The 2026 CIO agenda: What IT trends are CIOs really focused on? Part 4 of 8
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
Below are the eight IT trends that are top of mind for CIOs in 2026. While they are not necessarily new, remember that trends evolve continuously, which means their relevance increases or decreases over time. In this series, we will look at the trends one by one in greater detail. For each trend, you’ll read what it is, what it means for IT, and what the strategic implications are for the CIO role. We’ll also see what this requires in terms of leadership and organizational maturity.
The eight IT trends for 2026
AI is no longer an innovation topic; it is a governance issue
Autonomous teams without orchestration architecture create organized chaos
Platform-first strategies: complexity is IT’s largest invisible cost
Confidential computing is no longer a legal discussion; it is an architectural choice
Citizen development is inevitable; chaos is optional
Ecosystems: IT value increasingly exists outside the organization
The convergence of low-code and high-code
You cannot build a digital strategy on analog foundations
The impact of these trends varies by organization. Factors such as regulation, industry, company size, board-level digital ambition, and the current state of the core IT landscape all play a role. Let’s unpack trend number four.
Confidential computing is no longer a legal discussion; it is an architectural choice
Recent geopolitical developments have increased concerns about data protection, particularly in relation to cloud sovereignty and digital ecosystems. These concerns extend beyond data storage and transmission and now include data processing in memory. In parallel, regulations related to data, privacy and AI increasingly dictate architectural decisions.
Confidential computing ensures that while sensitive data is being processed, it remains unreadable - even to cloud providers or administrators. Protection is enforced through hardware and platform technologies such as secure enclaves and encrypted runtime environments, rather than relying solely on contracts and policies.
This approach enables sensitive workloads to run securely in shared cloud environments and in collaboration with external parties. As a result, we see hybrid and sovereign cloud models, additional encryption layers and stronger identity controls becoming more common.
Challenge
CIOs encounter serious issues when compliance requirements surface late in projects or when legal teams block solutions after architectural decisions have already been made. Retrofitting compliance is no longer viable.
Action
In the short to medium term, organizations must classify data, workloads and processes. They must also assess regulatory impact. Over the longer term, zero-trust principles and encryption-by-design become essential.
CIOs increasingly share ownership of compliance and geopolitical risk. This requires stronger technical leadership and closer collaboration with Legal, Audit and Security functions. The modern CIO must operate not just as a technology leader, but as a risk and trust architect across the enterprise.
Want to chat about your CIO agenda? Get in touch
Niels van Lieshout
Principal Director Technology
T: +31 650657444
