CIOs must be the fulcrum for strategic innovation if enterprises are to maximize their potential for the new era of AI. Foundry’s State of the CIO 2025 research shows that CIOs are becoming more digital and innovation-focused, with 82% of IT and business leaders confirming that CIOs are taking the lead in digital transformation initiatives[1].
This puts CIOs front and centre as enterprises chase AI success. Not only are AI and Machine Learning investments seen as the most strategically important, but 68% of IT leaders believe that AI is beginning to reshape business operations, if it hasn’t already[2].
“AI is emerging as a driving force that is redefining productivity, security and enterprise IT management” says Rahul Tikoo, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Client Business Unit at AMD. “This foundational shift is really about how CIOs as business leaders are leveraging AI and creating a much more efficient and agile organization.”
For Tikoo, it’s vital that CIOs embrace this, even if it means jumping in at the deep end and navigating AI’s challenges in real time. “You cannot sit and let this pass you” he suggests. “The opportunity you have is to lead your company to a competitive advantage by harnessing this powerful, fundamental inflexion point that we’re on – and you have to assume that your competitors are doing the same.”
To succeed, CIOs need to dig deep, understanding the work of each unit within the wider enterprise, its priorities and its technology needs. Perspective has to come both from the C-suite, ensuring AI initiatives align with business goals, and from a bottom-up assessment of where AI could benefit end-users. “Every organization has different needs, and this can result in thousands of use cases” explains Tikoo. “The art of being an IT leader or CIO is being able to find that common thread.”
Enterprises are investing in AI from the cloud to the edge to endpoint devices, with AI PCs a crucial element. Recent IDC research – sponsored by AMD – found that 76% of IT decision makers believed AI PCs could drive increased productivity, while 83% felt they could eliminate repetitive work. 82% expected to acquire AI PCs before the end of 2025.[3]
With dedicated Neural Processing Units to accelerate AI tasks, AI PCs can not only boost performance when running GenAI and ML tools on-device, but improve battery life through optimized power consumption. What’s more, they promise a more personalized user experience, adapting to each user to accelerate workflows and automate mundane tasks.
By processing AI models on-device, AI PCs can also reduce reliance on shared public cloud resources and sidestep some of the most serious security, environmental and compliance concerns businesses have around AI.
“AI PCs are not just a simple upgrade or a simple generational change” says Tikoo. “I think they’re a necessity. They’re a new tool that allows businesses to stay competitive in this AI race.” He points out that AMD has the technology, the knowledge and the experience to help CIOs manage large-scale AI deployments and realize the efficiencies and improvements they hope to drive. “It’s a business imperative” Tikoo concludes. “Companies will win or lose based on the AI wars that are going on, and we are here to help.”
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[1] State of the CIO Survey, Foundry, February 2025
[2] State of the CIO Executive Summary, Foundry, February 2025 (p5)
[3] IDC Worldwide AMD AI PC Survey, November 2024