The Modernization Mirage: CIOs Must See Through It To Play The Long Game
CIO, Thursday, October 16th, 2025
Cloud was the warm-up. The real game? Building AI-native enterprises that turn tech progress into lasting business impact.
Over the past decade, I've witnessed and led milestones that once seemed impossible. Critical workloads have migrated to the cloud. Customer experiences have been digitized. Legacy systems, once described as immovable, have been modernized.
Boardrooms across industries celebrated these achievements as transformational. Yet, as I reflect on these milestones, I've realized something important: Modernization was never the finish line. It was the starting point. Today, directors and investors no longer ask if we are cloud-enabled.