The Swiss CIO’s transformation mandate for 2030

Swiss CIOs are moving beyond technology leadership towards a broader enterprise transformation mandate. The share of Swiss respondents focusing on enterprise transformation and operating-model architecture is expected to rise from 32% today to 50% in the next 12–18 months. At the same time, the focus on running technology while beginning to reshape it with AI falls from 32% to 15%, signalling a clear shift from technology management towards business transformation.

Swiss implication

Swiss CIOs should formalise their expanded transformation mandate through shared decision rights with the business, joint ownership of process redesign and clearly defined, measurable value targets. Otherwise, the broader mandate risks creating additional responsibility without the authority required to deliver enterprise-wide change. Success should ultimately be measured by tangible changes in business performance and operating models, not by the number of technology or AI initiatives launched.

AI usage is already broad, but capability depth is limited. Among Swiss respondents, 56% assess most of their workforce as regular AI users, yet only 3% currently assess them as AI practitioners. Within 12 to 18 months, the expected practitioner level rises to 29%.

Swiss organisations recognise convergence as a key enabler of growth and innovation, yet a significant gap remains between strategic ambition and operational maturity.

Current integration of IT, OT and R&D

Which of the following best describes the current integration of your organisation’s IT, OT, and R&D capabilities?​

Swiss integration levels are broadly aligned with EMEA, but most organisations remain some distance from end-to-end convergence. While 38% report integrated data or platforms in key domains, only 14% operate a largely unified model and just 3% are fully converged.

Importance of convergence for growth and innovation

How important, if at all, is convergence of IT, OT and R&D for your organisation’s growth and innovation agenda in 12–18 months?​

Among Swiss respondents whose organisations are not yet fully converged, 78% consider IT, OT and R&D convergence moderately or very important for growth and innovation over the next 12 to 18 months. 

Swiss implication

Build the connected foundation required for the Agentic Enterprise. Bring together data, platforms and workflows across functions so AI agents can move from isolated use cases to end-to-end processes.

Swiss IT is shifting from technology delivery to business value creation, with greater outcome accountability and investment focused on AI, data and core modernisation.

Switzerland’s approach to digital sovereignty prioritises control over independence, balancing resilience and regulatory requirements with continued access to innovation.

CIO accountability for sovereignty and innovation

To what extent do you agree: “By 2030, CIOs will be evaluated on their ability to maintain digital sovereignty while enabling innovation”?

Digital sovereignty is becoming part of the CIO mandate. In Switzerland, 77% agree that CIOs will be evaluated by 2030 on their ability to maintain digital sovereignty while enabling innovation, broadly in line with the EMEA result of 73%.

Swiss organisations define sovereignty pragmatically. The highest priorities are regulatory compliance at 88%, control over data residency and access at 76%, and the ability to operate critical systems independently during a crisis at 74%. 

The most distinctive Swiss finding is the importance placed on access to advanced AI and GenAI capabilities without increasing dependency risk. This is considered very important by 74% in Switzerland, compared with 60% across EMEA. 

At the same time, only 29% prioritise reducing dependency on a small number of dominant providers, compared with 36% across EMEA. This suggests that Swiss organisations are not seeking complete technological independence. They are looking for stronger control over critical dependencies.

Swiss implication

Build digital sovereignty around control, not isolation. Protect critical data and operations through clear access rights, data residency, resilience and exit plans, while continuing to leverage global cloud and AI capabilities. This allows Swiss organisations to preserve trust without limiting innovation.