The CIO's New Mandate – Empowering People, Driving Value, Leading with Resilience
South Africa’s digital landscape is evolving at a remarkable pace, placing new expectations on CIOs as strategic enablers of growth. The CIO Xchange 2026 South Africa Edition, set to be held in Johannesburg on 19 November, convenes leaders who are navigating this shift. Together, they are transforming ambition into enterprise-wide impact as AI, data, and cloud redefine how business value is created.
The country stands out as one of the region’s most digitally mature markets. IDC data shows that two-thirds of South African enterprises (66%) identify themselves as either Digital Native or Mostly Digital. With 96% of organizations reporting digital maturity, South Africa continues to outpace many regional markets in foundational readiness.
This momentum is reinforced by strong policy direction. The government’s National Data and Cloud Policy lays the foundation for a cloud-first, data-driven economy, while the National AI Policy Framework outlines an ambitious roadmap for responsible AI development, talent growth, and innovation.
By 2026, more than two-thirds of South African organizations (68%) will have AI use cases deployed in multiple departments, making AI the country’s top technology priority.
As AI adoption deepens, CIOs face a new mandate: moving from isolated deployments to coordinated, enterprise-wide strategies that strengthen readiness and deliver measurable value. This is their moment to step forward as orchestrators of transformation, driving clarity, collaboration, and long-term impact.
The 2026 Edition of CIO Xchange South Africa will focus on leadership, strategy, culture, and collective intelligence equipping CIOs to navigate the next wave of intelligent enterprise transformation and lead South Africa’s digital evolution with confidence and purpose.
Why Attend?
The IDC CIO Xchange 2026 is the premier gathering for South Africa’s CIOs and IT leaders, designed to address the rapidly evolving landscape of digital business strategy, technology leadership, and enterprise transformation. This event will bring together CIOs, digital innovation leaders, and industry experts for immersive dialogue, peer benchmarking, and hands-on workshops, focusing on aligning technology investments with business goals, navigating regulatory complexity, and driving sustainable growth in a dynamic digital era.
Building adaptive, resilient technology foundations that empower organizational agility and sustained growth.
Leveraging AI and agentic AI to drive intelligent automation, elevate productivity, and enable data-driven decision-making.
Addressing the complexities of legacy modernization, technical debt, and fragmented IT environments.
Embedding trust, security, and compliance as core principles in every technology and business decision.
Leading with vision by aligning digital investments to strategic business outcomes and delivering measurable stakeholder value.
