CIO priorities for 2026: boosting productivity, including through Low-Code

“Static plans won’t survive in 2026”^[1] states Gartner® in its CIO Agenda 2026, a study outlining the needs, priorities, and investments of Chief Technology Officers for the coming year. 

This statement is driven by the current global situation, marked by economic uncertainty, geopolitical instability, and the rise of artificial intelligence—three factors that push enterprise leaders to act quickly and decisively, reshaping their plans as needed. 

CIOs are responding to this highly dynamic environment by aiming to create faster and leaner organizations. In fact, the top three^[2] CIO priorities are increased productivity, cost reduction, and enhanced customer value:

• 57% want to boost productivity

• 52% aim to reduce costs

• 40% seek to improve customer/citizen experience 

Low-Code as a Key Enabler of These Goals

The largest investments planned for 2026 focus on GenAI and AI technologies, with around 90%^[3] of CIOs intending to increase funding for these innovations. 

However, among the technologies drawing significant attention, Low-Code platforms also stand out, with 58%^[4] of CIOs planning to increase their Low-Code budget.

This choice is not surprising: Low-Code is now a mature technology, increasingly adopted by medium and large enterprises, and it enables precisely the outcomes CIOs are prioritizing—higher productivity, reduced resource needs, and improved digital experience. 

Low-Code also helps organizations quickly achieve several business growth goals (a priority for 74%^[5] of CIOs), such as enhancing the user experience, launching new products and services, and improving the quality of offerings. 

This technology is therefore not only useful for boosting development productivity and reducing costs, but also for improving overall business performance. It does so by accelerating and enhancing the modernization, digitalization, automation, and standardization of processes—resulting in higher quality outcomes and greater customer and user satisfaction. 

Sources

[1] https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/cio-agenda Gartner® is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and HYPE CYCLE is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. 

[2] https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/cio-agenda

[3] https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7382451861439807488/

[4] https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7382451861439807488/

[5] https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/cio-agenda