In the new transformation study of the SAP advisory house NTT Data Business Solutions with the IT service provider Natuvion, 56.7 percent of the respondents, especially AI, call the main driver of her IT transformation. The transformation obstacle number 1 remains poor data quality.

With the subtitle “What managers would have liked to have known”, the SAP consulting house put Ntt Data Business Solutions and the IT service provider Natuvion her “Transformation study 2025“Before it. The essential drivers of digital transformation projects are determined. The most important knowledge: artificial intelligence (AI) changes a lot, also the motives for digital transformations in companies. While recently always dominated concrete business goals such as cost reductions or organizational optimization, 2025 is the introduction of new, modern technologies to 56.7 percent in place Transformation motifs.

A total of 909 managers, CEOs, CIOs and IT managers from 14 countries, were asked for the study in February and March 2025. The participants came from companies with at least 150 million euros in sales, from the DACH region, Scandinavia, USA, UK, France and Eastern Europe. Over 75 percent work in organizations with more than 1,000 employees.

AI is the driver of digital transformation

According to the study, AI becomes a driver for transformation projects. This conviction in the roof room is particularly pronounced, where almost every second company identifies AI as a key technology for the future (49.5 percent).

But that’s how it is internationally. Almost 90 percent of the companies surveyed worldwide want to prepare for AI: to increase efficiency, promote innovation or to improve customer services. Conversely, only 11.5 percent of the respondents from the 14 countries believe that AI will not play a role – a decrease of almost ten percent compared to the results in the previous year.

However, there is a gap between ambition and implementation: the actual integration of AI into productive processes is still in the beginning in many places. Many companies lack data quality, skilled workers and technological maturity in order to use AI nationwide and effective. The study authors therefore advise that the jump from the pilot phase to strategic anchoring AI should be actively designed – with clear road maps, resilient data and focused implementation.

Project communication, change management, continuity

“AI drives the transformation. However, if you only focus on technology, you do not do justice to the complexity. Successful change needs clear communication, stable teams and targeted competence structure,” warns Norbert Rotter, CEO of the NTT Data Solutions AG.

The digital transformation is not a purely technological project, it demands people and organizations alike. The study shows that project communication, change management and team continuity are decisive success factors. With 33.1 percent, the “continuity in the project team” is mentioned as an important criterion, as is the structure of transformation know-how (32.9 percent).

When asked what was the biggest challenge in planning, the respondents of this year’s transformation study chose to build up and establish regular communication for the first time.

Clean data as the basis of the transformation

The analysis of existing IT and data landscapes remains by far the greatest challenge in project preparation (38.6 percent). Companies that carry out so-called “housekeeping projects” for data adjustment in advance significantly report the successful achievement of the goals (69.4 percent).

In contrast, the achievement of goals for companies without a clear data strategy is only 46.1 percent. The quality of the data is particularly relevant for Brownfield approaches-in which existing systems are modernized. For 47 percent of the respondents, data quality is considered a decisive factor in their transformation.

“Data quality is the basis of every modern IT – this is shown by the results of the transformation study. Without reliable data, the cloud, AI and Innovation Stüchwerk remain,” comments Patrick Dahse, Managing Director of Natuvion GmbH.

Companies have to tackle data strategically: with governance, housekeeping and competence structure. Anyone who means transformation seriously starts with the data.

Patrick Dahse, Managing Director of Natuvion GmbH

Cloud as a strategic platform

A large part of the companies surveyed uses their transformation to expand the existing cloud services. The most important motivation here is faster and direct access to technological innovations such as AI or automation solutions (49.1 percent).

According to the authors, the cloud becomes the platform for innovation, agility and scalability. The success depends on how well companies interlink their cloud strategy with operational and technological goals. If you only consider Cloud as an IT operating model, give away the existing innovation potential.

94 percent of companies classified “data protection” as an important or even decisive factor in their transformation project. Similar to the 2024 survey: In the previous year, 57.5 percent of the respondents rated the role of data protection in the project as a positive additional benefit and around 33 percent as a driver for their transformation project.

One challenge remains the lack of specialists-especially in the Dach region, where 32 percent of companies had to fight personnel bottlenecks in project planning. The authors advise to be supported by external consultants or relieve their own employees by purchasing management services.

Finally, the question: What would have happened if your company had not tackled the transformation? The first three results are close together: in 1st place “origin of at high costs” (37.00 percent), in second place “capacity and performance problems” (36.8 percent), in third place “incompatibility to the latest technologies” (36.6 percent).

Full study

Here download the transformation study 2025 from NTT Data Business Solutions and Natuvion.