The 2025 SIM IT Issues and Trends Study

The Society for Information Management’s 45th Annual IT Issues and Trends study received responses from 704 IT executives, including 211 CIOs and 344 unique organizations. AI continued its rise to reach the top of the most important IT management issues, followed by Cybersecurity, and Alignment of IT and Business. 54.2% of organizations reported increasing IT headcount, the lowest percentage since 2020. 90.5% reported increases in average IT salaries, down from 97.0% in 2024. The most common criteria for assessing CIO performance were Customer Satisfaction, Value of IT to the Business, Strategic Contribution of IT, IT Availability and Cybersecurity Issues. Interestingly, Cost Control dropped out of the top five to 22nd. The average tenure of CIOs was 7.4 years (median 5 years), with 46.2% reporting to the CEO. CIOs continue to come primarily from outside the organization at high levels (80.3%), with 22.3% coming from prior non-IT positions.