Enterprises have moved decisively from AI pilots to scaled implementations, pushed by confirmed advantages and expectations of great monetary returns, in line with Lenovo CIO Playbook 2026 with analysis insights by IDC. Practically half (46%) of AI proof-of-concepts have already progressed into manufacturing, with some organizations projecting returns of $2.79 for each greenback invested.
AI is now acknowledged as a core engine of enterprise reinvention and aggressive benefit. Nonetheless, there’s a clear overconfidence drawback amongst CIOs. Whereas 60% of organizations are in late-stage AI adoption, solely 27% have a complete AI governance framework. Additional limitations in knowledge high quality, in-house experience, integration complexity, and organizational alignment are inflicting a mismatch between ambition and readiness.
With Agentic AI overtaking Generative AI as the highest precedence for CIOs in 2026, these elements will forestall many organizations from totally capitalizing on AI’s potential, leaving vital returns unrealized. Three in 5 (60%) surveyed said that they’re greater than 12 months away from being able to scale Agentic AI throughout their operations, and solely 21% report vital utilization right this moment, with the bulk nonetheless piloting or actively exploring use circumstances.
Launched right this moment, the fourth annual world Lenovo CIO Playbook, entitled The Race for Enterprise AI, attracts on insights from 3,120 IT and enterprise determination makers in key markets all over the world. It captures a worldwide inflection level and reinforces the worth proposition for enterprise AI as each actual and quick, calling on CIOs to behave now to keep away from lagging rivals. The analysis marks a transparent shift from AI experimentation to measurable worth creation, with practically all (96%) of these surveyed planning to extend AI investments within the subsequent 12 months at a median development price of 13%, and 93% anticipating constructive returns.
“Organizations are placing intelligence to work throughout the enterprise, however too many are doing so with out the abilities, governance, and readiness wanted to scale,” stated Ken Wong, President, Options & Providers Group, Lenovo. “As AI priorities shift towards Agentic AI, the following part is not going to reward experimentation – it would reward these capable of operationalize AI throughout hybrid environments with belief and scale inbuilt. Lenovo helps organizations transfer past pilots, unifying infrastructure, platforms, and providers to show AI ambition into actual, measurable outcomes.”
Hybrid AI Now Most well-liked Enterprise Structure
The analysis reveals real-world enterprise and monetary concerns – guaranteeing knowledge privateness, implementing superior safety methods, and suppleness to customise and optimize infrastructure – are driving the continued rise of hybrid AI, an working mannequin that blends public cloud, non-public cloud, and on-premises compute. Practically two thirds (62%) now want hybrid as their main AI deployment mannequin.
Infrastructure effectivity is a prime success issue (21%), particularly high-performing, scalable, and energy-efficient AI compute ranks among the many prime 5 enablers of AI success.
“CIOs are coming into a decisive new part of AI adoption, the place Agentic AI and enterprise-scale inferencing are quickly shifting from experimentation to enterprise precedence,” stated Ashley Gorakhpurwalla, President, Infrastructure Options Group, Lenovo. “The upside is gigantic—driving effectivity, automation, and productiveness—however most organizations are usually not able to function AI at scale. Success is dependent upon the fitting basis: safe, energy-efficient infrastructure, versatile hybrid architectures, and governance that builds belief. At Lenovo, we’re serving to enterprises transfer past pilots to ship dependable, scalable AI outcomes—wherever the information lives.”
With AI PCs and edge endpoints central to an efficient Hybrid AI technique and securely working AI workloads domestically, deploying AI-capable gadgets has emerged as the highest IT funding precedence for 2026.
“AI is scaling quicker than ever, however CIOs are telling us the identical factor: Belief and readiness stay the most important limitations to unlocking actual enterprise worth. As hybrid AI turns into the structure of selection and knowledge sovereignty strikes to the highest of the board agenda, organizations want absolute confidence that intelligence can prolong securely from the cloud all the way in which to the system,” stated Luca Rossi, President, Clever Units Group, Lenovo. “This yr’s analysis makes it clear that AI gadgets and edge endpoints are actually the frontline of enterprise AI in powering each worker, securing workflows, and placing intelligence precisely the place work occurs. When mixed with the fitting infrastructure and providers, this end-to-end strategy provides enterprises what they’ve been asking for: a option to innovate confidently, responsibly, and at scale.”
Lenovo just lately launched Lenovo Agentic AI, a full-lifecycle enterprise answer for creating, deploying, and managing AI brokers, alongside Lenovo xIQ, a set of AI-native platforms designed to simplify and operationalize AI throughout the enterprise. Constructed on the Lenovo Hybrid AI Benefit™, these choices mix hybrid infrastructure, platforms, and providers to deal with governance, integration, and efficiency from day one. Supported by the Lenovo AI Library of confirmed use circumstances, CIOs can cut back threat, speed up time-to-value, and scale AI initiatives with larger confidence as they transfer past experimentation.
To additional allow real-world deployment, Lenovo ThinkSystem and ThinkEdge inferencing servers assist enterprises flip educated fashions into production-ready, low-latency AI functions throughout knowledge middle, cloud, and edge environments. By enabling quicker, extra environment friendly inference at scale, Lenovo helps CIOs bridge the hole between AI ambition and day-to-day enterprise affect.
Constructing on this end-to-end AI basis, Lenovo’s Smarter AI for All imaginative and prescient is concentrated on bringing AI to extra individuals and companies at scale, from enterprise infrastructure to AI PCs that ship clever, customized experiences on to customers. As outlined at Lenovo Tech World at CES 2026, Lenovo is advancing this imaginative and prescient throughout its AI PC and smartphone portfolio, with Lenovo and Motorola Qira representing one instance of how private AI can improve productiveness by understanding context throughout gadgets and serving to customers get issues carried out.portfolio, with Lenovo and Motorola Qira representing one instance of how private AI can improve productiveness by understanding context throughout gadgets and serving to customers get issues carried out.
Be taught extra about how enterprises can speed up AI adoption with the fitting infrastructure, governance, and partnerships:
Concerning the CIO Playbook Research
That is the fourth yr of surveying CIOs globally, with Lenovo commissioning IDC which carried out analysis between sixteenth September 2025 and seventeenth October 2025. This yr’s report attracts on insights from 3,120 IT and enterprise determination makers in key markets all over the world together with Asia-Pacific, Europe, Center East & North Africa, Latin America and North America. Industries represented embrace: BFSI, Retail, Manufacturing, Telco/CSP, Healthcare, Authorities, Training and others.
