Issue link: https://insights.oneneck.com/i/1505396
T H E F I N A N C I A L S E R V I C E S C I O O F 2 0 2 5 | 8 Overcoming Challenges Successfully implementing any innovative technology requires the right combination of people, process, and technology. The chief obstacle for financial CIOs will be finding people with sufficient expertise and hands-on knowledge. Almost one in three (29 percent) financial services CIOs surveyed expect that implementing AI will be the most challenging of all technologies to implement for this reason. Financial services CIOs will find they have to grow their own expertise, hire third parties to aid them in their innovation efforts, or both. At the same time, they will need to champion the cultural shift to come. IoT, AI, ML, and other technologies are poised to significantly change the way financial services advisors work and interact—with each other and with clients. Some old and new jobs will involve working more with intelligent systems to complete complex tasks. This will require training, collaboration, handholding—and patience. The CIO 2025 survey showed that among financial services organizations, CIOs believe that gaining employee buy-in and collaboration is the single most important aspect of managing a successful technology implementation. This is followed closely by integrating the new technology with multiple systems and, significantly, smoothly transitioning out of legacy systems. Financial services CIOs stress this last point much more than CIOs in other industries because of the increasingly digitized nature of the products and services they offer. Technical debt is an enormous burden in financial environments—one that firms are eager to shed. Financial services CIOs also believe their success will be tied to engaging with knowledgeable and trustworthy third-party technology partners. Currently, no off-the- shelf AI, ML, or IoT applications exist. Each system must be custom built to meet the specific needs of a particular financial services organization. Partners that offer quality solutions and possess deep technical expertise will be important. By working and collaborating with trusted partners, financial services organizations can explore the potential—and limitations—of leading-edge innovations, and come out the other side of digital transformation with high-ROI solutions. More than one-third of financial services CIOs (34 percent) surveyed believe that working closely with technology partners and using partners' professional services are the biggest determinants of a technology project's success. AI will be the most challenging technology to implement, says one in three financial services CIOs. More than one third of financial services CIOs believe that strong partner relationships and using partners' professional services are the most important drivers of technological success. 89% 34%