By 2030, the CIO would be the energy heart of the c-suite.
In lower than a decade, CIOs at Fortune 100 firms are on observe to manage greater than 50% of investments – a large shift from simply 24% in 2018. That’s not a typo. CIOs are not simply IT stewards. They’re funding strategists. And more and more, the architects of development.
And so they’re making one huge wager:
AI. Not “AI in HR” or “AI for insights.” Full-scale, end-to-end AI that transforms how firms function—from provide chain to finance, from name facilities to compliance.
Supply: 1. Derived whole income figures of Fortune 500 from fortune.com. 64% of Fortune 500 income comes from Fortune 100; 2. Internet revenue calculated from monetary occasions; 3. Calculated based mostly on change in rates of interest; 4. Primarily based on Deloitte CIO surveys
The AI Adoption Curve Is Trying Very 1990
Historical past is repeating itself.
SAP revenues rose to $1B between 1980 and 1990, and it elevated from $1B to $8B within the subsequent 10 years.
Within the late ’90s, ERP methods like SAP and Oracle grew to become the usual. Adoption exploded. As a result of the software program was superb? it wasn’t. However as a result of firms realized that not adopting it meant falling behind.
Supply: SAP annual experiences
AI goes to observe the identical development or an much more drastic one.
It’s about momentum. Firms are rolling out AI throughout finance, operations, customer support, and procurement—even when the ROI takes time to crystallize.
AI can be a key aggressive benefit for enterprises.
AI Is Consuming the Strategic Finances
The place’s most of that new finances going? It’s going straight into AI.
The identical manner ERP dominated enterprise spend within the Nineties, AI is now the centerpiece of each transformation roadmap.
However the playbook is completely different.
ERP was about standardization.
AI is about acceleration.
ERP gave firms a system of file.
AI offers them a system of motion.
Supply: CIO.com
This Tech Development is a Margin Technique.
Why is that this taking place?
As a result of AI is already boosting margins.
Common working revenue at Fortune 100s is up from ~13% in 2016 to ~17% in 2025. Internet revenue margins? Up from 9.8% to 13% in the identical interval. That’s not simply market tailwinds, that’s structural effectivity.
AI helps firms:
- Lower exception charges
- Scale back course of cycle occasions
- Automate rework
- Enhance compliance
- Speed up decision-making
In a world the place labor prices are up and provide chains are brittle, that’s how firms will survive and scale.
Supply: CIO.com
What This Means for Everybody Else
Begin taking note of the CIO.
Their choices will form your instruments, your workflows, your workforce buildings—and probably your job.
In the event you’re in gross sales or technique: study to talk the language of automation, margin, and AI ROI. It’s the one manner your concepts get funded.
In the event you’re a founder or builder: perceive that the customer isn’t simply “the tech workforce” anymore. It’s the individual with a metamorphosis mandate and a finances to match.
Backside Line
AI is the toolbox.
And by 2030, CIOs gained’t simply affect enterprise technique—they’ll be the technique.
We’re already seeing the silhouette take form. The finances shift is actual. The margin raise is occurring. The playbook is being rewritten.
CIOs are taking up.
