Thanksgiving 2025: 7 Technology Wins CIOs Can Be Thankful For

Thanksgiving shows up on the calendar, not on most IT roadmaps. There are no project milestones linked to it, no release weekends planned around it.

But for CIOs and technology leaders in the US, this time of year is actually a good pause point:

• Budgets for next year are under discussion
• Big projects are either just completed or about to start
• Teams are tired, but also proud of what they shipped

It’s a natural moment to look at your technology stack and ask: “What actually made our lives easier this year, and what should we build on in 2026?”

At NGenious Solutions, we help organizations modernize their workplaces and business applications, automate with AI, unlock data and analytics, refresh legacy apps, and scale with staff augmentation services across the Microsoft and ServiceNow ecosystems. Across those environments, we see a few common technology “wins” that many CIOs can genuinely be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

This isn’t another prediction list. It’s a look at what already works today and where you can quietly double down next year.

1. Business Applications That Do More Than Keep the Books Running

Modern business applications like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central have changed what “back office” means.

Instead of being a pure accounting engine, your ERP and related apps now:

• Connect finance with supply chain, warehouse, and sales
• Integrate with banks, e-commerce, and CRM systems
• Provide near real-time numbers instead of end-of-month surprises

Many finance and operations leaders quietly rely on this every single day. If your month-end used to be chaos and now runs smoother, that’s not an accident.

Why this matters

A solid business applications foundation gives CIOs and CFOs:

• Better visibility into cash, inventory, and margins
• A single set of numbers for leadership to work with
• A more stable base for automation and analytics

What to look at in 2026

If you’re thankful your ERP “just works,” consider:

• Are we actually using the forecasting, budgeting, or reporting features we’re already paying for?
• Where do people still export to Excel and rebuild reports manually?
• Which manual approvals or checks around ERP could be automated safely?

Incremental improvements here can deliver real business value without a big bang project.

2. Modern Workplace That Makes Hybrid Work Boring – in a Good Way

Five years ago, remote work at scale felt temporary. Today, hybrid work is just… work.

Platforms like Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Online have become the default way people:

• Share files and version documents
• Run project discussions and status updates
• Meet with vendors, partners, and customers across time zones

If you’ve had fewer “which version is correct?” conversations this year, your modern workplace stack deserves some of the credit.

Why this matters

Done well, a modern digital workplace:

• Saves time on low-value coordination
• Makes it easier to onboard new employees
• Reduces dependence on individuals who “know where everything is”

What to look at in 2026

Most organizations aren’t suffering from a lack of tools; they’re dealing with sprawl and inconsistency.

Good questions to ask:

• How many Teams and SharePoint sites do we actually need?
• Can people find what they need in search without asking around?
• Are we using these tools only for chat and meetings, or also for workflows and apps?

A light governance and clean-up program, paired with a better information structure, can dramatically improve productivity without introducing new platforms.

3. Automation & ITSM That Quietly Remove Repetitive Work

In many IT and business teams, automation has moved from “let’s try a bot” to “we can’t live without this workflow anymore.”

Whether you’re using Power Platform, ServiceNow, or custom solutions, you may already have:

• Approvals that no longer need email back-and-forth
• Routine requests that route to the right team automatically
• Data synchronized between systems without manual exports

People notice when these automations fail. That’s a sign they’ve become essential.

In many organizations, ServiceNow has become the backbone of ITSM – handling incidents, requests, changes, and approvals without endless email chains.

Why this matters

Thoughtful automation:

• Reduces cycle time for common processes
• Cuts down on human error
• Gives employees time back for work that needs judgment, context, or creativity

What to look at in 2026

If Thanksgiving is about appreciating what’s working, it’s also a moment to ask:

• Which processes still rely on copy-paste between systems?
• Where do customers or internal users wait longer than they should?
• Do we know which automations are business-critical and how they’re monitored?

The next step is usually not “automate everything.” It’s to pick a few end-to-end journeys like incident to resolution or order to cash and streamline them properly.

Also Read:

4. Data & Analytics That Finally Tell the Same Story

Dashboards and reports have been around forever. The real win is when everyone looks at the same numbers and trusts them.

With tools like Power BI and integrated reporting inside Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365, more organizations are starting to:

• Move away from one-off spreadsheets
• Use shared datasets and models
• Bring operational, financial, and customer data into a single view

If leadership meetings now spend less time arguing about numbers and more time deciding what to do about them, that’s a quiet but important shift.

Why this matters

Good data and analytics:

• Speed up decisions at every level
• Help teams spot trends and issues earlier
• Make it easier to justify investments and changes

What to look at in 2026

To build on this win, ask:

• Where are people still manually stitching together data every month?
• Do we have clear ownership for key metrics and definitions?
• Which decisions could be made faster with a simple, shared dashboard?

Focusing on a handful of high-impact dashboards rather than endless reports can make analytics feel more like a product and less like a chore.

5. App Modernization That Saves Useful Legacy Systems

Most organizations still rely on a mix of old line-of-business apps, Access databases, and “that one tool” only a few people understand.

Over the last few years, many CIOs have started quietly modernizing these:

• Rebuilding critical workflows as Power Apps or modern web apps
• Replacing fragile integrations with APIs and connectors
• Improving UX so people don’t dread using internal systems

If you’ve retired even a couple of risky, aging apps this year, that’s a big win.

Why this matters

App modernization:

• Reduces technical debt and risk
• Makes it easier to onboard new people into key processes
• Opens the door to better automation, analytics, and security

What to look at in 2026

Instead of trying to modernize everything, focus on:

• Apps that support revenue, compliance, or customer experience
• Systems that are one incident away from serious disruption
• High-friction tools employees complain about regularly

A small number of well-chosen modernization projects can unlock a lot of value and peace of mind.

6. AI That Is Finally Finding Its Place

The AI conversation in 2023 and 2024 was loud. There were demos, pilots, slide decks, and bold claims.

By late 2025, many CIOs have narrowed their focus. Instead of “AI everywhere,” they’re concentrating on a few practical use cases, such as:

• Drafting content and emails faster
• Helping service teams find relevant knowledge and past tickets
• Summarizing long documents or meetings
• Flagging patterns in data that might be missed manually

If your teams are quietly using AI assistants inside business tools, and you see time savings without major issues, that’s a good sign.

Why this matters

Applied carefully, AI can:

• Remove friction from day-to-day work
• Help smaller teams do more with less
• Surface insights faster without building complex custom systems

What to look at in 2026

For most organizations, the next phase is about focus and guardrails:

• Which 3–5 AI use cases are we willing to invest in deeply?
• How are we protecting sensitive data when we use AI tools?
• Who owns AI governance and risk in our company?

The winners will be the companies that stop chasing every AI headline and instead make a few meaningful changes that stick.

7. The People, Partners, and Extended Teams Who Keep Everything Running

All of this technology – business applications, modern workplace, automation, analytics, and AI – only works because of the people behind it.

If your systems have stayed up during holiday peaks, if major projects went live, if users felt supported when something broke, that’s down to:

• Your internal IT and operations teams
• Business stakeholders who engage with change instead of resisting it
• External partners who bring extra capacity, expertise, and perspective

For many organizations, another quiet win has been the ability to tap into staff augmentation and extended teams, bringing in specialist talent when needed, without having to build every capability in-house.

Why this matters

Recognizing and using this extended talent pool:

• Improves resilience and delivery capacity
• Lets internal teams focus on strategy and high-value work
• Brings in skills you don’t need full-time but do need done right

What to look at in 2026

As you wrap up the year:

• Call out the teams internal and external who went above and beyond
• Be honest about where extended teams or staff augmentation made the difference
• Involve key partners earlier in strategy discussions, not only in execution

That combination of internal ownership and external support is what keeps digital initiatives moving when things get busy.

Turning Thanksgiving Gratitude into a 2026 Technology Plan

Being “thankful for tech” is nice, but it’s even more useful when it leads to clear decisions.

Here’s a simple way to use this season as a planning tool:

List the 3–5 technology areas you’re most grateful for this year.

• What would have broken without them?
• Who championed them internally?

For each one, identify where you’re only halfway to the value.

• Underused features
• Manual workarounds still in place
• Data you’re collecting but not using

Pick one small, concrete step for each area in 2026.

• A pilot project
• A clean-up or consolidation effort
• A focused automation or analytics initiative

This keeps your roadmap grounded in real outcomes, not just trend lists.

How NGenious Solutions Fits Into The Picture

At NGenious Solutions, we work with CIOs and IT leaders to turn these kinds of reflections into action.

Our teams help organizations:

• Move from legacy systems to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
• Build modern digital workplaces on Microsoft 365 and SharePoint
• Automate IT and business processes with ServiceNow and the broader Microsoft ecosystem

We see Thanksgiving as more than a holiday on the calendar. It’s a natural point in the business year to pause, appreciate what’s working, and get honest about what needs attention next.

If you’re looking at your 2026 plans and thinking:

• “We know our stack can do more than we’re using,” or
• “We need an outside view of where to focus first,”

we’re always happy to have a focused conversation no hard sell, just a clear look at where you are and what’s realistic for the year ahead.

Disclaimer: Complimentary offer, subject to availability and qualification. Submitting the form does not guarantee a slot. Scheduling is confirmed only after our team replies in writing. Session is a high-level advisory discussion and does not create any commitment to provide services or deliver outcomes. One session per organization. Terms and conditions apply.