Future of Work in AI-Driven Enterprises

GenAI is at an inflection point. Technologies such as Microsoft Copilot and Agentic AI are poised to revolutionize enterprise productivity, efficiency, and intelligence, yet many organizations are grappling with legacy systems that hinder delivering a return on AI investments. What have the most successful CIOs done to realize the benefits of GenAI and what are some lessons learned along the way?

CIOs in our Global Community gathered recently for a Town Hall exploring the best practices for identifying GenAI initiatives that deliver meaningful ROI and improve productivity. Sandeep Alur, CTO at Microsoft Innovation Hub, India, at Microsoft Corporation, and Ramachandran Padmanabhan, Vice President, Global Head, Wipro Microsoft Business Unit at Wipro, moderated the discussion. Global CIO Governing Body members Matt Ausman, CIO at Zebra Technologies, Matt Hough, VP and CIO at Cintas, and Debbie Vermaak, Group CIO at De Beers Group led their peers in small group discussions.

For CIOs across our communities, delivering value with AI currently ranks as one of their top priorities in our annual Leadership Perspective Survey of executives’ key opportunities and challenges. This discussion focused on the practical applications of scaling GenAI and finding cost savings and efficiencies with GenAI tools and solutions.
 

Key Takeaways from the Discussion

• There is no one-size-fits-all approach to measuring the return on investment from GenAI.
  Global CIOs in the discussion pointed out that everyone is looking at the ROI from generative AI with a different lens. Measurement may depend on your industry, or it may vary depending on your goals. IT leaders mentioned that some CIOs are focused on improving productivity and others are using GenAI for product innovation and development. 
  
  There are challenges to measuring value, in particular, when scaling GenAI across the organization. Some CIOs suggested using a specific use case to evaluate the value. One suggested that pilots and proofs of concept can enable you to show the investment return before a solution is scaled widely. Others have set up AI councils or groups to collaborate on demonstrating value to the organization.
• Define your organization’s approach to GenAI before scaling it.
  CIOs recommended defining your approach to GenAI and clarifying what you are doing for internal stakeholders. They suggested outlining details like whether your implementation strategy is conservative or aggressive and whether you plan to work in-house or not.
  
  One CIO mentioned that they thought most companies were taking a “cautionary approach.” Another IT leader said, “Sometimes you don’t want to apply AI in certain areas – there are do’s and don’t’s.” Others mentioned that GenAI can be embedded into some existing systems, and one challenge is deciding how to prioritize where to adopt it.
• Managing organizational expectations around GenAI.
  CIOs agreed that there are several challenges to adopting GenAI at scale. Some mentioned privacy laws, protecting their organizations’ data, and security concerns. Several IT leaders noted that you need to focus on training for the end users to get the best outcomes possible at scale. Otherwise, as one CIO put it, “Results will vary.” Another IT leader noted that “AI governance is a challenge with new models constantly coming along.”
  
  CIOs report that they have resources dedicated to GenAI, and most have an AI team in place driving the implementation. However, they are still challenged by scaling GenAI securely. As one CIO said, “With respect to the efficiencies that AI can bring, there are still a lot of challenges to adoption at scale because of security. But some good use cases have been implemented in large corporations.” Another executive shared, “There are no boundaries to what you can do with GenAI, but there are challenges in implementing it effectively."

In terms of the path forward, CIOs are continuing to find use cases and success stories to demonstrate value and determine where to scale GenAI. Global CIOs also discussed their role in evolving the organization to maximize the benefits of AI and managing expectations for the results. As one explained, “It’s up to the CIO to translate what we really can achieve with AI.”

CIOs can continue the conversation on how to scale GenAI and measure its value with peers at an upcoming community gathering. Current members can sign in to the app to find and register for events. If you are new to Gartner C-level Communities, apply to join your local CIO community to connect with peers on mission critical priorities.
 

Special thanks to Microsoft Corporation and Wipro.

By CIOs, For CIOs®
 

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