Board meetings about technology are rarely simple. Every agenda is packed with vendor pitches, headlines about the latest trends, and internal teams lobbying for their priorities. What boards need is clarity: Which technologies are essential, which are exploratory, and where the risks actually lie.
The Technology Prioritization Index (TPI) was built to answer that need. By scoring domains across business factors like ROI, adoption, maturity, and compliance, it offers a grounded way to see both the opportunities and the pitfalls.
Here are five insights from recent TPI reports that your board will appreciate because they get straight to the issues that matter most.
Cloud is the backbone of digital transformation. Its maturity is undeniable, with a near-perfect score of 20/21 and adoption by nearly every enterprise. But beneath the surface, the reality is harder: 35% of migrations fail to meet cost or performance goals, and 40% of organizations overspend on cloud resources.
For boards, the lesson is clear. Cloud is not just an IT discussion about scalability or innovation. It is a governance issue. Success depends on disciplined cost monitoring, workload prioritization, and aligning investments with measurable business outcomes.
Data is often described as an organization’s most valuable asset, but too many boards treat data management as a compliance checkbox. The TPI shows strong scores for ROI and maturity, with use cases like faster audits, fewer compliance penalties, and improved efficiency. Yet only 18% of executives treat it as a strategic priority, even though poor governance results in higher audit failure rates and slower breach response times.
Boards should recognize that data management is not just about avoiding fines. It is the foundation that makes analytics and AI projects viable. Without it, the exciting initiatives that dominate boardroom conversations fail before they start.
Every board worries about cyber risk, but too often, cybersecurity is seen as a cost center. The data tells a different story: proactive cybersecurity programs can deliver up to 220% ROI in mature organizations. The problem is tool sprawl — 44% of companies overspend on overlapping security tools, and 33% of boards struggle to link security spend to business outcomes.
Boards should not ask “are we spending enough?” but “are we spending smart?” Consolidation, measurable outcomes, and alignment with real business risks will produce better protection and better returns.
Low-code and no-code platforms promise agility. They reduce development cycles by 50% and are already used by more than 70% of enterprises. But adoption at scale comes with risks. 58% of organizations struggle to move beyond departmental pilots, while 41% face compliance risks from shadow IT.
Boards should understand that speed without governance creates liability. These tools are valuable, but without frameworks for oversight, integration, and compliance, they can turn into silos that undermine enterprise strategy.
Quantum computing dominates headlines and attracts billions in global investment. It promises breakthroughs in cryptography, optimization, and simulation. But reality lags far behind. The TPI gives quantum an Exploratory score of just 8/2. This means it has limited pilots, high costs, and no proven ROI.
Boards should resist the hype. Quantum should be monitored, not funded at scale. The more immediate responsibility is preparing for its security implications while leaving large Research & Development bets to industries whose survival depends on it.
Technology conversations at the board level often swing between hype and hesitation. What these five insights show is that there is a middle ground: structured clarity. Cloud needs governance, data needs to be strategic, cybersecurity needs smarter ROI conversations, low-code needs oversight, and quantum needs caution.
At Galson Research, we provide the insights that make these distinctions clear. We designed TPI Mini Reports and Custom Reports to help your team move from debate to decision.
Download a free Mini Report or request a Custom Report at galson.com/tpi.
The TPI is a scoring framework that evaluates technology domains across seven business factors, helping leaders understand what is essential, emerging, or exploratory.
Because they turn hype and vendor pitches into measurable comparisons that support confident, defensible decisions.
Scores are updated regularly to reflect changes in adoption, compliance, and market maturity.
The TPI covers 25 domains, including cloud, cybersecurity, data management, low-code/no-code, machine learning, RPA, and quantum computing.