IT Strategy for 2026: What CEOs Should Be Thinking About?

21

Key Takeaways:

• CEOs must shift IT strategy from tactical fixes to scalable, outcome-driven digital roadmaps.
• AI Adoption and Automation are central to competitive differentiation in enterprise strategy.
• Cybersecurity and Governance must be foundational, not afterthoughts, in IT planning.
• Modern IT Infrastructure unifies cloud, hybrid, and edge systems for agility and resilience.
• Data and Digital Literacy are strategic assets in executing technology initiatives.

Introduction

In 2026, technology leadership is a strategic imperative! CEOs need an IT Strategy that aligns business goals with digital transformation priorities, future-proofs investments, and strengthens competitive advantage.

With AI integration accelerating and hybrid work becoming a norm, organisations are shifting from tactical IT maintenance to strategic innovation. Research shows that adaptive AI and digital technologies are now central drivers in modern enterprise strategy and resilience.

This guide outlines what CEOs should consider when shaping their IT Strategy for 2026, which addresses innovation, security, governance, and business outcomes — all while aligning with broader organisational goals.

Why IT Strategy for 2026 Demands CEO Attention Now?

The global IT spending is forecast to exceed $6 trillion by 2026, an increase of 9.8% from 2025, driven largely by AI platforms, cybersecurity, cloud optimisation, and automation. This shift signals a stark reality: technology decisions now directly influence profitability, resilience, and market competitiveness.

For CEOs, the challenge is not whether to invest, but where, how, and with what strategic intent! The traditional “digital transformation” initiatives are giving way to outcome-driven IT strategies that prioritise business resilience, operational efficiency, scalable growth, regulatory compliance, and predictable IT costs.

In the United Kingdom, organisations must balance innovation with GDPR, NIS2, and evolving cyber regulations, making structured IT leadership essential.

Recommended Reading: Managed Intelligence Provider (MIP): The Future of AI-Driven IT Support

Top Strategic Priorities for CEOs in 2026

1.   Embedding AI Into Core Business Strategy

In 2026, AI is no longer experimental! Organisations that fail to embed AI into core workflows risk falling behind more agile competitors. However, successful AI adoption is not about deploying tools; it’s about strategy!

Now, CEOs should be asking:

• Where can AI improve decision-making, productivity, or customer experience?
• How will AI be governed, secured, and measured?
• What risks exist around data quality, bias, and compliance?

Actionable Step: Develop an AI roadmap aligned with business KPIs, supported by governance frameworks and secure infrastructure. AI initiatives need to be measurable, ethical, and scalable; not isolated pilot projects.

This is where IT consultancy becomes critical, ensuring AI investments deliver real ROI rather than technical debt.

2.   Cybersecurity and Data Governance as Strategic Pillars

Cybersecurity is now a business continuity issue! Ransomware, supply-chain attacks, and data breaches continue to rise, while regulators increase enforcement across industries. CEOs must assume breaches are a matter of when, not if!

The 2026-ready IT strategy prioritises zero-trust security architectures, continuous monitoring and threat detection, data governance and access controls, incident response and disaster recovery planning.

Actionable Step: Adopt managed security services with 24/7 monitoring (SOC/NOC), regular penetration testing, and clearly defined response playbooks. This reduces risk exposure while ensuring regulatory readiness.

3.   Cloud Optimisation, Not Just Cloud Adoption

Most organisations are already “in the cloud,” but many are overpaying for it! The uncontrolled cloud usage leads to escalating operational costs, security misconfigurations, and performance inefficiencies.

CEOs need to shift focus from cloud migration to cloud optimisation and financial governance (FinOps).

Actionable Step: Implement cloud cost visibility, optimisation tools, and workload right-sizing strategies. The experienced MSP can help align cloud spending with actual business usage, improving margins without sacrificing performance.

4.   Aligning IT Strategy With Business Outcomes

One of the biggest IT failures is misalignment! Technology initiatives that fail to align with revenue growth, efficiency, or customer value quickly lose executive support.

The modern IT Strategy must answer:

• How does this technology drive growth?
• What operational risk does it reduce?
• How does it improve customer or employee experience?

Actionable Step: Use structured frameworks such as Run-Grow-Transform to prioritise IT investments:

• Run: Maintain stability and uptime
• Grow: Improve efficiency and scalability
• Transform: Enable innovation and differentiation

IT consultancy plays a key role in ensuring this alignment, bridging the gap between business vision and technical execution.

5.   Talent, Skills, and Workforce Enablement

Technology is only as effective as the people who use it! By 2026, AI literacy, cybersecurity awareness, and digital fluency will be baseline expectations across the workforce, not just within IT teams.

CEOs should focus on upskilling teams in AI-enabled workflows, reducing dependency on scarce internal specialists, and leveraging automation to offset talent shortages.

Actionable Step: Combine workforce training with managed services and automation, allowing internal teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than daily firefighting.

6.   Strategic IT Partnerships Over Transactional Vendors

The traditional break-fix IT vendor model is increasingly outdated! In 2026, CEOs need strategic IT partners, not reactive service providers.

A strategic MSP relationship delivers:

• Predictable IT performance and costs
• Proactive risk management
• Continuous optimisation and innovation
• Business-aligned technology planning

Actionable Step: Engage an MSP and IT consultancy partner that co-owns outcomes beyond SLAs. This partnership model enables the creation of long-term value rather than short-term fixes.

Recommended Reading: Leveraging IT Consultancy to Future-Proof Your UK Business for the Next 5 Years

How Fortray Supports IT Strategy Execution in 2026?

Strategic IT Consultancy Services

Fortray works with UK-based SMEs and large enterprises to design business-aligned IT strategies that support growth, resilience, and compliance.

Our consultancy services include:

• IT strategy and roadmap development
• AI and digital transformation planning
• Cybersecurity and compliance advisory
• Cloud architecture and optimisation

Each engagement focuses on measurable outcomes, not abstract recommendations!

Managed IT Services (MSP) for Execution Excellence

Strategy without execution delivers no value! Managed IT Services ensure your IT strategy performs consistently in real-world conditions.

Our MSP services provide:

• 24/7 monitoring and proactive support
• Managed cybersecurity and threat detection
• Cloud optimisation and infrastructure management
• Automation and service reliability

This allows leadership teams to focus on growth while we manage operational complexity.

Recommended Reading: What are Managed IT Services?

Conclusion

The well-defined IT Strategy for 2026 is not about chasing trends; it’s about building a resilient, scalable, and future-ready organisation. CEOs who invest in strategic planning today, supported by expert IT consultancy and MSP partners like Fortray, will succeed with confidence, clarity, and competitive strength in 2026 and beyond.

Book a Strategic IT Consultation with Fortray and start building your IT roadmap today!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)