The Gartner 2027 CIO and Technology Executive Agenda<\/a> survey of 2,002 CIOs and technology executives from May to July 2026 found that vanguards, defined as CIOs who are delivering better performance on business outcomes while also reporting high CEO-perceived AI value, are more likely to establish stopping rules at two points in the lifecycle: pilots and production. Defining these guidelines becomes essential as organizations rapidly transition from initial experimentation to active deployment across GenAI<\/a>, traditional AI and AI agents.<\/p>\n Organizations with guidelines for determining when an AI pilot should not move to production are 2.3 times more likely to be vanguards, while those with guidelines for abandoning low-value AI initiatives already in production are 2.6 times more likely to be vanguards. However, only 31% and 17% of CIOs, respectively, reported having these practices in place.<\/p>\n \u201cEstablishing and adhering to these criteria is a team sport,\u201d said Mullery. \u201cCIOs need business partners who are willing and ready to walk away from low value investments.\u201d<\/p>\n CIOs Must Be Responsible for AI Economic Stewardship<\/strong><\/p>\n Funding for AI is increasing, and 58% of CIOs said they have increased pressure to deliver cost improvement from AI. At the same time, 51% of CIOs expected AI to increase the total cost of ownership of technology solutions (see Figure 1). CIOs need to help their organizations govern AI economics across the full lifecycle, not simply approve an initial technology purchase.<\/p>\n \u201cMany organizations continue to apply funding and governance models designed for traditional technology investments such as cloud and SaaS,\u201d said Mullery. \u201cUnlike traditional technology costs, which are largely predictable, AI costs are probabilistic and determined at run time. As enterprise technology funding shifts towards GenAI and agentic AI while investments in legacy infrastructure contract, CIOs will need new approaches to funding, governance and cost accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n CIOs Must Bridge the IT Workforce Gap by Expanding What Humans Do<\/strong><\/p>\n Organizations with explicit plans to redesign roles for a human-agent workforce are 2.4 times more likely to be vanguards, yet a significant execution gap exists, as only 4% of CIOs reported having such plans in place.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile many leaders assume AI will primarily serve to reduce technology headcount, the true vanguard differentiator lies in workforce redesign,\u201d said Mullery.<\/p>\n This workforce transformation provides the essential foundation for understanding headcount trends: as AI lowers the cost and effort required to produce technology, overall demand for technology work actually increases. This creates a dual workforce shift where IT headcount can grow, with 40% of respondents expecting to increase IT headcount in 2027, particularly in cybersecurity<\/a> and data and analytics<\/a> (see Figure 2), while roles simultaneously compress and expand.<\/p>\n \u201cRather than maintaining static job definitions, Vanguards recognize that as AI takes on specialized tasks, the boundaries between established technology jobs begin to blur,\u201d said Mullery. \u201cFor example, designers can increasingly perform testing activities, while testers participate in design. Consequently, organizations will require fewer distinct role types, even as the span of responsibility within each role expands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Gartner clients can read more in Bridging the AI Trough: 3 Gaps To Close for the 2027 CIO and Technology Executive Agenda.<\/a><\/p>\n Gartner is an indispensable partner to C-Level executives and technology providers as they implement AI strategies to achieve their mission-critical priorities. The independence and objectivity of Gartner insights provide clients with the confidence to make informed decisions and unlock the full potential of AI. Clients across the C-Level are using Gartner\u2019s proprietary<\/span> AskGartner<\/a> AI tool to determine how to leverage AI in their business. With more than 2,500 business and technology experts, 6,000 written insights, as well as more than 4,000 AI use cases and case studies, Gartner is the world authority on AI<\/span>. More information can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gartner for IT Leaders provides actionable, objective insight to CIOs and IT leaders to help them drive their organizations through digital transformation and lead business growth<\/span>. Learn more<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Gartner (NYSE: IT)<\/em> delivers actionable, objective business and technology insights that drive smarter decisions and stronger performance on an organization\u2019s mission-critical priorities<\/span><\/span>. To learn more, visit www.gartner.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Source: Gartner<\/i><\/p>\n Tags: Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/a>, Gartner<\/a>, survey<\/a>, technology investment<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CIOs Must Strive to be Vanguards, a Cohort That Delivers Better Business Outcomes While Also Reporting High CEO-Perceived AI Value Stamford, CT (Oct. 26, 2026) \u2013 Only 13% of CIOs reported their enterprise has...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1],"class_list":["post-25532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25532\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Figure 1: Changes in Technology Funding, 2026 to 2027<\/h4>\n
![](\"https:\/\/insurance-canada.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2026ciosurveygraph1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFigure 2: Expected Changes in Headcount within IT Functional Sub-teams Within 12 Months (Percentage of Respondents)<\/h4>\n
![](\"https:\/\/insurance-canada.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2026ciosurveygraph2.png\")
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