Consultants weigh in on IT transformation in 2026

Enterprises have been laser-focused on digital transformation for years, however IT-specific transformation hasn’t essentially been a part of the plan. Positive, IT and the CIO function are consistently evolving, however in 2026, the tempo of know-how innovation and shifting enterprise necessities raises the stakes. IT departments might want to rework extra mindfully — culturally, operationally, technologically and structurally.

For instance, there’s a variety of hype round agentic AI that obscures the truth of its deployment in enterprises. In accordance with forthcoming analysis from Genpact, solely a tiny fraction of the five hundred CEOs and C-suite leaders surveyed stated their corporations are actively implementing multi-agent orchestration. In the meantime, most organizations are grappling with fragmented knowledge, legacy programs, unclear possession, governance gaps, human dependency and cultural resistance — all signs of the necessity for IT transformation.

In right this moment’s enterprise atmosphere, IT departments can not afford to function as separate entities. They have to plan, spend money on and deploy options in tandem with different C-suite leaders. This shift extends past the CIO function to the broader IT group.

What IT transformation appears to be like like in 2026

Daniel Burrus, founding father of Burrus Analysis, stated the IT organizations which have efficiently reworked to date stay outliers. Many nonetheless function with an “outdated mindset” that limits actual transformation. “It’s going to be modified,” he stated. “However that is not ok.” 

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Ken Englund, know-how sector development chief at EY Americas, agreed that IT wants to grasp the enterprise and its objectives higher than it has up to now. That expectation is tied to the enterprise’s urgent want to point out ROI from AI, which remains to be below IT’s purview to deploy. 

“Extra broadly, we will search for IT organizations to personal a variety of the enterprise case, execution and monitoring, and KPI measurement — properly past uptime, 5 nines, all that type of stuff they’ve achieved for years,” Englund stated. “The IT group will grow to be the keeper of the journal when it comes to enterprise worth, and a variety of organizations have not developed these muscular tissues but.”

Know-how complexity 

Technical complexity stays an enormous problem. Again-end programs have gotten extra sophisticated, requiring stronger structure frameworks, quicker design cycles and dependable knowledge entry to assist rising agentic AI frameworks.

Sergio de la Fe, enterprise digital chief at assurance, tax and consulting providers supplier RSM US, stated that many IT organizations have been caught flat-footed over the previous three to 4 years by poor entry controls, weak knowledge governance and outdated knowledge structure, every of which may torpedo success.

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“Many IT organizations have taken the simple manner,” stated de la Fe, referring to cloud and utility service suppliers. Because of this, their knowledge is unfold throughout totally different environments. Organizations might technically personal their knowledge, he stated, however “it is not with them — or architected in a way the place they will entry and use it as they could have to.”

Michael Corrigan, CIO at insurance coverage dealer World Insurance coverage Associates, stated he sees most of the identical pressures taking part in out in observe within the office. His IT group has centered on automation, operational effectivity and software program growth over the previous few years, with a newer emphasis on fast growth as a consequence of enterprise pressures. 

“Lots of that focus is now on agentic AI. It definitely is what all leaders on the enterprise aspect are interested by,” Corrigan stated. “They need to speak about how AI can enhance their processes, [such as] making issues extra environment friendly, giving time again to somebody and actually driving worth.”

Sanjeev Vohra, chief know-how and innovation officer at Genpact, stated essentially the most superior IT organizations are approaching these tech challenges with higher self-discipline.

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“They consider it is a interval of architectural redux as a result of purposes have gotten extra heterogeneous,” Vohra stated. “Their structure should be extra modular and open, however they cannot merely say no to core purposes, as a result of the enterprise will demand them. They should be extra aware of the enterprise than ever earlier than.”

Sanjeev Vohra, chief know-how and innovation officer, Genpact

Methods to know you are heading in the right direction

IT transformation success takes totally different types, relying on what the group is making an attempt to perform, how mature it’s, the tradition and finances. At Genpact, the IT division tracks modernization efforts and new applied sciences on a weekly foundation, whereas the CIO — who additionally serves because the chief transformation officer — has been serving to the IT division and all the company capabilities evolve into extra of an agent-based structure. 

“We’re shifting our programs of report to next-generation programs and creating an innovation layer on high of it that may be a household of brokers [collectively called] Scout,” Vohra stated. “There are separate Scouts for inner capabilities comparable to HR and IT that automate the precise workflow or processes that may generate excessive returns.” After six months of design and implementation, the final 12 months have been about attaining a optimistic ROI, he stated.

Khaliq Khan, world lead of the design-led transformation observe at Kyndryl Important, stated that smaller, incremental transformations assist IT departments obtain proof factors extra shortly. In addition they allow agility as a result of as one step is accomplished, the undertaking might be evaluated to find out whether or not the following step needs to be executed, skipped or moved in a special route. 

RSM’s de la Fe stated he is aware of his division is heading in the right direction when it’s delivering clear enterprise worth. “The top is the worth that we offer our shoppers by doing one thing quicker or higher, or as a result of we give you new insights and new worth others have not seen earlier than,” he stated. 

Burrus added that efficient transformation begins by grounding organizations  in “laborious developments” — future details that the group might be assured about — and tying them to alternative. 

“A pattern by itself is educational,” Burris stated. “Once you connect a possibility to it, it bursts into actionable life.”

In observe, that confidence can come all the way down to how IT organizations construction their decision-making. Corrigan World Insurance coverage Associates changed conventional IT governance with a brand new enablement course of. 

Corrigan stated his group brings a management committee — representing finance, operations, gross sales, typically even HR and authorized – into choices as soon as dealt with solely by IT, as wanted. “[We use a] standardized consumption course of the place, upfront, we consider the scale and scope of the chance, the anticipated ROI, after which examine the precise outcomes with the anticipated outcomes,” he stated.

Telltale indicators of needed transformation

Though the hole between enterprise and IT continues to shrink, Genpact’s Vohra stated IT organizations nonetheless have to develop stronger enterprise abilities. 

“The alignment and integration of IT and enterprise capabilities is bigger than ever earlier than, ” Vohra stated. And it is occurring quicker.

“In some instances, there have been working mannequin adjustments to the extent that IT has a a lot stronger connection to the enterprise when it comes to finances approvals, working collectively and even the reporting relationships,” he stated.

With out business-IT alignment, IT can not ship the enterprise affect the group now expects. CIOs are below growing strain from senior management and boards to enhance effectivity and ship enterprise worth, as measured in enterprise KPIs quite than conventional IT KPIs. 

On the know-how aspect, CIOs additionally want to make sure they’re architecting for the long run. In accordance with EY’s Englund, exercise would not essentially translate into progress, which is why IT must measure efficiency and worth captured — not simply effort. 

“The expectations for these transformation applications have most likely doubled or tripled within the final couple of years,” Englund stated. AI has amplified these expectations — that “magically, AI goes to do all this stuff,” making it vital that CIOs realistically handle expectations whereas nonetheless allocating a portion of the finances — 10% to fifteen% — to next-gen know-how enablement [and] understanding.

Over the past decade, many IT departments have been falling behind or have centered on optimizing present options. As core platforms evolve, correct efficiency measurement turns into more and more vital. An EY Pulse survey revealed earlier this yr discovered that IT and AI budgets are growing, a pattern that’s usually misunderstood.

“The proof is what you do with the finances,” Englund stated. Failing to satisfy enterprise wants is an early indicator that an IT group wants to remodel, he stated. 

RSM’s de la Fe stated the necessity for IT transformation turns into clear when an IT lacks the finances to spend money on future development, is weighed down by extreme tech debt, or when the corporate is shedding market share as a consequence of weak know-how capabilities.

“I’m looking out for processes and teams which might be simply surviving,” de la Fe stated. “That is a telltale signal that some transformation must happen inside an IT group.”

Corrigan stated the catalyst for IT transformation might differ from firm to firm, however understanding the enterprise’s degree of maturity and the place leaders are forecasting development is vital. 

“All of it goes again to what the enterprise is making an attempt to perform, after which partnering with IT,” Corrigan stated.

Proof that the IT transformation is smart

IT has lengthy been formed by technological development and the aggressive pressures going through the enterprise. Over time, these forces — coupled with higher IT accountability, buyer centricity and alignment with the enterprise — have elevated the function of IT from a price heart to a driver of enterprise worth.

“I believe the engagement mannequin between enterprise and IT, and the way they work collectively in figuring out the challenges they’ll see sooner or later … goes to grow to be extra vital,” Genpact’s Vohra stated. Having an equal voice on the desk and a shared understanding is crucial to validating this method, he added.

RSM’s de la Fe stated a method to make sure IT transformation is sound is to validate it externally.

“I’m going to those totally different boards — whether or not convention board, Gartner organizations and even vendor conferences,” de la Fe stated. “When individuals ask what we’re doing, after which [share] that they did not try this, or did not consider it, it exhibits we’re pondering and pushing the envelope in the proper route.”

IT can rework mindfully or change by default. In 2026, sustaining competitiveness would require IT departments to deepen their partnerships with the enterprise and rethink how they ship worth. 

Getting there entails aligning budgets, individuals, processes and know-how properly past departmental boundaries.