CIOs are setting bold resolutions for the new year — aspirations and intentions that aim to transform their organizations and showcase the value IT brings to the enterprise.
It should come as no surprise that many of the objectives listed by CIOs have to do with artificial intelligence. But AI is not the only topic top of mind for CIOs as they set their 2026 goals.
To get a sense on what IT leaders want to accomplish, we asked multiple CIOs to share their ambitions. Here’s a list of what they’re looking to do.
1. Improve the quality of AI outcomes
Neal Ramasamy, CIO at Cognizant, says his No. 1 objective is improving the quality of AI and agentic outcomes.
He plans to do that in part by deploying purpose-built small language models that understand Cognizant’s unique context.
“We’ve implemented over 180 AI solutions, and the pattern is clear: Large language models provide strong general intelligence, but achieving highly targeted, actionable outcomes requires specialized solutions tailored to our specific domains,” he says. “These purpose-built models will power improvements across the IT service desk, finance, HR, operations, contracts, and legal, ultimately moving us from suggestions that require refinement to recommendations that teams can act on immediately.”
Cognizant is investing in its own GPU infrastructure to make that happen, he says, saying it’s “a strategic move that gives us the processing power to train these models internally while controlling costs and reducing our dependence on third-party cloud services.”
He adds, “Success in 2026 means launching a few specialized models that deliver actionable outputs across key functions. This resolution isn’t just about leading internally, it’s also about demonstrating what’s possible when AI is purpose-built for impact.”
2. Scale agentic AI
The big goal for 2026 for Janardhan Santhanam, CIO of Tata Consultancy Services, is to scale agentic AI across the enterprise and set the standard for the optimal operating model of agents plus apps as well as agents plus humans.
He notes that tackling this goal will mean a “redefinition of work and most roles in the enterprise.” It also requires scaling “agent governance with policies for autonomy, compliance, and accountability across a federated agentic platform ecosystem.”
3. Master the management of the emerging agentic workforce
One of Matt Lyteson’s top objectives for 2026 is mastering the management of the emerging agentic workforce. (He says it comes in just after “doubling-down on being outcome-oriented from a business perspective.”)
For Lyteson, that means knowing where they’re deployed, what they’re doing, and what they’re accessing. It also means ensuring they operate within the security and governance confines set by the company.
That’s similar to how companies manage their human workforce, says Lyteson, CIO for technology platforms at IBM, who notes that identity is key for access management whether it’s for an AI agent or a human employee.
But managing the technical part of an agentic workforce is only part of the goals that Lyteson has set for 2026. He also wants to help humans successfully work alongside agents.
“This will really take organizational change and encouraging people to use these tools,” he says, noting that he sees agents as “teammates” as much as tools.
He acknowledges that others don’t share that view. So his plan is to showcase the benefits of agentic AI as a way of getting skeptical employees to work side by side with agents.
“We have found that simply mandating the use of tools won’t work,” he adds. “So ideally people will see that these are teammates they can leverage, and we can get them on board by letting them see the positives.”
4. ‘Make sure AI is actually helping people’
Salesforce CIO Dan Shmitt also wants to emphasize the positives of AI in 2026.
“When I look ahead to 2026, my focus is straightforward: I want to make sure AI is actually helping people do their jobs better and not creating extra steps or confusion,” he says. “At the end of the day, my aim is to make work feel lighter. Technology should support people, not the other way around.”
That may be easier said than done, but Shmitt has a strategy to make it happen.
To start, he wants to strengthen the company’s data foundation. He knows the criticality of that, pointing to an incident where an AI agent within the Salesforce help site surfaced two conflicting answers. “Our first reaction was to assume the model was wrong. The truth was that our data and content needed more consistency,” he says. “That experience reinforced how essential clean and trusted data is for any AI system to work reliably.”
He also emphasizes the need to bring AI directly into the flow of work. “If people have to stop what they are doing to use AI, adoption will stall,” he says. “In 2026 I want the AI-powered path to feel natural, intuitive, and easier than the traditional way of getting something done.”
And third, he plans to help employees feel confident using AI. “A lot of hesitation comes from not knowing when to rely on an agent and when to step in,” he says. “Part of the CIO role now involves giving people clarity, the right training, and simple feedback channels so they can learn as they go.”
5. Balance ‘innovation with humanity’
Pat Lawicki, CIO of TruStage, an insurance, investment, and technology provider, has a similar ambition for the upcoming year, one that balances technology and innovation with concerns for the people who use it.
“My priority for the year ahead is equipping our teams with the skills, context, and guardrails they need to use these technologies responsibly and confidently,” she says. “We’re committed to balancing innovation with humanity: leveraging digital tools where they add real value while preserving the human connection that defines trust and empathy. Technology can streamline processes, and needs human intuition and judgment, which is a principle we’ll carry forward in every decision.”
Lawicki says these are more “enduring commitments” than resolutions for a single year.
“Organizations aren’t just adopting new technologies; rather, they’re navigating a rapid shift in how work happens and how customers expect to be served. That journey is ongoing, and my role is to guide the enterprise through it with clarity, confidence, and empathy,” she explains. “AI fluency is central, because [AI] will touch every role across the company. We’re embedding training into deployment and pairing it with strong governance, so people understand not just the ‘how,’ but the ‘why.’ Success means employees feel empowered to use AI to reduce manual work and make better decisions, while ensuring every customer interaction is handled with care.”
6. Get better a communicating the value of IT
Doing a better job at communicating the value of the IT team is among the goals Rebecca Gasser has set for herself as global CIO at FGS Global.
Gasser sees the need to hone her promotional skills because IT’s successes can often go without their due recognition. “We don’t do a good job marketing ourselves,” she notes.
She knows that firsthand, admitting that she has sent out updates about IT’s work that aren’t getting read. Gasser has a plan to turn that around in the new year.
Instead of sending out monthly updates or detailed newsletters, Gasser plans to highlight achievements in smaller bites. “There are successes that we might have celebrated ourselves in IT that instead I’ll push out into the organization, just to open up communication,” Gasser says. “And I’m being very thoughtful in the way I’m communicating it, being business-focused and not tech-focused, with the right level of content and visuals so everyone can understand where we’re coming from.”
Gasser believes that communicating IT’s work has always been important, but she sees it becoming increasingly critical given the volume and velocity of change in the era of AI, where IT’s contributions to new ways of working are instrumental to the organization’s ongoing success.
7. Improve everyone’s tech and AI literacy
Another goal for Gasser: improving tech and AI literacy across her organization.
She believes improving digital acumen will help workers be more agile and adaptable to the ongoing changes that are expected as technology continues to rapidly evolve.
“There’s an invitation to curiosity I want to put out to my organization,” she says. “Next year is going to be a big year of transformation for us, we need to be really focused on people being ready for change as we head into 2026.”
Gasser plans to lean on conventional strategies to make that happen, such as working with HR to identify the right learning opportunities for employees. She’s also considering new approaches, such as scheduling office hours and one-on-one coaching sessions that help IT upskill employees throughout the organization and help them see IT as partners on the transformation journey.
8. Learn more from other CIOs
Warren Lenard started a new job in early 2025, becoming state CIO and agency head for the Indiana Office of Technology after a career in the private sector. He was hired to help consolidate and streamline IT services, optimize spending and vendor contracts, and standardize IT on platforms to ensure the state’s IT function is making the best use of its resources.
Although such moves are par for the course for CIOs, Lenard acknowledges that “there are some caveats and perspectives that are different in the public sector.”
He wants to get a better grip on those caveats and other relevant insights by leaning on other state CIOs for lessons-learned.
“I’ve met with some of them, but I want to go on more of a world tour. There are some specific states who have done some of the things we want to do that I want to align with. That can help us tremendously and keep us from going down paths where we might stumble,” he says.
He’s already building his network, having made connections through the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) and at CIO events.
Lenard says executives know they can turn to each other for information and advice, but doing so takes intention. He notes that he had been so inundated with work during his first months at his new post that he hadn’t “made the time to get out to as many CIOs as I wanted.”
That’s why, he explains, it’s on his 2026 to-do list.
9. Be part of whatever is next
As Karen Swift, vice president of IT at Penske Media, looks ahead to 2026 and beyond, she can’t say what exactly is on the horizon but she knows for sure more tech-driven transformation is ahead. Her objective is to be a part of it.
“I’ve always been curious, and I think being a successful IT leader, you have to be curious. So I want to move onto what’s next. I think it will be a lot of fun,” she says, adding that she sees the current time as “a tech renaissance.”
“Maybe I’m a little bit crazy for not wanting to slow down, but I am really excited to see what’s next and how I can be a part of it,” she says.
Read More from This Article: 9 IT resolutions for 2026
Source: News