In the artificial intelligence arms race , business decision-makers often focus on choosing the right language models or computing power. Meanwhile, recent data suggests that the real dividing line between success and failure runs much deeper – at the core IT infrastructure layer. According to a new report by Cloudflare, organisations that neglect to modernise their applications run the risk of their ambitious AI projects becoming costly misfires.
A survey of more than 2,300 executives from large organisations in North America, Europe and Asia sheds light on a clear correlation: companies that have modernised their application environment are three times more likely to successfully implement investments in artificial intelligence. These findings are changing the perception of IT modernisation. What was previously treated as routine maintenance or an operational necessity is now becoming a strategic business imperative. As many as 93 per cent of executives surveyed explicitly indicated that software upgrades are key to unlocking the potential of AI.
The report debunks the myth that security is a brake on innovation. In reality, it acts as an accelerator. Organisations that integrate modern security measures with modernised infrastructure are four times more likely to achieve advanced levels of AI use. The reverse leads to decision-making paralysis – companies sticking with legacy solutions report drastically lower confidence in their own infrastructure, effectively blocking the deployment of new technologies.
An important theme raised in the study is the issue of ‘technological complexity’. Almost all respondents (96 per cent) admit that they are struggling with the chaos of overlapping tools. As a result, a large proportion of IT budgets, rather than funding innovation, are being eaten up by the cost of maintaining outdated systems. However, a remedial trend is evident, with the vast majority of companies actively seeking to consolidate and simplify their environments.
For the B2B sector, the message is clear: technology debt is the silent killer of AI projects. Companies with a modern technology stack are not only quicker to innovate, but they also find it easier to attract software talent who do not want to work on legacy systems. In the current economic climate, modernisation has ceased to be an option for the IT department and has become a requirement for survival in a market dominated by algorithms.
