Panoramica

COMPLEXITY IS NOW MORE THAN JUST AN IT ISSUE - ITS A STRATEGIC PROBLEM.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

Annually, companies are prevented from from carrying out 14 innovation initiatives due at least in part to digital infrastructure complexity, valued at an average of €508,000.

On average, organisations experienced seven weeks of cumulative delay last year due to infrastructure complexity, with more than €140,000 of value at stake each week.

The pressure of complexity is most visible in three areas: AI adoption and Innovation, security, and operational efficiency.

Across each of these, the pattern is the same. The more layered the estate becomes, the harder it is for organisations to move with confidence. Businesses become less competitive and ambitious when digital infrastructure becomes too complicated to change confidently.

Our report asks 600 senior decision-makers across Japan, the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands their thoughts on how their organisations are handling the complexity of their digital infrastructure.

73%

OF ENTERPRISES WOULD CONSIDER AN EXTERNAL REVIEW TO ASSIST THEM IN THEIR TRANSFORMATION PROCESS

91%

say complexity holds back their ability to embrace emerging technologies

68%

agree that complexity is now a bigger barrier to growth than a lack of funding or ideas

1. complexity stalls ai ambition

Organisations are not short of ideas, and many are alreayd investing in advanced analytics, automation and AI-enabled services. The problem is that these initiatives often have to run across estates that were not designed to support fast, joined-up experimentation at scale.

the impact on ai adoption
Bar charts show 69% of leaders warn complex infrastructure risks errors, 62% say it raises cyber risk.

2. complexity weakens security

Multi-layered digital infrastructure makes it harder to see, secure and govern the whole estate. This matters because risk does not stay inside IT - it quickly becomes an executive, regulatory and reputational concern.

the impact on security

3. complexity erodes efficiency

Daily operations become slower when employees have to work around fragmented systems, multiple portals, duplicated processes and unclear ownership models.

This cost is not only financial. It shows up in the time teams spend coordinating, troubleshooting and explaining risk, instead of delivering planned work.

The impact on efficiency
A graph showing how often Digital Infrastructure complexity issues cause frustration across groups
"Whenever we try to scale a new technology, complexity becomes more visible to us. Everything looks good in the pilot because the environment is controlled there.

But when we roll out the solution into multiple sites or different countries, then the real picture comes out.

Every location has a different set-up, client systems are different - and this is when complexity becomes clear."
vp of it applications
FRENCH TRANSPORT ORGANISATION
Looking forward

SIMPLIFICATION AS A DESIGN PRINCIPLE

The practical response to complexity is not to pause transformation until the estate is perfect.

Simplification is not about slowing innovation down. It is about making innovation repeatable, secure and scalable. The organisations that tackle complexity most effectively will be those that build simplification into every decision: fewer unnecessary tools, clearer ownership, stronger integration, better visibility and partners that reduce operational burden rather than add to it.

read the reportbook a workshop

disconnected systems

The average enterprise relies on 16 different vendors, platforms or tools - with only 18% describing their systems as fully integrated.

eroded efficiency

48% of respondents report that when digital infrastructure is multi-layered, their teams spend more time firefighting than carrying out planned work.

technical debt

51% see complexity of legacy systems and technical debt as the main factor preventing their organisation from streamlining its digital infrastructure

the way forward

73% of respondents would consider an external review or strategy to simplify or optimise their digital infrastructure.

ABOUT THIS RESEARCH

In February and March 2026 Coleman Parkes surveyed 600 senior decision-makers with awareness of their company’s digital infrastructure across Japan, the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Respondents worked in finance, manufacturing, professional services, retail, transport and defence organisations with at least 2,000 employees.

ABOUT COLEMAN PARKES

Coleman Parkes is a full-service B2B market research agency specialising in IT/technology studies, targeting senior decision makers in SMB to large enterprises across multiple sectors globally.

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