Are you ready?
The 2024 Kyndryl Readiness Report, with exclusive data from Kyndryl Bridge, assesses how ready businesses are for future risks and technology transformation
Business leaders across the globe are confident in their organization’s current technology but are concerned it is not fully ready for future risks and opportunities. The good news is that there’s a path forward to getting ready.
The Kyndryl Readiness Report — a global study of 3,200 business and technology leaders combined with exclusive data from Kyndryl Bridge, the company’s AI-driven digital business platform — sheds light on how business leaders turn to their IT and talent to address multiple business challenges at once and gain a competitive edge. The Report explores the gap between perceptions and reality, highlighting the risk complexities leaders face and offering insights to better prepare for the future.
six learnings
Leaders don’t feel risk ready, struggling with diverse disruptions, the pace of change and talent gaps
Business and IT leaders question their organizations’ ability to withstand multiple risks — from security threats to macroeconomic disruptions. About three in five worry about how to keep up with the pace of technological developments. Half the executives feel that industry regulations are emerging too quickly to keep up. But there is some good news: Businesses that are more confident in their talent are more confident overall.
The tech readiness paradox: Leaders are confident in their tech, yet end-of-life tech is a challenge
While 90% of C-suite leaders believe their IT is best-in-class today, 39% are concerned about whether their systems could withstand emerging challenges and be ready for future technology integrations. Every modern enterprise must deal with aging technology, and about two-thirds of CEOs are worried their IT tools or processes are outdated. Data from Kyndryl Bridge supports this view: 44% of servers, operating systems, networks and storage are approaching or at end-of-life.
Tech modernization is a top priority for leaders, yet most are in earlier stages of the journey
About 94% of leaders agree that tech modernization is a high priority for their business. Yet most leaders are somewhere in the early stages of modernization: 56% of leaders say they are in the process of adopting new digital technologies and 16% say they're just starting out.
Tech modernization is hindered by complexity and prioritization paralysis
As businesses modernize, they say their No. 1 challenge is complexity. Conflicting priorities and diverse organizational needs, such as short-term gains vs. long-term benefits, innovation vs. risk, and cost vs. function paralyze leaders as they try to run the business and modernize simultaneously. And leaders need to continue to run their businesses while they look to the future.
Despite significant AI investments to drive modernization, leaders struggle to see positive ROI
Most businesses are investing in both traditional AI — which includes Machine Learning — and the newer generative AI. However, only 42% of business leaders see positive ROI on those investments. And while 86% say their AI implementation is best-in-class, 71% of business leaders don’t feel their IT is completely ready for AI implementation
Leaders in tech modernization report better business-tech alignment, higher ROI and greater readiness for the future
There are benefits to those who navigate these challenges successfully. Similarly, those who are farther along their tech modernization journey vs. early stage report greater alignment between business and tech leaders; greater ROI on newer technologies such as AI, generative AI, and edge computing; and much greater readiness for current and future risks.
Explore the report
As businesses navigate this readiness paradox and modernize their technology, executives say they need the most help with leadership decision-making (67%), talent management (57%) and integrating new tech into existing infrastructure (45%). Read the Kyndryl Readiness Report to learn how businesses can chart a new path to readiness.
