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Explore the key research findings from North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific from our  to better understand the regional differences between CIO roles for insight on how to sell and engage with CIOs in different parts of the world.

How does the CIO role change by region?

We know that the role of the CIO is to oversee the technology strategy and operations of an organization, so of course this will differ by region if they鈥檙e in different stages of advancing their technology strategy. Despite where they are in their journey, one aspect that is very similar by region is their role within digital transformation. Eighty-six percent of CIOs in North America say that they’re more involved in leading digital transformation initiatives compared to their business counterparts, while 85% of EMEA CIOs and 79% of APAC CIOs say they’re more involved. Additionally, 84% of APAC CIOs say that their role is becoming more digital and innovation focused, compared to 83% of North American and EMEA CIOs. From the budget expectations, we know that IT decision-makers across all regions are prioritizing increased investments in AI/machine learning, which may explain why they currently feel more involved in digital transformation.

No matter the part of the world, the CIO is becoming a changemaker, increasingly leading business and technology initiatives. Eighty-four percent of CIOs in North America, 83% of CIOs in APAC and 81% of CIOs in EMEA feel this way. This ties into the elevation of the CIO role, 80% of CIOs in North America say that the CIO role has been elevated due to the current state of the economy and believe that this visibility is expected to continue.

When this was asked of APAC CIOs, 79% of them agreed and so did 71% of EMEA CIOs. Regardless of where the CIO resides and where their organization is located, the CIO role is becoming more and more prominent within the business and their leadership is valued and relied upon to advance the business. Hear from CIOs as they share their take on CIO’s yearly research and how their role is evolving.

Who does the CIO collaborate with in each region?

In North America, EMEA and APAC, the CIO primarily reports to the CEO, which shows that they have high stature within the organization as they have a direct line of communication with the business. Nineteen percent of CIOs in EMEA are more likely to report to a corporate CIO, compared to only 14% in North America and 10% in APAC.

CIOs have plans to hire talent across several technology-related areas this year. North American CIOs anticipate hiring in AI/machine learning (41%), cybersecurity (39%), data science/analytics (30%), business/IT automation (26%), and risk management (20%)鈥攑riorities that EMEA and APAC CIOs share.

Understanding these hiring plans gives marketers direct insight into the initiatives IT teams are actively pursuing and the technology areas they’re investing in over the next 6-12 months.

Are there regional differences for the CIO鈥檚 focus and priorities?

When asked the question, which three activities are you spending more time on today, working more closely with business leaders on potential AI initiatives, learning about emerging technology, and creating a framework and organizational structure to support AI initiatives are the top activities for global CIOs. We see that these activities do not vary much by region.

While these are the initiatives that CIOs are currently focusing on, there are also priorities that the CEO has for IT. Overall, these are to research and implement AI products/projects, upgrade IT and data security to reduce corporate risk, and strengthen IT and business collaboration. These priorities, however, shift depending on geography. In North America and APAC, the focus is on researching and implement AI products/projects. In EMEA, CEOs are pushing for upgrading IT and data security. These findings also align with the fact that all three regions are more focused on working closely with business leaders on potential AI initiatives; it highlights the need for closer collaboration between IT and business leaders to successfully advance these initiatives.

How are regional CIOs increasing their involvement in certain areas?

AI/machine learning is a widely talked about technology project. Three quarters of North American CIOs expect their involvement in AI/ML to increase over the next year, and this is even larger for those in EMEA (76%) and APAC (77%).

There’s a lot of talk around the globe about AI initiatives. Sixty-seven percent of APAC CIOs expect their involvement to increase in Agentic AI in the next year. This jumps to 70% for North America and 74% for EMEA.

Security remains a constant theme as 63% of global CIOs anticipate their involvement in cybersecurity will increase over the next year. These results vary slightly by region: 69% for EMEA CIOs, followed by 64% for APAC and 60% for North America.

CIOs expect to be more involved in product development/innovation over the next year. More than half (56%) of CIOs in EMEA and APAC feel this way, with those in North America close behind (54%).

As CIOs become more involved in revenue generating activities, it makes sense that they expect to be more involved in customer experience over the next year, 58% for North American CIOs, 54% for EMEA and 51% for APAC.

There鈥檚 a lot of talk around the globe about environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulations. Only 40% of North American CIOs expect their involvement to increase in this area in the next year, however, this jumps to 49% for EMEA CIOs and 53% for APAC CIOs.

There are a few takeaways marketers should be aware of with these increases in involvement. First, just because the CIO says their involvement isn鈥檛 increasing as much as another region doesn鈥檛 mean that they aren鈥檛 involved in these initiatives. It may mean that they鈥檝e already established involvement in these areas and expect that involvement to remain the same for the time being. Second, these differences by region indicate that marketers need to tailor their messaging and content to the areas that their audience is focused on if they have regional marketing responsibilities. These are all important factors to consider when learning how to market to CIOs around the world.

Do technology initiatives differ by region?

When trying to grasp how to market to CIOs around the world, it鈥檚 important to understand their technology initiatives. In North America, the initiatives that are driving the most IT investment this year are Agentic AI, Generative AI, AI/ML, and data/business analytics. We continue to see AI initiatives becoming a top priority for CIOs in North America, especially as to why their technology budgets are increasing, so it鈥檚 not a surprise it ranks among the three leading initiatives driving IT investments.

Leading the list of investment drivers in EMEA is also AI/ML, followed by Generative AI, Agentic AI, and business process automation/IT automation.

These technology initiatives are also driving the most IT investment in APAC, however the order is slightly different. Generative AI is the first investment driver, followed by AI/ML, Agentic AI, and security/risk management.

Although these differences are not drastic, they still show that there are regional differences between CIO roles across the world, and that they’re focused on slightly different technologies and therefore will be more focused on specific vendors and educational content throughout the year. No matter which region you are marketing your technology to, there are certain tactics to use when selling to the CIO and it’s important to continuously provide this customer base with valuable resources.

How do business initiatives differ by region?

There are also a handful of business initiatives that CIOs say are driving the most IT investment at their organization. For CIOs in North America and APAC, these include accelerating AI-driven innovation and applications, increasing operational efficiency, improving profitability, increasing cybersecurity protections, and increasing employee productivity鈥攁ll closely tied to their current technology initiatives and areas of focus.

The business initiatives driving IT investments in EMEA are similar to those in North America and APAC, with the addition of automating/transforming business processes.

It鈥檚 essential to be aware of these initiatives that CIOs are focused on in the region that you鈥檙e responsible for marketing towards, as they will determine the technologies they invest in and who they collaborate with throughout the process.

When learning how to market to CIOs around the world, there are likely some key differences in IT leadership and the priorities and goals of their organization by region. Be sure your marketing content aligns with where your customers are. Check out our 2026 State of the CIO regional infographics (for APAC, EMEA, and North America) for additional information.