Digital Transformation Leaders Double Down on Tech InvestmentsDigital Transformation Leaders Double Down on Tech Investments

As organizations navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape in 2025, the gap between digital transformation leaders and laggards continues to widen.

That's one of the key findings in TEKsystems' 2025 State of Digital Transformation report. The comprehensive study, which surveyed 855 technology and business decision-makers across 12 countries, reveals several critical trends shaping the digital transformation landscape.

Among the key trends identified in the report:

• 75% of digital leaders plan to increase technology spending in 2025.

• 90% of organizations face significant talent shortages.

• Digital leaders demonstrate twice the confidence in return on investment (ROI) compared with laggards.

• AI/ML skills represent the most critical capability gap.

• Only 9% of organizations feel their current talent base is sufficient.

One of the surprises in this year's report was that only 16% identified "increased speed to market of existing products or services" as a digital transformation goal.

"This is a surprise, but may not be the biggest surprise, because digital transformation that companies drive can now be accelerated by GenAI making their products or services personalized and closer to their customers," Ramasamy Palaniappan, CTO of TEKsystems Global Services, told ITPro Today. "We are seeing this with the proliferation of agentic AI solutions that demonstrates how AI can augment and accelerate decision-making cycle time. As agentic AI solutions become prominent, the competitive pressure will be pushing this goal to more broader organizations."

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The Challenge of Complex Environments and Siloed Mindsets

The report identifies "complex environments and siloed mindsets" as the top challenge.

There are a variety of ways that digital transformation leaders can break down these organizational silos while simultaneously managing the technical complexity of legacy system modernization.

"It's crucial to have strong leadership who act on the main priority for a given digital transformation pursuit and, while doing so, prioritize continuous feedback across internal and customer stakeholders — focusing on improved service and culture," Palaniappan said.

He added that technical complexity can be solved with gen AI-driven copilot tools. That said, Palaniappan noted that continuous organizational design and refinement is also necessary to ensure siloism or tribalism don't creep in.

What Investments Yield the Strongest Returns for Digital Transformation?

The report shows that 75% of DX leaders plan to increase tech spending, compared with 47% with laggards, while expressing twice the confidence in ROI compared with laggards.

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There are some specific investments that are delivering the strongest returns. Ricardo Madan, senior vice president and head of TEKsystems Global Services, noted that most of the digital transformation and AI investments his firm sees has to do with automating or replacing laborious and expensive legacy processes. Those processes include items such as phone- or chat-based customer support, code migrations, doc reviews, and any host of productivity-oriented analysis functions.

"This is true from government to private sector — it's all about productivity improvement and helping the economy grow," he said.

Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning

The report emphasizes the importance of creating a culture of continuous learning in helping to advance digital transformation.

Leslie Deutsch, VP of People Strategy at TEKsystems, said there are several strategies that have proved effective in fostering a "culture of continuous learning" as a cornerstone for successful digital transformation. Some examples include:

Reskilling and Upskilling Initiatives: Organizations are prioritizing the continuous development of their workforce by providing training programs focused on digital skills. This includes areas such as AI, machine learning, and cybersecurity. By equipping employees with the necessary skills, organizations ensure that their workforce remains agile and capable of leveraging new technologies.

Employee Involvement and Engagement: Involving employees at all levels in the digital transformation process fosters a sense of ownership and innovation. This can be achieved through cross-functional teams, feedback loops, and open communication channels that encourage employees to contribute ideas and solutions.

Iterative Approach to Transformation: Adopting an iterative approach allows organizations to continuously refine their processes and strategies based on real-time feedback and performance data. This approach not only enhances agility but also ensures that the transformation efforts are aligned with the evolving needs of the business.

Change Management Strategies: Implementing robust change management strategies is crucial for addressing the human and organizational aspects of transformation. This includes clear communication of the vision, engaging senior leadership, and providing support to employees throughout the transition.

Deutsch further emphasized that organizations measure the success of the cultural initiatives alongside their technical achievements through various metrics: