The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) unveiled its 2025 State CIO Top 10 Priorities, which serves as a street map for presidency businesses by highlighting the coverage and expertise areas IT leaders will give attention to within the coming 12 months.
After surveying 50 state and territory chief info officers, cybersecurity claimed the highest spot as probably the most essential precedence, reprising its place in final 12 months’s survey and emphasizing its significance in an more and more digitally linked world.
“Cyber has been the [or one of] the highest spots for over 12 years now, and I believe that exhibits that cyber is probably the most integral a part of a state CIO workplace,” Meredith Ward, NASCIO deputy govt director, advised Authorities Expertise.
She famous that whereas cybersecurity tied with digital authorities companies in 2024, this 12 months it stands alone on the high — a testomony to its rising significance amid evolving threats. This 12 months, the class additionally consists of threat administration at No. 1.
Synthetic intelligence surged to the second place from third on final 12 months’s record, to little shock given its expansive impression in state companies, significantly associated to generative AI (GenAI). Ward says their group “has and can proceed to see an enlargement of GenAI use in states and for a lot of issues.” The class additionally consists of machine studying and robotic course of automation (RPA).
Digital authorities and digital companies took the third spot on the record — as exemplified in nearly each facet of presidency expertise in the present day, from larger investments in citizen-centric public service platforms to the close scrutiny of water utility cybersecurity methods over the past few months.
Whereas many priorities on the record weren’t unfamiliar, one cast a brand new path onto the record for 2025. Accessibility debuted within the Top 10 this 12 months for the primary time, doubtlessly pushed by new compliance necessities.
“I consider that is solely as a result of [Department of Justice] DOJ ruling and the approaching 2026 and 2027 deadlines for states and localities,” Ward stated, noting many states have been following these pointers for years, however that is the primary time widespread penalties will come into play in the event that they’re not adopted.
Finances and price management being added to the priorities record is a little bit of a darkish horse; this class resurfaces on the record for the primary time since 2021. Ward attributed the reappearance to cautious fiscal planning post-pandemic.
“In 2020, states braced for impression and anticipated much less income due to the pandemic. Seems the impression wasn’t as nice as was anticipated and states had been in an excellent monetary place popping out of the pandemic,” she stated. “All of that is cyclical and that’s what we’re seeing now — states bracing for impression and being cautious to see what fiscal situations might be subsequent 12 months.”
One other notable change was workforce dropping to ninth place from fifth in 2024. Ward stated states are merely shifting methods, and varied elements are impacting the change.
“States have made some progress in hiring, they’re outsourcing capabilities, they usually have handled it so lengthy that they know workforce challenges are right here to remain,” she stated. “In 2025, I see reskilling and upskilling being large. I additionally anticipate skills-based hiring to broaden.”
Different fascinating new developments mirrored within the 2025 record are legacy modernization falling one spot to No. 5, and identification and entry administration and cloud companies every climbing up one spot from final 12 months’s record — rising to No. 7 and No. 8 respectively. On an accompanying rating, nonetheless, legacy fared much better. Amongst 2025 Precedence Applied sciences, Purposes and Instruments, legacy utility modernization/renovation ranked second behind AI/RPA.
The complete record of priorities for 2025 is Cybersecurity and Threat Administration; Synthetic Intelligence, Machine Studying and Robotic Course of Automation; Digital Authorities and Digital Providers; Knowledge Administration and Analytics; Legacy Modernization; Finances, Value Management and Fiscal Administration; Identification and Entry Administration; Cloud Providers; Workforce; and Accessibility.
Discover extra info on NASCIO’s CIO priorities at www.nascio.org.
