A study by Natuvion and NTT Data Business Solutions surveyed more than 1,100 international executives and IT specialists about their experiences with IT transformations. The results are sobering and should make every business leader pay attention. Only one in four migrations goes according to plan. That means 75 percent of IT transformation projects encounter significant deviations from their original scope, timeline, or budget. And those deviations often cost millions of dollars and months of additional work that weren’t in the original budget. If you’re planning an IT transformation, this data should make you pause and think carefully about your approach. The odds are stacked against you unless you build flexibility into your strategy from day one.
71 percent of companies must adapt their migration methodology during the course of the project. That’s not a failure of planning. It’s the reality of complex IT transformations. Legacy systems are unpredictable. Data quality issues emerge during migration that weren’t visible during planning. Business requirements change while the project is underway. The key insight is that flexibility is more valuable than perfection in planning. Build adaptability into your approach from day one. Rigid plans break under pressure. Flexible plans bend and survive. The companies that succeed are the ones that expect the unexpected and plan for it.
AI Is Driving Transformation
60 percent of executives cite the adoption of modern technologies like AI as the main driver of their IT transformation. That number has stayed high for two consecutive years. AI isn’t just a tool anymore. It’s the reason companies are transforming. The competitive pressure to adopt AI is forcing organizations to modernize their entire technology stack, not just bolt AI onto legacy systems. This is a fundamental shift in how businesses think about technology investment. It’s no longer optional. It’s existential. Companies that don’t transform will be left behind by those that do.
But here’s the interesting part. 76 percent of companies are using AI during the transformation process itself. AI isn’t just the destination. It’s also the vehicle. Companies are using AI to analyze legacy code, map data flows, predict migration issues, and accelerate testing. The same technology that’s driving the transformation is also making the transformation faster and more efficient. That’s a powerful feedback loop that early adopters are already leveraging to pull ahead of their competitors. AI is both the reason for transformation and the tool that makes it possible. It’s a virtuous cycle that rewards early action.
The biggest challenge? 39 percent cite analysis of the existing IT landscape as the hardest part of planning. You can’t transform what you don’t understand. And legacy systems are notoriously difficult to document. Data quality issues compound this challenge. If your data is bad, understanding your systems becomes even harder. You need clean data before you can even begin to plan a transformation properly. Garbage in, garbage out applies to transformation planning just as much as it applies to AI development. Start with data quality, or everything else will be built on a shaky foundation.
The Data Quality Problem Persists
Poor data quality remains a persistent problem. 26 percent cite it as a key challenge for the fifth consecutive year. Clean data is the foundation for AI and data-driven business models, yet many companies still struggle with it. The irony is painful. Companies want to transform to adopt AI, but they can’t adopt AI effectively because their data isn’t ready. It’s a chicken-and-egg problem that requires leadership attention and investment to break. You can’t wait for perfect data, but you also can’t ignore the problem. Start cleaning now, even if it’s messy and uncomfortable. The alternative is worse.
NTT Data’s research shows that companies that invest in data quality before transformation see significantly better outcomes. The upfront investment in data cleansing and governance pays for itself many times over during the migration process. Clean data reduces errors, speeds up testing, and makes AI tools more effective from day one. Companies that skip this step pay for it later with costly rework and failed integrations that could have been avoided. Data quality isn’t optional. It’s foundational.
What You Should Do Right Now
If you’re planning an IT transformation, build flexibility into your methodology. Expect changes. Invest in data quality early. And use AI to accelerate the process. The companies that succeed aren’t the ones with perfect plans. They’re the ones that adapt when the plan inevitably changes. Start with a data quality audit. Understand your current landscape thoroughly. Then build a transformation plan that accounts for the unknowns. The 75 percent failure rate isn’t inevitable. It’s a result of rigid planning in a dynamic environment. Be the exception, not the rule. Start preparing today, because the longer you wait, the harder and more expensive the transformation becomes. Every month of delay adds complexity and cost to the eventual project. The time to act is now.
