The 2026 State of the CIO research reveals that the CIO role in the APAC region is becoming elevated. These individuals are spending more time on improving IT operations/systems performance while working more closely with line of business executives on potential AI initiatives. 

Additionally, 92% of APAC CIOs anticipate their overall IT budget will either increase or remain the same in 2026, with the top technology initiatives driving IT investments being Generative AI, AI/machine learning, and Agentic AI. Supporting this, 79% of APAC CIOs agree that they’re tasked with researching and evaluating possibly AI additions to their tech stack. 

In the infographic below, you’ll get a full view into:

  • Budget expectations for CIOs in APAC
  • The top business and technology priorities for this year
  • Where CIOs are spending more and less time this year
  • How AI is reshaping the CIO agenda in APAC

Click on the image below to view the full infographic.