Kyndryl Report: As AI Broadens Modernization Agenda, Leaders Prioritize Business Outcomes Over Replacing Legacy Systems
Only 9% of surveyed organizations said they fully understand their applications’ dependencies.
Sentiment and the balance of points
Rhea-AI Sentiment reads the wording of the document, how positive or negative its language is on a 1 to 5 scale. The balance of points shown with the takes weighs what the document actually discloses, so the two can disagree, for example when a trial that missed its main goal is described in upbeat language.
Rhea-AI Summary
Kyndryl (NYSE: KD) released its first global Modernization Report, examining how AI is changing organizations’ technology investment priorities and modernization efforts.
The survey covered 2,000 business and technology leaders across five continents and 12 industries. Kyndryl found that AI adoption outranks reducing spending and replacing legacy systems as a modernization priority. Nearly half of respondents said they were behind schedule. Among organizations using agentic AI—systems that can autonomously plan and execute tasks—67% reported being ahead of or on track with modernization goals, compared with 51% of other organizations. Ten percent had deployed agentic AI in production for modernization.
News Explained
Kyndryl's report also says
Key Figures
- Survey respondents
- 2,000 business and technology leaders
- Kyndryl's global Modernization Report
- Organizations reporting modernization delays and negative business impacts
- 98%
- Report finding
- Agentic AI deployed in production for modernization
- 10% of organizations
- Report finding
- Ahead of or on track with modernization goals
- 67% vs. 51%
- Organizations deploying agentic AI in production vs. other organizations
- Fully understand application dependencies
- 9%
- Report finding
- Organizations with large numbers of undocumented applications
- one-quarter
- Report finding
- Expect sovereign cloud usage to increase
- 63%
- Report finding
Key Terms
saas technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Global survey reveals how 2,000 business and technology leaders are addressing AI-driven demand across IT elements
- Nearly half of organizations are behind schedule despite modernization being a top priority
98% of organizations delayed modernization and experienced negative business impacts- As AI reshapes expectations for how technology can deliver results, more organizations are expanding their use of technology than consolidating them
- Organizations deploying agentic AI are making faster modernization progress and seeing early benefits as AI takes on traditionally challenging tasks
"AI is creating new possibilities and raising expectations for the business outcomes technology should deliver," said Martin Schroeter, Chairman and CEO, Kyndryl. "Modernization is about preparing for what comes next, and the leaders making the most progress are investing across their technology environments—strengthening resilience and putting those investments to work where they deliver the greatest value."
Based on insights from 2,000 business and technology leaders across five continents and 12 industries, the research shows how AI is reshaping investment priorities across infrastructure and applications, while also challenging organizations' operating models.
According to the report's findings, the need to adopt AI now outranks priorities to reduce spending, replace legacy systems, or address a shrinking pool of legacy systems expertise. AI is the top driver of increased mainframe and edge computing use, the second-biggest driver for SaaS and private cloud expansion, and the leading reason organizations are upgrading their networks and application portfolios. Every organization with a mainframe now reports plans to deploy AI to the platform.
Together, these trends are creating more complex technology environments and new operational challenges for technology leaders.
Nearly half of respondents said they are behind schedule on their modernization goals. Agentic AI, which can autonomously plan and execute tasks, is emerging as a way to modernize faster. Ten percent of organizations have deployed agentic AI in production for modernization, applying it to typically time- and skills-intensive tasks of dependency mapping, code conversion, and generating documentation. Early adopters reported stronger outcomes, with
The research also highlights what is slowing organizations down. Just
Among other findings, Kyndryl's study shows that:
Modernization has become a business-wide priority, not just a technical one
The findings underscore the growing demands on CIOs, who must advance several priorities at once: AI adoption, cyber resilience, regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, and business growth. Respondents named nine distinct stakeholder groups with control over modernization, from CIOs and CTOs to boards of directors and finance and compliance teams. Modernization has outgrown the IT department and become a board-level business decision. Its growing importance also requires organizations to coordinate decision-making across more stakeholders without sacrificing speed.
Global events shape technology decisions alongside cost and performance
Sovereignty considerations are a growing factor in modernization strategies. While
Complexity keeps compounding
The findings challenge the long-held assumption that digital transformation would lead organizations to gradually migrate toward a single preferred technology environment. Instead, their technology environments are becoming more distributed and complex as they prepare for AI. Mission-critical applications are distributed almost evenly across public cloud, private cloud, mainframe and on-premises environments, creating an increasingly hybrid enterprise. As digital transformation extends across the business, it must be underpinned by strategic, governance, and operational coordination—including a more integrated approach to cyber resilience as AI-driven threats accelerate and broaden.
Read more about Kyndryl's 2026 Modernization Report.
About Kyndryl
Kyndryl (NYSE: KD) is a leading provider of mission-critical enterprise technology services, offering advisory, implementation and managed services across thousands of customer environments in more than 60 countries. The company designs, builds, manages and modernizes the complex information systems that the world depends on every day. For more information, visit www.kyndryl.com.
Kyndryl press contact
press@kyndryl.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kyndryl-report-as-ai-broadens-modernization-agenda-leaders-prioritize-business-outcomes-over-replacing-legacy-systems-302895199.html
SOURCE Kyndryl
FAQ
AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
What did Kyndryl’s Modernization Report find about AI and modernization progress?
Among organizations deploying agentic AI for modernization, 67% said they were ahead of or on track with their goals, compared with 51% of other organizations. Ten percent had deployed it in production for modernization, using it for dependency mapping, code conversion and generating documentation.
What obstacles did Kyndryl’s Modernization Report identify?
Only 9% of surveyed organizations said they fully understand their applications’ dependencies, and one-quarter reported large numbers of undocumented applications. Respondents also identified nine distinct stakeholder groups controlling modernization, extending decision-making beyond IT to boards, finance and compliance teams.