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đ Cybersecurity and AI drive software market to sustained double-digit growth
Software Market Grows, Data Center Capacity Shrinks, Platform Engineering Insights from Alex Podobnik
Aimply Team & Zack Tembi
August 27, 2025
Software Market Grows, Data Center Capacity Shrinks, Platform Engineering Insights from Alex Podobnik
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Welcome to this weekâs edition of CIOsurge!
This week:
Enterprise software spend will grow over 10% annually through 2029, driven by AI, security, and governance tools, even as enterprises push for efficiency.
Colocation capacity in North America has dropped below 2.3% as hyperscalers pre-book supply, forcing CIOs to rethink hybrid infrastructure strategies.
In my interview with Alex Podobnik of OpsFlow Labs, we explored how platform engineering has become product managementâtreating internal platforms like owned products with roadmaps, budgets, and UX goals.
Letâs make this week a game-changer.
Stay sharp. Stay ahead.
đĄ Guest Expert Insights: Alex Podobnik
đïž Platform Engineering Is Product Management Now
This week I interviewed Alex Podobnik (ex-HashiCorp SRE turned consultant), and one throughline was unmistakable: platform engineering has become product management for developers.
Youâre not âstanding up serversâ anymore, youâre running an internal product with a roadmap, budget, SLOs, and a user base that expects self-service. The work is building paved roads: golden templates, policy-as-code, default security, and CI/CD as a service so teams ship safely without tickets.
If youâre starting, treat the platform like a product from day one. Fund a small core team, set UX goals (time-to-first-deploy, change lead time), and measure adoption and reliability like any customer-facing service. The org moves faster when enablement is an owned product, not a side hustle.
đ Cybersecurity and AI drive software market to sustained double-digit growth
Enterprise software spending is projected to grow over 10% annually through 2029, led by cloud security, IAM, and AI tooling, according to Forrester. Infrastructure software spend will rise 13.3%, fueled by demand for GenAI readiness and off-the-shelf governance tools. Despite tariff-driven slowdowns, vendors are optimizing pricing while enterprises seek efficiency via SaaS, consolidation, and early renewal negotiation.
Weâre seeing a pattern: despite macro headwinds, software budgets arenât shrinkingâtheyâre shifting. The growth of infrastructure and governance tools means CIOs are preparing for long-term AI integration, even if that means trimming in other areas. Security, identity, and cloud management remain untouchable priorities.
This is a perfect time to renegotiate vendor contracts, especially with per-seat licensing models taking a hit from headcount reductions. Start renewals early, consolidate tools aggressively, and donât underestimate the savings potentialâ22â39% is no small margin. Every dollar you save now funds the innovation youâll need next quarter.
- Zack Tembi
⥠Data center capacity vanishes as power constraints tighten
Colocation vacancy in North America dropped to 2.3% in H1 2025, with leading markets like Northern Virginia dipping below 1%, per JLL. Hyperscaler demand is squeezing enterprise access, driving prelease timelines up to two years. Power limitations and rising energy costs further constrain growth, making electricityânot spaceâthe new gating factor for data center expansion.
For CIOs with hybrid or on-prem strategies, the window to secure colocation capacity is closing fast. Hyperscalers are absorbing power and space at unprecedented rates, locking in supply years in advance. Enterprises without forward-looking capacity plans may find themselves priced outâor boxed out entirely.
This isnât just about infrastructure anymore. Itâs about strategic resource allocation. If data sovereignty, AI latency, or repatriation is on your roadmap, your team needs to be in market nowâlong before the rack is ready. And if youâre still assuming colocation is a flexible fallback, itâs time to reassess.
- Zack Tembi
đïž At A Glance
đĄ CIO Spotlights
FM Insurance names Tara Long CIO to lead digital strategy
FM appointed Tara Long, former MassMutual CTO, as SVP and CIO to guide its technology strategy amid an AI-driven modernization push.
Long brings over two decades of insurance tech experience, with a focus on infrastructure, digital transformation, and client experience.
COO Randy Hodge praised her ability to drive operational improvements and align IT with evolving business goals.
iMerit appoints Georgeo Pulikkathara as CIO & CISO to scale secure AI operations
U.S. Army veteran Georgeo Pulikkathara joins iMerit as both CIO and CISO, bringing over 34 years of experience in IT and cybersecurity.
His dual role will focus on reinforcing data integrity and trust as iMerit supports clients in highly regulated industries.
CEO Radha Basu called his leadership key to scaling secure, compliant infrastructure for responsible AI innovation.