IT's Moment Is Now: New Research Center to Help CIOs Drive Change in a Climate of Disruption Launched by Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Research Group, a leading global research and advisory firm, has today unveiled a technology-first Research Center that unifies crisis-tested guidance into six actionable steps, helping CIOs and IT leaders cut costs, fast-track AI, and steer their organizations through policy and economic turbulence. The recently launched Research Center for IT's Moment delivers industry-specific content, on-demand analyst support, and diagnostic benchmarks that will help IT turn strategy into measurable results. By converting volatility into actionable insight, the research center empowers leaders to safeguard budgets, retain talent, and seize growth opportunities ahead of the curve in 2025 and beyond.

TORONTO, June 2, 2025 /CNW/ - IT leaders are navigating a wave of policy shifts, economic headwinds, and rapid AI adoption that demand faster decisions and sharper execution than ever before. To help them meet these pressures head‑on, Info‑Tech Research Group has recently launched its Research Center for IT's Moment,  a curated library of road‑tested research, frameworks, and templates that turn uncertainty into strategic advantage. Designed as a technology‑first alternative to traditional consulting, the center delivers actionable guidance at a speed and cost that matches today's urgency to prepare CIOs for "IT's Moment."

Info-Tech Research Group has unveiled a technology-first Research Center that unifies crisis-tested guidance into six actionable steps, helping CIOs and IT leaders reduce costs, accelerate AI adoption, and navigate their organizations through policy and economic uncertainty. (CNW Group/Info-Tech Research Group)

Across industries, IT departments are being challenged to deliver greater efficiency, transparency, and innovation, often without matching increases in budget or headcount. Legacy constraints, rising stakeholder expectations, and the rapid pace of AI adoption have converged to create a defining moment for technology leaders.

"Uncertainty doesn't slow technology; it accelerates the need for data‑driven leadership," says Info-Tech Research Group's Chief Research Officer, Gord Harrison. "Info-Tech's Research Center for IT's Moment distills three decades of crisis‑tested guidance into actionable steps, giving CIOs and IT leaders the tools and AI‑ready frameworks to cut waste today, fund tomorrow's innovation, and keep their organizations on the front foot no matter how conditions shift."

Why Now: Info-Tech's Research Center for IT's Moment in a Climate of Disruption

Governments on both sides of the Atlantic are tightening budgets, revising tax and trade policies, and establishing new oversight bodies, such as the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency. Tariffs, immigration rules, and supply‑chain constraints continue to disrupt manufacturing, healthcare, education, transportation, retail, and construction sectors. Meanwhile, the sprint to generative and agentic AI is reshaping expectations faster than most organizations can adapt.

As highlighted by the firm's research and industry insights, these forces have translated into the following daily challenges for CIOs and IT leaders:

• Budget pressure and re-prioritized investments
• Talent shortages amid hiring freezes and changing labor markets
• Vendor contract risks as costs rise and supply gaps widen
• Unstructured AI demand with unclear roadmaps and guardrails

From its Talent Trends 2025 report and IT Staff & Spend Benchmarking data, Info-Tech Research Group's findings show that the cost of inaction is steep:

• 33% of CXOs reduce IT budgets when the function is seen as tactical,
• 62% of vendor spend can be wasted without proactive oversight,
• Organizations that are slow to act miss out on significant performance gains, as seen during the pandemic when technology "Leaders" outperformed "Laggards" by up to 5x in revenue growth.

What Info-Tech's Research Center for IT's Moment is Set to Deliver

From cost pressures to AI acceleration, the firm advises that today's IT challenges rarely arrive one at a time; they intersect. The newly published Research Center for IT's Moment distills Info-Tech's most relevant research and guidance for IT navigating turbulent times into the following six technology-first steps that CIOs and IT leaders can act on immediately:

1. Lead the Organization, Not Just IT – This involves performing a Global Uncertainty Impact Assessment to quantify exposure and identify opportunities across the entire organization, reviewing Exponential IT principles for road mapping, identifying top technology-first use cases, aligning a technology-first vision with the C-Suite and Board, and communicating an action plan for how technology will drive organizational growth and resilience.
2. Fund Innovation by Cutting Costs – Develop a comprehensive cost reduction plan focused on OPEX, aiming to overshoot cost-cutting mandates to free up budget, people, and resources for innovation. This approach involves adopting an IT Financial Management (ITFM) taxonomy for granular spend analysis and benchmarking, thereby shortening planning cycles and renegotiating vendor contracts using best practices.
3. Pursue IT Excellence – In times of uncertainty, stay focused on achieving IT excellence. For IT leaders, this means running diagnostics to baseline capabilities, adopting playbooks to systematically improve, delegating authority to the IT team with clarity, providing necessary resources and team training, and selectively embracing Exponential IT principles to high-impact areas through focused use cases.
4. Build an Adaptive IT Workforce – Address the pressure on the workforce by prioritizing retaining critical knowledge, developing in-demand skills internally, and building workforce adaptability. This process involves deploying workflow autonomization aggressively, gradually delegating decision-making to AI agents, developing critical AI, cybersecurity, and adaptive leadership capabilities, and focusing on rapid onboarding and recruiting high-skill talent.
5. Slash AI Transformation Timeline – With Agentic AI here, IT leaders need to pivot from long-term roadmaps to delivering certain ROI today, primarily leveraging vendor capabilities and using freed-up funds for organizational outcomes. Actions include rapidly identifying and executing the highest impact AI use cases, building sandbox environments to encourage bottom-up innovation, funding foundational capabilities and quick time-to-value use cases, and prioritizing buying over building for immediate impact.
6. Execute and Prepare to Pivot – IT leaders need to create mechanisms to successfully implement the action plan and adapt rapidly in real-time, as constant change means there is no time to slow down. This approach involves monitoring bottom-up innovation pilots, vetting and prioritizing them quickly, funding projects based on outcomes, and promptly ending failing projects without blame. It also involves matching talent to impact and certainty, and communicating wins and failures on a monthly basis to break down silos.

The research center also offers sector-specific research, including the public sector, healthcare, and education, as well as diagnostic benchmarks to pinpoint cost, staffing, and risk hotspots. Additionally, it provides live and on-demand analyst sessions to align stakeholders at pace.

New research will be continually added to the center for IT leaders as the landscape continues to evolve rapidly.

Measurable Benefits of Info-Tech's Research Center for IT's Moment

The content in Info-Tech's research center is engineered to convert strategic plans into concrete, board‑visible wins for IT and the wider business, enabling CIOs and IT leaders to achieve the following key outcomes:

• Respond fast to policy and economic shocks
• Expose hidden cost, staffing, and vendor risks
• Speak the language of business with clear, data-backed roadmaps
• Strengthen resilience without long consulting cycles
• Reallocate spend toward high-impact innovation
• Build confidence across boards and executive teams

For nearly three decades, Info‑Tech has guided organizations through every major crisis, from the 2008 financial downturn to the COVID‑19 pandemic, when business satisfaction with IT climbed from 73 % to 80 %. Just as cloud computing emerged from the economic crisis and collaboration platforms defined the pandemic, today's surge in agentic AI is fueling the next transformational wave. Info-Tech's Research Center for IT's Moment ensures technology leaders are prepared and empowered to convert volatility into their greatest catalyst for growth.

To request exclusive and timely commentary from Info-Tech's experts on the Research Center and its focus areas or to request full access to the Research Center for IT's Moment, please contact [email protected].

Media Passes for Info-Tech LIVE 2025 in Las Vegas
Media professionals, including journalists, podcasters, and influencers, are invited to attend Info-Tech LIVE 2025 to gain exclusive access to research, content, and interviews with industry leaders. For those unable to attend in person, Info-Tech offers a digital pass option, providing access to live-streamed keynotes, select sessions, and exclusive virtual interviews with speakers and analysts.

Media professionals looking to apply for in-person or digital passes can contact [email protected] to secure their spot and cover the latest advancements in IT directly from the event or remotely.

Exhibitors are also invited to be part of Info-Tech LIVE and showcase their products and services to a highly engaged audience of IT decision-makers. For more information about becoming an Info-Tech LIVE exhibitor, please contact [email protected].

About Info-Tech Research Group
Info-Tech Research Group is one of the world's leading research and advisory firms, proudly serving over 30,000 IT and HR professionals. The company produces unbiased, highly relevant research and provides advisory services to help leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. For nearly 30 years, Info-Tech has partnered closely with teams to provide them with everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

To learn more about Info-Tech's divisions, visit McLean & Company for HR research and advisory services and SoftwareReviews for software-buying insights. 

Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software and hundreds of industry analysts through the firm's Media Insiders program. To gain access, contact [email protected].

For information about Info-Tech Research Group or to access the latest research, visit infotech.com and connect via LinkedIn and X.

SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group

Media Contact: Sufyan Al-Hassan, Senior PR Manager, Info-Tech Research Group, [email protected] | [phone] x2418