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When AI removes the IT backlog, who decides what is worth building?
For decades, limited IT capacity has been one of the main constraints on digital transformation. Organizations have had to prioritize projects, allocate scarce development resources and decide which business requirements deserve attention first.Artificial intelligence could fundamentally change that situation.
In a recent CIO article, technology leaders describe how AI is reshaping IT roles, skills, organizational structures and training priorities. As AI takes over more development and operational tasks, IT teams may become significantly more productive.
But this raises an important question: if organizations can develop technology much faster, will they automatically create more business value?
From limited capacity to unlimited possibilities
Matt Ausman, CIO of Zebra Technologies, describes a future in which traditional IT backlogs could largely disappear because AI enables teams to develop new capabilities almost as quickly as they are conceived.
He already sees changes in his organization. Scrum teams that previously consisted of eight people are becoming smaller, with five or six employees delivering more work through the use of AI.
Looking further ahead, Ausman envisions teams consisting primarily of a functional product owner and a technical product owner, supported by AI agents that perform much of the development work.
This is a possible future rather than an established reality. Nevertheless, it illustrates how fundamentally AI could change the economics of software development.
When development capacity becomes less restrictive, the traditional challenge of prioritizing limited IT resources changes.
The question is no longer simply what an organization can afford to develop. Increasingly, it becomes what the organization should develop in the first place.
More technology does not automatically mean more value
Lower development costs and faster delivery are attractive. But they also introduce a risk: organizations may start building applications, features and automated workflows simply because technology makes it possible.
A new dashboard may be easy to develop, but does it improve decision-making? An AI agent may automate a process, but should that process continue to exist in its current form? A new application may satisfy a business request, but does it contribute to the organization’s strategic objectives?
These questions become more important as the technical barriers to development decrease.
For CIOs, this means that managing technology capacity is gradually becoming less important than managing technology choices.
For CFOs, it means that the business case for technology investments must continue to focus on measurable outcomes, not simply on lower implementation costs.
Business understanding becomes a critical IT capability
The CIO article highlights a significant shift in the skills organizations expect from technology professionals.
Technical expertise remains important, particularly in areas such as software engineering, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, data and architecture. However, business knowledge, critical thinking, communication and decision-making are becoming increasingly valuable.
IT professionals will need to understand not only how to deliver solutions, but also whether those solutions address the right business problems.
That requires the confidence to challenge requirements, question assumptions and explain why a technically feasible initiative may not be commercially justified.
In other words, the ability to say no can become just as valuable as the ability to deliver faster.
IT organizations are already preparing for change
According to the 2026 IT Talent Trends report from Info-Tech Research Group, cited by CIO, 89 percent of IT leaders expect to restructure their IT organizations. Meanwhile, 95 percent of IT professionals recognize that major changes in skills will be necessary by 2030.
Organizations are responding by introducing broader roles, increasing collaboration with business departments and investing in continuous learning.
New positions are also emerging around AI governance, decision intelligence, knowledge engineering and human-AI interaction.
These developments suggest that the future IT organization will not simply consist of fewer people performing the same activities. Instead, responsibilities and skills will evolve as AI changes how work is performed.
An important implication is that traditional training models may no longer be sufficient. Employees increasingly need opportunities to learn continuously, experiment responsibly and develop new capabilities while performing their daily work.
A shared responsibility for CIOs and CFOs
The growing productivity of IT creates an opportunity to rethink the relationship between technology investments and business outcomes.
CIOs will need to ensure that their organizations remain technically capable, secure and adaptable. At the same time, they must strengthen their ability to understand business priorities and challenge initiatives that offer limited value.
CFOs have an equally important role in evaluating investment decisions and ensuring that increased technological capacity translates into meaningful organizational improvements.
Together, they should ask whether new capabilities improve productivity, reduce risk, strengthen customer relationships or enable better decisions.
A faster development process is valuable, but only when it contributes to a result worth achieving.
People remain essential to creating business value
At Caronne, we believe that successful digital transformation starts with the organization and its objectives, not with the technology itself.
Our philosophy of People, not mass production reflects the importance of human judgment, expertise and personal responsibility in an increasingly automated world.
AI can reduce repetitive work, accelerate development and make sophisticated technology more accessible. This creates opportunities for employees to spend more time on analysis, creativity, collaboration and solving complex business problems.
But realizing those opportunities requires deliberate organizational choices.
Companies must invest not only in AI tools, but also in business knowledge, leadership, continuous learning and clear accountability.
The future IT organization may be smaller, more flexible or structured very differently from today’s teams. What should not change is its responsibility to deliver genuine business value.
When AI makes it easier to build almost anything, the competitive advantage will increasingly come from knowing what is worth building.
That may ultimately be the most important transformation facing CIOs and their organizations.
(CIO, artikel, 2026-10-27)
