• Why are technology budgets rising as a share of operating expense, and what should leaders do about it?

  Technology budgets are rising both as a share of operating expense and in absolute dollars because of the costs of digitalization. That requires cost-management practices that eliminate waste and propel strategy.

  The instinct can be to cut, but most technology cost programs miss their targets. Three out of four don’t achieve their cost productivity goals, often because the discipline and rigor to find opportunities, take cost out, and prevent it from creeping back in is missing. Meanwhile, unmanaged spending, through shadow IT and point solutions, quietly accumulates technical debt. And CIOs face steady pressure to shift spending from “run” to “grow.”

  To manage costs, technology leaders can build spending visibility, set a roadmap for savings and trade-offs over time, and put ongoing cost management in place so funding serves the business strategy rather than simply trimming budgets. Managed deliberately, a rising technology budget becomes fuel for long-term strategy rather than uncontrolled cost.