More than 70% of CEOs say their organization’s IT operating model is not ready for AI, according to Gartner. The problem is not a lack of ambition — it is a structural mismatch.

Traditional IT models were built for centralized control, predictable delivery cycles, and clear ownership inside the IT function. AI breaks that model apart. As AI spreads across the business, decisions are being made outside IT, while CIOs are still expected to own risk, resilience, and value creation.

Why the model is breaking

• AI adoption is accelerating faster than governance processes can keep up.
• Geopolitical volatility is increasing uncertainty.
• AI is being used across departments, not just in centralized technology teams.
• Only 24% of CIOs say their current operating model can adapt effectively to changing business needs.

The result is a growing gap between business expectations and the systems designed to deliver technology. CIOs are being asked to move quickly, manage cybersecurity risk, and remain competitive — even as technology ownership becomes more distributed.

Gartner’s view

Gartner argues that the answer is not tighter central control, but better orchestration. In a modern operating model, technology work is not owned by a single department alone. It is shared across IT teams, business leaders, partners, and AI-enabled systems.

That requires clearer decision rights, stronger accountability, and embedded guardrails inside operating processes rather than slow, centralized review cycles.

Workforce and sourcing shifts

The research also points to a bigger change in how work gets done:

• Nearly 90% of IT managers expect AI to play a larger role in technology delivery.
• 71% expect greater use of shared services.
• Organizations are likely to replace some external labor with AI-enabled internal teams.

The shift is away from routine operational work and toward higher-value work that requires judgment, integration, and strategic oversight.

Bottom line

AI is forcing companies to rethink how technology is governed, funded, and executed. The old command-and-control model is too rigid for a world where AI is distributed, fast-moving, and deeply embedded in the business.

The winners will be organizations that move from centralized control to coordinated orchestration — with governance built into the operating model itself.