PUBLIC STUDY B2B Europe 2025

The evolving role of the software CTO

EY-Parthenon’s Software Strategy Group partnered with Potloc to explore how European software CTOs are expanding their influence and redefining their mandates across AI, cybersecurity, and product modernization.

Technology leadership is entering a new chapter.

Software companies are in the middle of a leadership evolution. The CTO role is expanding beyond technology to shape product, resilience, and growth. 

To identify what’s next for the modern technology leader, EY-Parthenon and Potloc surveyed over 350 CTOs from the UK, France, DACH, Benelux, Italy, the Nordics, Spain, and Portugal.

Sander van Weele

Partner at EY-Parthenon, Software Strategy Group

Charles Gouiran

Account executive at Potloc

Survey details.

  • 350

    European software CTOs surveyed

  • 7

    regional markets targeted

  • 14

    data quality controls employed

  • 22

    days of fieldwork

The Potloc advantage.

  • MapPinArea

    Reliable sampling reach.

    After a successful first wave, EY-Parthenon chose Potloc again to run the second wave, ensuring reach and consistency across European markets. The result: actionable results from 350 CTOs spanning company sizes, sectors, and technology maturities.

  • Gear

    Designed for better answers.

    Potloc’s experts helped refine and localize the survey. Every question was designed to balance breadth and depth — wide enough to capture market trends, precise enough to generate meaningful responses. The result was a dataset rich in nuance and ready for analysis.

  • Timer

    Faster, deeper analysis.

     With Potloc’s platform, EY-Parthenon could track responses as they came in, segment data instantly, and test early hypotheses without waiting for fieldwork to close. The ability to explore live data made it easier to spot trends, validate assumptions, and pull clear insights.

Key trends.

1

The expanding CTO mandate.

ey_software-CTO_graph1
ey_software-CTO_graph1

More than half of CTOs say their responsibilities now include product, resilience, and strategic growth — confirming that technology leadership is moving closer to the center of business decision-making.

2

Cybersecurity maturity is overstated and underinvested.

ey_software-CTO_graph2
ey_software-CTO_graph2

While most CTOs state they are ahead of the curve, nearly 40% still lack fundamental practices such as risk assessments — revealing a persistent gap between perceived and actual readiness.

3

AI as both baseline and differentiator.

ey_software-CTO_graph3
ey_software-CTO_graph3

AI tools in development workflows drive efficiency gains of up to 40%, but fewer than 40% of developers currently use them. With AI now a baseline, the real advantage lies in defining high-impact use cases and building tailored models.

The support from Potloc’s experts on survey design and optimization ensured that the questions were both precise and engaging, which in turn drove high-quality responses. We used the Potloc platform extensively — it accelerated our speed to insights significantly. Having the data presented in an intuitive, visual format allowed us to quickly cut the results by segment and spot patterns that would have taken much longer to uncover manually.
Sander van Weele BW
Sander van Weele Partner at EY-Parthenon, Software Strategy Group
eyparthenon

Our team.

Charles Gouiran
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
charles.gouiran@potloc.com

Kickstart your next thought leadership survey.

With unmatched sample quality, time-saving analysis tools, and dedicated research experts at your disposal, Potloc is the go-to survey partner for PE & consulting firms.

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