Article
April 11, 2025
By Caitlin Teahan
At this year’s EDS CIO & CISOxNewYork event, one theme cut through the jargon and hype: clarity. As CIOs and CISOs grapple with the expanding role of AI and emerging technologies, the conversation centered on how to bring structure and purpose to transformation, not just velocity.
The most memorable insight? A deceptively simple framework: Product, Processes, and Productivity. These “Three Ps” are fast becoming the go-to lens for evaluating tech investments—particularly in communications organizations navigating AI’s cross-functional impact.
This is what we deliver—internally and externally. CIOs emphasized the importance of co-creation with business units to ensure AI is both the experience and output. It’s not enough to automate the backend; AI must elevate the customer journey and stakeholder value.
This is how the work gets done. Fromcopilots in pitch developments to automation in compliance workflows, teams are ditching complexity for simplified, scalable systems. The guiding principle? If time is money, tech should buy you more of it. After all, in the world of billable standards, time is money.
This is where tech meets talent. It zooms in on the human side of the conversation – how teams think, work, and evolve. AI won’t replace people, but it will amplify the difference between teams that know how to collaborate with it and those that don’t. Investing in mindset shifts and change enablement is just as important as training on new tools.
The Tech Debt Spectrum: Good vs. Bad
A standout moment: the reframing of tech debt—not as a red flag, but as a signal of smart risk-taking. In fact, good tech debt can be a sign of creativity, experimentation, and ambition. It’s the kind that arises from testing new ideas quickly, pushing boundaries, and iterating in real-time. As one speaker noted in our one-on-one conversation, “Good tech debt shows up when your team is trying things that might work. Sometimes we may not want to wait for perfect.”
But not all debt is created equal. Bad tech debt stems from misalignment, poor governance, or deferring decisions that ultimately undercut performance and trust. Smart CIOs and change management leaders are learning to differentiate the two and build cultures that reward progress over perfection while still managing risk.
As the roles of CIO, CISO and even Chief Work Officer converge, their mission is clear: create environments where innovation is safe, structured, and sustainable. AI isn’t just the next big thing.
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