Kyndryl report finds AI demand shifts modernization focus to business outcomes over legacy replacement
KD•Kyndryl’s survey of 2,000 business and technology leaders found that AI adoption now outranks cost reduction or legacy replacement as a modernization driver. Nearly half of organizations were behind schedule, and 98% of those that delayed modernization reported negative business impacts.
1. Modernization priorities shift
Kyndryl’s global modernization report, based on a survey of 2,000 business and technology leaders across five continents, found that AI adoption now outranks cost reduction or legacy replacement. Respondents reported increased use of mainframes, edge computing, SaaS and private cloud.
2. Progress and constraints
Nearly half of organizations reported being behind schedule on modernization goals, and 98% of those that delayed modernization reported negative business impacts. Agentic AI adoption remained limited at 10%, though 67% of early users were on track or ahead. Only 9% fully understood application dependencies, while 25% reported many undocumented applications.
