Only 25% of businesses have reached IT modernization goals

Dive Brief:

Among companies chasing IT modernization, just 25% say the process has met its goals, according to a survey commissioned by enterprise IT company Insight. Companies that haven't made significant progress cite competing priorities, outdated infrastructure and a lack of in-house expertise as key hurdles.
Despite the lag, more than two-thirds of companies view IT modernization as "essential to enable business transformation initiatives." The 26% of companies in the beginning stages of transformation find the process helped improve quality of service, customer experience or cost savings.
To modernize in 2020, companies will require governance strategies to support IT modernization, new IT operating models for data and business transformation, and a strategy for integrating data infrastructure.

Dive Insight:

Modernizing the technological backbone of a company is no longer a competitive edge. It's an imperative for survival in tech-driven markets.

At the center of that process are CIOs, whose focus is shifting closer to business processes as technology gains more relevance. As execs face pressures to innovate, they must also keep the business running.

Amid the tension between old and new, modernization priorities can fall by the wayside. Four in 10 respondents said 2019 IT modernization initiatives ended up getting delayed or altogether scrapped, citing competing priorities and/or a lack of a clear strategy.

For context on the survey results, respondents came from companies with 2,500 employees or more, with 19% of them working at organizations with more than 100,000 employees. The top category of respondents were CIOs or CTOs (42%).

Delays in IT modernization are pervasive across businesses. By the time 2020 began, 59% of companies were lugging an IT backlog from 2019, a delay 90% of business leaders say could negatively impact revenue in one to five years.

Companies face "a steep learning curve when it comes to IT modernization," said Shawn O'Grady, senior vice president and general manager, Cloud + Data Center Transformation, at Insight, in a press release. However, the investments are rewarded through new business efficiencies, improved user experiences, and innovations that can lead to new revenue streams.