How modern CIOs are spearheading change in the digital age
Brenna Swanston
June 26, 2025
Brenna Swanston
June 26, 2025
Burdened by antiquated systems, disjointed tech stacks, and resource constraints, many public sector organizations have struggled to keep pace with a rapidly evolving digital landscape. But with digital transformation becoming non-negotiable in the modern age, chief information officers are rising to the task and leading their organizations into a new era of technology.
Our latest paper, “Guide for the Modern CIO: Evolving From Order-Taker to Change-Maker in the Digital Age,” inspects how the role of chief information officer has expanded beyond tech strategy to encompass business leadership, cultural development, and stewardship of their organizations’ digital future. To inform the guide, we conducted first-hand interviews with leaders in the space, including:
Shifting a government organization from on-prem legacy systems to a cloud-based tech ecosystem is a critical and complex undertaking that involves both cultural and digital transformation. CIOs lead that transformation, and in doing so, they assume a proactive leadership role that drives change, disrupts the status quo, and seeks to educate and upskill personnel organization-wide.
Data governance is critical to a successful cloud transition, and CIOs are responsible for establishing a strong data governance framework that complies with legal regulations and industry best practices to secure sensitive data. As part of that governance framework, CIOs also implement a data strategy, which directly impacts their organizations’ mission success.
Modernizing an organization’s technology is only part of the digital transformation process. It’s equally important to ensure personnel feel confident and supported using their new cloud-based solutions and systems, which involves fostering a culture of innovation and continuous learning. This task falls to the modern CIO; they must encourage their staff to keep learning new skills as technologies evolve and their data stacks grow.
However, with limited resources at public agencies’ disposal, CIOs must also be creative and determined in finding ways to educate and upskill their staff. One method is to take advantage of vendor-provided training sessions, highlighting the importance of choosing supportive, mission-aligned vendors that will act as strategic partners.
Research shows that only 2% of government leaders think their organizations’ data is fully accessible, while 61% say their organizations’ data is somewhat or completely siloed. Effective data integration is key to addressing information silos, enabling cross-departmental collaboration, and unifying an organization’s data into a single, durable asset.
To build digital resilience and set up their organizations for success in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), the modern CIO must identify and deploy a high-quality integration solution for their agency’s information. This means being able to discern the meticulous, effective solutions from those that cut corners and neglect details.
According to a national survey, 53% of state CIOs say employees in their organizations use generative AI tools in their daily work. Tech platforms are deploying AI features, and employees are using them — whether or not their organizations are prepared for it.
CIOs are tasked with getting their agencies ready for AI, starting with identifying opportunities for AI to provide value for departmental operations. AI preparedness also involves integrating, normalizing, and cleaning data across an organization’s systems, since large language models (LLM) rely on high-quality data to function well. It’s also up to CIOs to place guardrails for their organizations’ safe and responsible use of AI tools.
Modern CIOs are no longer confined to behind-the-scenes support. They now drive cultural transformation and strategic decision-making to ensure their organizations’ success and digital resilience. Download our white paper for an in-depth exploration of CIOs’ growing and changing responsibilities.
Today’s chief information officers (CIOs) aren’t confined to tech procurement and IT management. They are business leaders, strategic partners, and catalysts of change, spearheading innovation in their industries. Our guide explores four critical tenet of the modern CIO’s role.
Download the white paper