Rimini Street said a new global survey shows senior business leaders are rethinking how they invest in technology, with a growing focus on artificial intelligence, automation and resilience.
The survey, conducted with Censuswide, gathered responses from nearly 4,300 CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and CISOs worldwide. It found that boards are pushing executives to deliver faster innovation and clearer business results, even as budgets remain tight and cybersecurity risks increase.
According to the research, 44 percent of executives say AI and automation are the most important capabilities for both short- and long-term IT plans. Nearly half of CIOs and more than four in 10 CEOs rank these technologies as their top priority over the next five years. At the same time, 97 percent of leaders say their current ERP systems mostly meet business needs, but almost a quarter of employee time is still spent maintaining them.
The survey also shows rising pressure to prove return on investment. Executives expect about 27 percent of ROI within the first one to two years of a technology investment, rising to 37 percent within three to five years. Almost 70 percent of respondents said they do not see traditional enterprise resource planning or ERP systems as part of the future, with one-third pointing instead to AI-driven, autonomous “agentic” ERP.
Talent shortages remain a major obstacle. More than a third of executives said skills gaps are limiting growth, and 98 percent reported that IT talent shortages are affecting their ability to execute technology plans. As a result, nearly all organizations surveyed are outsourcing some IT services, especially cybersecurity, infrastructure and application support.
Risk and resilience are also top concerns. All respondents said reducing business risk is a priority this year, and 69 percent expect major changes in their ERP investments. Many leaders cited frustration with vendor lock-in, forced upgrades and high costs that limit flexibility.
Rimini Street said the findings suggest organizations want more control over their technology roadmaps, allowing them to spend less on mandatory upgrades and more on innovation that delivers measurable results.
