The role of the CIO has never been so strategic. Long considered a “mere” guarantor of the proper functioning of IT infrastructure, the CIO is now at the heart of the decisions that shape the competitiveness and resilience of companies. Cybersecurity, cloud, artificial intelligence, regulatory compliance, process digitalisation: all topics on which the leader must be able to challenge their CIO… provided they ask the right questions.
Here are 5 key questions every business leader should ask their CIO in 2025 to anticipate risks, seize opportunities and effectively steer their digital transformation.
1. Is our cybersecurity really adapted to current threats?
Cyberattacks keep growing in frequency, sophistication and financial impact. A leader can no longer settle for a monthly report of incidents blocked by an antivirus.
The real question is: are we able to prevent, detect and respond quickly to a targeted attack?
Points to assess with your CIO:
- Do we have a clear, regularly tested incident response plan?
- Are we aligned with Zero Trust and ZTNA best practices?
- Are our backups protected against ransomware ?
- Have we trained our employees on cyber risks (phishing, shadow IT, data leaks)?
In 2025, cybersecurity is not just a technical solution, it is a complete ecosystem of technologies, procedures and human behaviours.
2. Do we have a clear strategy for the cloud and the sovereignty of our data?
Migrating to the cloud is no longer a choice, but a reality for most companies. Yet the cloud still raises many questions: poorly controlled costs, dependence on a single provider, compliance with European regulations (GDPR, NIS2), security of sensitive data.
To ask your CIO:
- Have we defined a multi-cloud or hybrid policy to avoid dependencies?
- Is our strategic data hosted in a sovereign cloud?
- Do we track actual cloud consumption costs in real time?
A leader must make sure their CIO has a clear vision of cloud governance, and works with partners able to combine agility, security and compliance.
3. How are we using artificial intelligence to create value?
Generative AI and predictive AI open up immense prospects to optimise performance and accelerate innovation. But they also carry risks: dependence on external models, bias, leaks of sensitive data.
Questions to ask:
- Where can AI truly bring a competitive advantage to our business?
- How do we guarantee the quality, confidentiality and ethics of the data used?
- Are we able to govern internal uses (generative AI, code assistants, business copilots)?
The point is not to “do AI for the sake of AI”, but to integrate it in a controlled way, aligned with the company’s overall strategy.
4. Are we ready for the new cybersecurity regulations and standards?
With the arrival of NIS2, the DORA directive for the financial sector, and tougher GDPR sanctions, compliance has become a competitiveness factor.
A leader should ask their CIO:
- Have we carried out a compliance audit to identify our gaps?
- Can we demonstrate at any time the traceability of our cybersecurity actions?
- What investments are needed to remain compliant by 2025-2026?
Compliance should not be seen as a constraint, but as an opportunity to strengthen the trust of customers, partners and investors.
5. Do our technology choices really support our business strategy?
Too often, IT projects are driven by technology rather than business strategy. In 2025, a leader must ask their CIO:
- Is every IT investment directly linked to a business objective (growth, productivity, security, innovation)?
- Do we have a clear view of the ROI of our digital projects?
- Are our business teams really involved in IT thinking?
The role of the modern CIO is to become a strategic partner of the executive committee, able to translate business needs into suitable technology solutions.
The key role of external experts
Of course, these five questions are not meant to put your CIO in difficulty, but to support them in their role as strategist and guarantor of the company’s digital competitiveness. However, many organisations lack the time, specific skills or perspective to address these issues in-house.
This is where partners like NUMERYX bring real added value:
- Cybersecurity (next-generation firewalls, Zero Trust, managed SOC).
- Cloud & managed services (sovereign hosting, multi-cloud management, cost optimisation).
- Digital transformation (ISO 27001 support, process automation, AI integration).
- Training (Numeryx University)
By working with NUMERYX, leaders have access to IT and cybersecurity experts able to strengthen their CIO, bring an external view and secure their digital investments.
