Modernization Delays Have Impacted Global Business
A new report found that nearly all surveyed organizations face negative consequences from delayed tech updates.
Updated on Oct. 6, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Kyndryl released a global modernization report indicating that 98% of organizations have experienced negative business impacts due to delayed technology initiatives. Nearly half of global firms are currently falling behind their scheduled modernization timelines.
Why it matters
The rise of artificial intelligence has increased expectations for technology performance, creating new pressure for businesses to modernize their infrastructure effectively. Failure to update legacy systems is now directly hindering operational outcomes for the vast majority of firms.
Only 9% of respondents possess a full understanding of application dependencies, while 25% struggle with a large volume of undocumented applications. Meanwhile, 65% of organizations still approach data sovereignty through a limited compliance lens.
The players
Kyndryl
Kyndryl is a global IT infrastructure services provider that helps enterprises manage and modernize their mission-critical systems.
The details
Organizations are attempting to address these gaps by expanding investments across both legacy and modern platforms instead of consolidating them. Early adopters utilizing agentic AI are seeing operational benefits as these systems take on complex technical tasks.
Timeline
October 6, 2026: Kyndryl released the global Modernization Report.
The Tech Race
The transition to agentic AI is accelerating the obsolescence of fragmented legacy architectures that companies have relied on for decades. This shift highlights a widening gap between agile competitors leveraging autonomous systems and those hindered by undocumented application debt.
Business users should expect increased demand on network architectures as 55% of organizations prepare for infrastructure upgrades. Employees may see more agentic AI systems integrated into technical workflows as firms attempt to resolve their modernization backlog.
The takeaway
Organizations should prioritize mapping application dependencies to avoid the negative performance impacts reported by the majority of industry peers. Successful modernization now requires moving beyond simple compliance toward a holistic strategy that accounts for both legacy and AI-driven platforms.
Further reading
For more context on how automated systems are reshaping infrastructure, explore our Artificial Intelligence section.
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Is now a good time for businesses to invest in large-scale technology modernisation?
