Before the expo floor opens, Gartner captures a candid snapshot at the world’s biggest IT leadership event: thousands of CIOs and technology executives lay out their real priorities, challenges, and investment plans. The 2025 Pre-Conference Attendee Insights (September 2025) offers a candid look at what’s driving decisions in enterprise tech right now.
Whether you’re a vendor refining your strategy or a business leader benchmarking your own goals, these insights reveal how you stack up, where the market is heading, and why you’re not alone in what keeps you up at night.
So, what’s top of mind for executives heading into the next wave of enterprise technology? Here’s what the survey shows—plus a few Softtek perspectives along the way.
Who’s shaping the technology agenda?
The survey confirms that Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo attendees hold real buying power:
- 97% are directly involved in technology purchases.
- 40% are primary decision-makers.
- 31% evaluate solutions and make recommendations.
- 25% are part of a team making the final call.
- Only 3% have no purchasing role
And the organizations they represent are substantial:
- 65% come from large enterprises.
- 92% plan to invest in external resources to advance key initiatives
Our take: The room will be full of people who shape, greenlight, or veto technology strategy. Conversations move quickly because nearly everyone has decision-making authority, and they’re comparing notes with peers managing multi-country operations, compliance demands, and complex provider ecosystems. For vendors, it’s the chance to prove you can operate at that level of sophistication. For business leaders, it’s a rare forum to test choices against the realities of others navigating similar complexity.
IT leaders’ top learning priorities at Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2025
When asked what would justify the investment of attending, IT leaders were presented with four curated sets of topics. Nearly every item scored 60–80%importance. The takeaway: leaders aren’t prioritizing one issue above all—they’re wrestling with the full spectrum of transformation:
Digital transformation & disruption → digital business transformation tops the list.
Customer & workforce outcomes → customer and user experience stand out.
Core IT operations → program management, digital products, zero trust, and talent retention.
Emerging technologies → AI, generative AI, and data/analytics draw the strongest interest.
Our take:
- Automation is evolving: Robotic Process Automation (RPA) trails its peers at just 50%, as leaders move from rules-based automation toward AI-driven approaches that promise adaptability, scale, and speed. Efficiency remains the goal—but the playbook is being rewritten.
- The IT engine room matters: Flashy front-end innovations mean little if the core processes and protections behind them aren’t robust, scalable, and secure.
- Security is foundational: Zero trust’s high ranking underscores that security isn’t a layer—it’s built in from the start.
- Privacy is delegated While privacy sits lower on the priority list, it reflects trust transfer. Organizations expect vendors and partners to deliver compliance and privacy by default, rather than manage them as standalone programs.
- Trends must operationalize: In a follow-up question across all four sets, leaders were asked why the topics they selected matter. Leaders pointed to responsibilities, initiatives, and investments as the reason topics matter. IT priorities only stick when they’re wired into roadmaps and budgets, not buzzwords.
How enterprises are investing
When it comes to advancing their most important initiatives, IT leaders aren’t going at it alone: 92% expect to invest in external resources to move their strategies forward.
Where those investments will flow:
- New software or SaaS providers
- Specialized service providers
- Hardware and infrastructure solution providers
And budgets are significant:
- Nearly 1 in 2 will spend more than $1M in year one.
- Only 1 in 10 expect budgets under $100K
Our take: The era of “build everything in-house” is over. Enterprises are building ecosystems of providers because no one wins alone anymore. Even the most innovative tech firms turn to partners for their next breakthrough. Even the strongest retailers get help moving more product. Even pro sports teams bring in outside expertise to engage fans. If leaders at the top of their game seek help, why wouldn’t everyone else?
Closing thoughts
For buyers, vendors, and strategists alike, the differentiator isn’t just knowledge—it’s how you connect, evaluate, and act. The most successful organizations are investing in technology, but also in trust, proof, and the ability to adapt faster than the market moves.
As the doors open at Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2025, the challenge is diving into the details and treating every interaction as the start of something lasting.
Source: Gartner, Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo™ 2025 Pre-Conference Attendee Insights, September 2025. Used with permission.
Let’s connect at Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo™ 2025. Visit us at Booth #531 in Atlantic Hall to see how Softtek’s nearshore model, composable solutions, and smart AI practices help leaders move faster with less complexity.
Book a meeting now via our event landing page and secure time with our team—at the event or virtually afterward.
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Benjamin Burke
