2025 is right around the corner (we can’t believe it either). For CIOs, planning for a successful year comes down to striking the right balance between leveraging data for business growth and keeping it secure–which, in many cases, is easier said than done.
In this post, discover five important considerations for CIOs as they plan for the year ahead and how a trusted data protection and management platform can put these initiatives within reach.
1) Integrating AI with confidence
Adopting and utilizing AI is an exciting milestone for any organization. After all, who doesn’t want to accomplish important business objectives faster? But for many CIOs, the concept of integrating AI (much less implementing it) is riddled with obstacles. According to a 2024 Salesforce survey, 84% of CIOs acknowledge AI’s significance for business, but “only 11% have fully implemented the technology” due to data and security concerns.
So, what about AI integration is keeping CIOs up at night? Caution areas include:
- monitoring and understanding data sources and usage
- segregating good data from bad
- safeguarding proprietary data from leaking into AI models.
To tee up a successful year, CIOs must ensure that AI integration includes careful planning around data quality and governance, and can be carried out by team members who are equipped to manage AI initiatives. This way, CIOs and the organization as a whole can unlock AI’s benefits without putting data security or business objectives at risk.
2) Leveling up cybersecurity best practices
A new year means new opportunities–and for CIOs, that means building an impactful foundation for the months and quarters to come. Unfortunately, the glimmer of a fresh start can be quickly overshadowed by cybersecurity risks and threats.
While there is excitement about introducing AI capabilities, there is also a darker side. Bad actors have access to these same capabilities and are upping their game around phishing, ransomware and other nefarious activities. Add in mistakes from well-intentioned employees, and you can quickly see that cybersecurity threats have become “when” not “if” scenarios. For CIOs, planning for the new year must include prioritizing a cybersecurity strategy that minimizes impact and maximizes recovery. This can include testing and improving incident response times (after all, what worked last year may not work this year), adopting a “zero-trust” approach, and ensuring employees receive up to date cybersecurity training.
3) Connecting the digital transformation dots
Whether you’re creating a customer self-service portal, implementing workflow automation tools, or modernizing a legacy system, digital transformation initiatives are in constant motion–and the mark of a new year is no exception. For CIOs, digital transformation requires more than optimizing operational and organizational efficiencies- it's about translating these initiatives into measurable business outcomes.
To effectively demonstrate value, CIOs should consider revisiting and reestablishing key performance indicators (KPIs) directly linked to the new year business goals. This way, executives and stakeholders can easily connect the dots between transformation initiatives and concrete outcomes, which can help CIOs when they need further buy-in down the line.
4) Compliance with ever-changing laws and regulations
An organization’s data isn’t the only thing growing and changing; so are the laws and regulations that govern it. With 71% of the world’s countries having data protection and privacy legislation in place and 9% of countries in draft legislation, it’s up to CIOs to make sure that any new technology investments support the company’s compliance efforts to avoid costly fines, penalties, and reputational damage. As the regulatory landscape evolves, CIOs can expect more stringent demands from both internal and external stakeholders, making it critical to have measures in place to check the compliance boxes throughout the year.
So, how can CIOs keep their organizations on the right side of compliance in 2025 and beyond? In addition to doing regulatory homework, CIOs should consider proactive solutions that can streamline their SaaS compliance needs. This can include investing in data protection tools, revisiting third-party vendor contracts, or designating internal teams to manage and monitor compliance requirements. Armed with robust solutions, CIOs can ensure that teams address compliance quickly and efficiently- and are equipped to handle future regulatory additions as soon as they pop up.
5) Adapting to new budget allocations
With a new year on the horizon, CIOs can expect to find their team’s initiatives under the financial microscope. And as industry trends shift toward allocating more budget to information security, CIOs are expected to prioritize, innovate, and collaborate to get more done..
To start the new year on the right financial foot, CIOs must strategically approach mandatory/non-discretionary projects and expenditure vs discretionary projects and expenditure, making sure that resources deliver value without compromising security or performance. It’s also important that CIOs focus on solutions that deliver value at scale and allow for bundled use cases, instead of satisfying each individual need, which can become costly and fast.
Making CIO priorities a reality with Own
For CIOs, a new calendar year should start (and be sustained) with confidence and trust, instead of worry and panic. That’s where Own can make the difference. As a leading provider of data protection and data management solutions, we empower CIOs and organizations to fully own their own SaaS data, providing the tools, support, and insights to make this possible. And, as the year unfolds, along with your initiatives, the Own platform makes it easy to ensure backup and recovery, data security, data seeding, data archiving, and data discovery– all in one place.
Learn more about the Own Data Platform here or request a demo below.
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