Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2024 Orlando: Day 1 Highlights

We are bringing you news and highlights from Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo, taking place this week in Orlando, Florida. Below is a collection of the key announcements and insights coming out of the conference.

On Day 1 from the conference, we are highlighting the Gartner opening keynote presentation, top 10 strategic technology trends for 2025 and how to build resilience in the face of the unpredictable. Be sure to check this page throughout the day for updates.

• Gartner Identifies Four Emerging Challenges to Delivering Value from AI Safely and at Scale
• Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2025
• Gartner Survey Reveals That Only 48% of Digital Initiatives Meet or Exceed Their Business Outcome Targets

Presented by Mary Mesaglio and Hung LeHong, Distinguished VP Analysts, Gartner

The majority of CIOs are now tasked with leading their company’s AI strategy. In the Gartner Opening Keynote, Distinguished VP Analysts Mary Mesaglio and Hung LeHong discussed the four emerging challenges CIOs face when delivering value from AI safely and at scale.

• “Because of the relentless innovation happening in the tech vendor race, CIOs feel like they are always living the hype, while the reality of their AI outcomes race - how tough it is to get value - makes it feel like they are also in the trough.”

• “CIOs can set the pace in their AI outcomes race.”

• “If CIOs have modest AI ambitions, in an industry that isn’t being remastered by AI yet, they can afford to go at a more measured pace.”

• “This is an AI-steady pace. For those organizations with bigger AI ambitions, or in an industry that’s being reinvented by AI, the pace will be faster. This is an AI-accelerated pace.”

• “Whether CIOs are moving at an AI-steady or AI-accelerated pace, they have to deliver value and outcomes.”

• “Productivity gains from GenAI are not equally distributed. Gains vary by employee, not just because of their personal interest and levels of adoptions, but according to complexity of job and level of experience.”

• “CIOs should manage AI benefits like a portfolio. Determine the size of your bet in each benefit area, and manage risks and rewards across this portfolio.”

  
  Learn more in the Gartner press release "Gartner Identifies Four Emerging Challenges to Delivering Value from AI Safely and at Scale."

Presented by Gene Alvarez, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner

CIOs must take the time to look to the future to lead their organizations to success. CIOs and other IT leaders can use Gartner’s top strategic technology trends to keep their organization heading safely into the future. In this session, Gene Alvarez, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, highlighted the top strategic technologies CIOs must know about to prepare for an uncertain future.

• The top trends for 2025 fall into three themes: new frontiers of computing, AI imperatives and risks, and human-machine synergy.

• Agentic AI: “Analyze huge amounts of data, make plans, decisions and take action in its target environment, whether physical or digital. It can do things with us or without us. It can act autonomously. It can be everywhere for you.”

• Disinformation Security: “An emerging category of technologies aimed at discerning trust, assessing truth and tracking the spread of information.” 

• Postquantum Cryptography: “Cryptographic algorithm designed to resist attack from both classical and quantum computers.” 

• Ambient Invisible Intelligence: “Ultra-low-cost tiny wireless tags, devices and sensors. A redefinition of the economics of real-time large-scale tagging, tracking, sensing and intelligence.” 

• Spatial Computing: “Emerging computing paradigm that combines physical and digital objects in a shared frame of reference, beyond screen-based displays via mixed reality.”
  
  Learn about five more strategic trends and additional details on each one in the Gartner press release “Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2025.”

Presented by Leigh McMullen, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner

On July 19, 2024, many of the world's computer systems stopped, causing billions in losses and enterprise interruption. In this session, Leigh McMullen, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, discussed recommendations for organizations to keep in mind so that they may be ready the next time. 

• “Resist the urge to start a post mortem for security events while you are still in recovery. If you react too early it is at best theater and at worst it is self-harm.”

• “There are an infinite number of ever-increasing risks and vulnerabilities, but only a finite amount of threat outcomes or consequences. They include tampering, liability and theft.”

• “Prioritize support for mission-facing capabilities.”

• “Practice communications and reaction plans. Failing to practice is practicing to fail and is also the leading cause of self- harm.”

• “Diversifying vendors is fine, but more importantly, diversify how you treat different parts of the enterprise.”
  
  Journalists can receive additional information and/or request an interview with the Gartner expert by contacting Matt LoDolce at matt.lodolce@gartner.com. 

Presented by Jaime Capella, Distinguished VP, Research

CIOs continue to face increased challenges and demand during one of the most unique times ever experienced by the enterprise. In this session, Jaime Capella, Distinguished VP, Research, explained what should be on the CIO’s agenda for the coming 18 months, given the shifting expectations that CEOs and other CxOs have for their CIO — and the CIO’s expectations of their leadership role and the mandates for their IT organization.

• “On average, only 48% of digital initiatives enterprise-wide meet or exceed their business outcome targets. We call this the curse of random success and we need to better understand how to overcome it.” 

• “We found a cohort of CxOs and CIOs that work closely together and co-own digital delivery. They’re jointly accountable for digital initiatives; they form multi-disc. fusion teams of IT and business area staff that work together and share responsibility for delivering results. We call this group of CIOs & CxOs the digital vanguard.”

• “By working closely together, the digital vanguard breaks the curse of random success. 71% of their digital initiatives hit their targets, and deliver their expected business outcomes. This is far above the average of 48%.”

• “Over 80% of CIOs polled said they expect to increase their investments in 2025 in strong foundational capabilities and technologies such as cybersecurity, AI/GenAI, business intelligence and data analytics, or integration technologies/APIs.”

• “2025 is the year in which CIOs must develop technology and digital leadership skills across the entire enterprise, not just in IT.”
  
  Learn more about what CIOs should be focusing on for the next 18 months in the Gartner press release “Gartner Survey Reveals That Only 48% of Digital Initiatives Meet or Exceed Their Business Outcome Targets."