WHY SIMPLIFYING DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE ACCELERATES ENTERPRISE GROWTH
2026 THE COST OF COMPLEXITY: WHY SIMPLIFYING DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE ACCELERATES ENTERPRISE GROWTH Commissioned by Colt
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 2 CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY KEY INSIGHTS IMPACT ON SECURITY COMPLEXITY IS A STRATEGIC PROBLEM IMPACT ON AI ADOPTION AND INNOVATION SIMPLIFICATION AS A DESIGN PRINCIPLE IMPACT ON EFFICIENCY CONCLUSION 5 3 7 2 6 4 8 Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 3 Enterprises face increasing pressure to meet the demands of today’s technological landscape by transforming their digital infrastructure. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 As technology becomes more powerful and more interconnected, businesses encounter more challenges. Competitors may adapt more quickly to digital opportunities such as AI. Customers expect faster, more accessible and more personalised products and services. Cyberattacks have become more common and more devastating. An increase in sensitive data holdings multiplies risk. In this environment, overly complex digital infrastructure is a barrier to transformation. Whether it’s built on legacy technology, or offers limited oversight, organisations report that it’s costing money. Causing delays. Impacting staff morale. We asked digital leaders across industries and around the world about the impact of complex digital infrastructure. The findings point to one conclusion: progress depends on simplifying and transforming at the same time. By actively managing complexity, organisations can create the conditions for growth and become more resilient in the long term. ‘Infrastructure agility directly determines how quickly we can launch new digital capabilities. In today’s environment we must offer connected services, predictive maintenance, fleet insights, and customer- facing platforms. When we began modernising our digital platforms, it became very clear that if the underlying infrastructure lacks flexibility, AI and advanced analytics slow down significantly in practice.’ ‘Whenever we try to scale a new technology, complexities become more visible to us. Everything looks good and smooth in the pilot phase because the environment is controlled there – like one warehouse, limited integration and focused teams. But when we roll out the solution into multiple sites or different countries, then the real picture comes out. Every location has a different set-up, client systems are different – and this is the time when complexity becomes clear.’ - CIO at a UK manufacturing organisation - VP of IT Applications at a transport organisation in France 1.
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 4 KEY INSIGHTS 16 €508k €140k per week 2/3 66% agree they have failed to take advantage of AI-driven opportunities because of infrastructure limitations. The average enterprise estate relies on 16 different vendors, platforms or tools, and only 18% describe their systems as fully integrated. On average, organisations experienced seven weeks of cumulative delay last year due to infrastructure complexity, with more than €140,000 of value at stake each week. would consider an external review or strategy to simplify and optimise their digital infrastructure. report that the fear of breaking existing systems has created a culture where teams are afraid to make changes to digital infrastructure. warn that complex, multi-layered infrastructure increases the likelihood of security misconfigurations or blind spots. of enterprise leaders agree that digital infrastructure complexity is now a bigger barrier to growth than a lack of funding or ideas. annually companies are prevented from carrying out 14 innovation initiatives due at least in part to digital infrastructure complexity, valued at an average of €508,000. 69% 73% 63% 2.
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 5 COMPLEXITY IS A STRATEGIC PROBLEM Complex digital infrastructure is a widespread issue. The average enterprise estate now relies on 16 different vendors, platforms or tools. Eight out of ten enterprise leaders (82%) say their networks, security, Unified Communications and cloud systems are not fully integrated. The pressure is most visible in three areas: AI adoption and Innovation, security, and operational efficiency. Across each of these, the pattern is the same. The more layered the estate becomes, the harder it is for organisations to move with confidence. Businesses become less competitive and ambitious when digital infrastructure becomes too complicated to change confidently. Complexity is no longer just an IT issue. It has become a strategic problem because it slows the initiatives organisations are relying on for growth, resilience and competitiveness. Over two thirds of enterprise leaders (68%) agree that infrastructure complexity is now a bigger barrier to growth than a lack of funding or ideas. ‘Onboarding a new marketplace partner or integrating a regional brand into our unified platform sounds very simple, but in reality, it touches product information systems, inventory synchronisation, POS integration and many loyalty logics. We have seen that integration timelines planned at three months could easily extend to six or even nine months because systems do not align perfectly with each other. We use strong platforms, but the challenge comes from systems that have evolved over time. Compliance and merger and acquisition integration are especially vulnerable because they force you to touch multiple layers simultaneously.’ ‘The biggest impact of complexity is on people’s daily workload and the ownership model. In simple environments, teams do their work comfortably within their respective departments, but in a complex infrastructure, many teams have to work together to understand an issue. It means engineers or platform teams sometimes spend less time building or coding and more time on investigation and coordination. More time goes into alignment than into actual development work.’ - Head of IT at a retail organisation in Germany - Head of Data and Technology at a professional services organisation in Germany 3.
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 6 Fig. 2: Nine out of ten businesses (91%) say that infrastructure complexity holds back their ability to embrace emerging technologies. 91% of organizations say that complexity is holding back their ability to embrace emerging technologies such as agentic AI. Q9i. To what extent has digital infrastructure complexity (networks, security, cloud/data platforms) created delays or rework in the following areas? “Major, Moderate and Minor delay” 68% €508k 14 Agree that infrastructure complexity is now a bigger barrier to growth than a lack of funding or ideas Mean annual value of stalled innovation Innovation initiatives per year did not progress due to DI complexity
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 7 Complexity stalls AI ambition. Organisations are not short of ideas, and many are already investing in advanced analytics, automation and AI-enabled services. The problem is that these initiatives often have to run across estates that were not designed to support fast, joined-up experimentation at scale. Two thirds of companies (66%) report that they have failed to take advantage of AI opportunities because of infrastructure limitations. This is where the gap between ambition and reality becomes visible: pilots can look strong in controlled environments, but scaling them across countries, platforms, legacy systems and operational teams exposes hidden dependencies. IMPACT ON AI ADOPTION AND INNOVATION 4. Simplifying digital infrastructure would deliver faster business value than adding more technology on top of what already exists. Fig 1: 66% of companies report that they’ve failed to take advantage of AI opportunities because of infrastructure limitations. Fear of breaking existing systems has created a culture of ‘don’t change anything’ in many organisations. Infrastructure complexity is now a bigger barrier to growth than lack of funding or ideas. IT leaders are carrying unsustainable levels of personal and professional risk due to fragile, overly complex infrastructure. Organisations have failed to take advantage of AI-driven opportunities because of infrastructure limitations. Complex digital infrastructure significantly increases cyber risk, even in organisations that invest heavily in security. 68% 63% 68% 63% 66% 62% The broader innovation impact is also significant. In the past 12 months, companies were unable to progress 14 innovation initiatives at least in part due to digital infrastructure complexity. The average annual value of these stalled initiatives is €508,000. Complexity is therefore not only slowing transformation; it is limiting the return organisations can make from the technology they are already trying to deploy. This suggests that AI readiness is not just a question of models, data science skills or investment appetite. It also depends on whether the underlying digital infrastructure is simple enough, visible enough and integrated enough to let new capabilities move from pilot to production. €508k The average annual value of stalled innovation initiatives due to digital infrastructure complexity.
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 8 97% 93% 83% 91% 81% Migrating workloads, data, or core applications Completing an acquisition or divestment integration Launching a new product or service Embracing emerging technologies such as agentic AI Responding to a major compliance, regulatory, or security requirement Fig 5. 93% say digital infrastructure complexity slows down core operations such as acquisitions or divestment integrations. ‘Delays happen because of hidden dependencies between systems. When we introduce new AI tools and data platforms, at first it feels like we just have to deploy the platform. But as soon as we connect it with engineering teams, factory systems and global data sources, the complexity appears. Sometimes data is in different formats, some plants have different connectivity, and some processes have always worked in their own way. Then we have to slow down the rollout or adjust the architecture.’ ‘One interesting thing I have noticed is that this complexity often does not show up during the planning phase. Everyone thinks the system will integrate easily because technically APIs or connectors are there. But when teams actually run the full end-to-end workflow from design to manufacturing or from plant data to analytics, small frictions appear. These small frictions are what create rework.’ - Director of IT at a manufacturing organisation in Japan Q9i: To what extent has digital infrastructure complexity (networks, security, cloud/data platforms) created delays or rework in the following areas? Major, Moderate and Minor delay
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 9 Fig 7. Organisations experienced seven weeks of cumulative delay in the last year due to infrastructure complexity. Q10. If you add up the impact of these delays across the past 12 months, approximately how much extra time did they create in total across all relevant initiatives? Organisations experienced seven weeks of cumulative delay in the last year due to infrastructure complexity. ‘A good example would be our AI-driven supply chain optimisation. We did not wait for complete ERP transformation. Instead, we exposed legacy functionality through APIs and used event streaming to connect systems. Then gradually, we moved workloads from rehosted virtual machines towards replatformed PaaS services. Over time, we were able to reduce complexity while still delivering transformation value to the organisation and our customers.’ ‘We continue embedding digital technologies such as AI-based routing, plug-and-play robotics, automation-guided vehicles, and on-demand delivery solutions. The key is to integrate these capabilities in a way that improves workflow efficiency and customer flexibility.’ - Director of IT at a retail organisation in the UK - Head of IT at a retail organisation in Germany 7 weeks per year AVERAGE TOTAL DELAY
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 10 IMPACT ON SECURITY 69% Complexity weakens security. The research shows that multi-layered digital infrastructure makes it harder to see, secure and govern the whole estate. This matters because risk does not stay inside IT. It quickly becomes an executive, regulatory and reputational concern. More than two thirds of business leaders (69%) warn that complex, multi-layered infrastructure increases the likelihood of security misconfigurations or blind spots. A further 62% say that complex digital infrastructure significantly increases cyber risk, even in organisations that invest heavily in security. The mechanism is visibility. Many companies (62%) report that troubleshooting often requires multiple tools and portals, while almost half say that infrastructure change creates more firefighting than planned work for key teams. During an incident, that makes it harder to understand what has happened, what is affected and what needs to be prioritised. Q3. Thinking about your organisation’s digital infrastructure (DI) across networking, security, Unified Communications (UC) and cloud, how often do the following occur? Very often and Often Fig 6. 62% warn that complex digital infrastructure significantly increases cyber risk, even in organisations that invest heavily in security. 5. 62% 62% 57% 50% 48% Troubleshooting incidents typically requires using multiple tools/portals to diagnose end-to-end impact Implementing a material DI change requires coordination across three or more teams and/or external vendors DI changes are delayed due to dependencies between networking, security, UC, and cloud platforms DI complexity results in more firefighting than planned work for key teams ‘Personal stress typically comes from decision- making. There are situations where the business demands immediate capability, while infrastructure requires time to scale or adapt. At that point, you have to strike a balance between speed and risk. If the environment is too complex, the risk of making the wrong decision becomes much higher.’ ‘As the infrastructure becomes larger and more layered, the responsibility of technology leadership also becomes greater. If a major issue occurs in interconnected systems, it does not only impact IT. Naturally, everyone looks towards technology leadership to explain what happened and how quickly it can be controlled.’ - CIO at a UK manufacturing organisation - Director of Information Systems Security at a manufacturing organisation in France
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 11 48% 63% DI complexity results in more firefighting than planned work for key teams Fear of breaking systems has created a culture of ‘don’t change anything’ in many organisations Fig. 9: Issues relating to the complexity of digital infrastructure cause frustration ‘always or often’ on engineering teams (64%), IT operations teams (63%), security and compliance teams (53%) and executive leadership (51%). Q16. How often do digital infrastructure complexity issues cause frustration among the following groups in your organisation? Always and Often 64% 63% 53% 44% 38% Business users (including line-of-business teams and end users) unit leaders Executive leadership (C-suite / board-level) Security / Compliance teams IT operations / Infrastructure teams Application development / Engineering teams
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 12 Complexity erodes efficiency. Daily operations become slower when employees have to work around fragmented systems, multiple portals, duplicated processes and unclear ownership models. The cost is not only financial. It shows up in the time teams spend coordinating, troubleshooting and explaining risk instead of delivering planned work. Nearly half of the business leaders we surveyed (48%) report that, when digital infrastructure is multi-layered, their teams spend more time firefighting than they do carrying out planned work. Many companies also report increased manual intervention or workarounds, increased operational or support costs, and delays to business initiatives or product launches. IMPACT ON EFFICIENCY 6. This is why the human impacts of complexity need to be considered alongside the commercial ones. When the estate is difficult to understand, individuals carry more responsibility for decisions that should be supported by clearer architecture, better visibility and simpler operating models. The sector view reinforces the point. Different industries feel the pressure in different ways: transport leaders are more likely to report delays from cross-platform dependencies, while finance and professional services place particular emphasis on the value at stake when programmes slow down. Across sectors, however, the common issue is the same: complexity consumes capacity. For business leaders, this means simplification is not just a cost-reduction exercise. It is a way to release time, reduce operational drag and give teams more headroom for change.
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 13 SIMPLIFICATION AS A DESIGN PRINCIPLE 7. The practical response to complexity is not to pause transformation until the estate is perfect. That would be unrealistic. The market will not wait while organisations untangle every legacy system, dependency and workaround. But the opposite approach is just as risky. Adding more technology on top of an already fragmented estate simply creates new layers of complexity, making the business harder to change, harder to secure and harder to scale. Simplification therefore needs to become a design principle: a rule that shapes every infrastructure decision, not a one-off clean-up exercise. Every new system, API, platform or vendor relationship should be tested against a simple question: will this make the estate easier to run, integrate and secure — or will it add another layer for teams to manage? The need for this discipline is clear. The average enterprise estate now relies on 16 different vendors, platforms or tools, and only 18% of leaders describe their systems as fully integrated. More than half say the use of multiple vendors is one of the biggest sources of complexity in their current setup. At the same time, 47% name complexity of existing digital infrastructure as the factor holding their organisation back from being more agile. The digital leaders we interviewed were clear that simplification and transformation have to happen together. The CIO at a manufacturing organisation in Germany explained: “In reality, you can’t stop the business to clean up every legacy system before you start transforming – the market won’t wait for you. But you also can’t just keep stacking new tools and AI initiatives on top of existing complexity, because that only creates modern silos instead of removing them.” Their approach is to simplify and standardise core operations while allowing teams to innovate within clear guardrails and shared platforms. “If we focused only on transformation, complexity would grow out of control. If we focused only on simplification, progress would stall. The balance between the two is what makes it sustainable.” This means leaders should treat every transformation programme as an opportunity to remove complexity, not just introduce capability. New cloud platforms, AI tools, security controls and data environments should replace, consolidate or simplify what already exists. If they do not, they risk becoming another dependency that future teams will have to work around. <1/5 47% only 18% of leaders describe their systems as fully integrated name complexity of existing digital infrastructure as the factor holding their organisation back from being more agile.
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 14 The Director of Digital Solutions at a UK financial organisation makes this point directly: “Transformation is healthy only when it progressively makes the overall architecture cleaner and more manageable.” They explain that their organisation modernises legacy layers while building new platforms, but with a clear principle: “Every new initiative should not increase legacy complexity but gradually replace it.” That requires active choices. Enterprises should audit their digital infrastructure regularly, identify duplicated tools and overlapping services, and retire what is no longer needed as new platforms are introduced. Introducing the new without removing the old is how complexity becomes embedded. A practical simplification strategy should therefore include a clear retirement path for legacy systems, not just a roadmap for new investment. It also means being more selective about partners. One vendor may be too few for most global enterprises, but too many creates its own operational and security burden. The aim should be to work with a smaller number of partners that can operate at scale, support multiple environments, understand regulatory and security requirements, and make the estate simpler rather than harder to manage. This is especially important when 69% of leaders warn that complex, multi-layered infrastructure increases the likelihood of security misconfigurations or blind spots. There is no doubt that simplification can feel difficult. We found that 47% fear that trying to simplify will disrupt critical systems, while 41% cite system dependencies as a barrier. But that is precisely why simplification needs to be planned, governed and supported with the right expertise. Three quarters of enterprises would consider an external review or strategy to simplify and optimise their digital infrastructure, suggesting that many leaders recognise the need for a more structured approach. The strongest organisations will not be those that add the most technology. They will be those that make deliberate decisions about what to keep, what to consolidate and what to retire. As the Senior Director of Network Operations at a transport organisation in Germany explains, “We do not believe that continuously adding technology automatically creates future value. Our objective is to simplify wherever possible.” In their organisation, AI and data analytics tools were introduced only after legacy tools had been decoupled, avoiding the creation of further complexity. “The key is to integrate these capabilities in a way that improves workflow efficiency and customer flexibility.” Simplification is not about slowing innovation down. It is about making innovation repeatable, secure and scalable. The organisations that tackle complexity most effectively will be those that build simplification into every decision: fewer unnecessary tools, clearer ownership, stronger integration, better visibility and partners that reduce operational burden rather than add to it. fear that trying to simplify will disrupt critical systems 47% cite system dependencies as a barrier 41%
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 15 ‘We had an opportunity to introduce more AI and data analytics tools. Instead of layering them onto legacy platforms, we first decoupled certain legacy tools and then introduced advanced AI solutions in the cloud. We deliberately avoided running them on older platforms because that would have increased overall complexity. We do not believe that continuously adding technology automatically creates future value. Our objective is to simplify wherever possible. At the same time, simplification does not mean reducing innovation. We continue embedding digital technologies such as AI-based routing, plug-and-play robotics, automation-guided vehicles and on-demand delivery solutions. The key is to integrate these capabilities in a way that improves workflow efficiency and customer flexibility.’ - Senior Director of Network Operations at a transport organisation in Germany Top 2: Total 73% Q18a. What are the main factors preventing your organisation from simplifying or streamlining its digital infrastructure? Fig 3: 47% fear that in trying to do so they will disrupt critical systems, while 41% cite system dependencies Fig. 4: Three quarters of enterprises (73%) would consider an external review to assist them in their transformation process. Q20. How open would your organisation be to an external review or strategy to simplify and optimise your digital infrastructure? 51% 40% 33% 21% 6% Very open Maybe – unsure at this stage Somewhat open Not open – unlikely to pursue external support 47% Risk of disrupting critical business systems 41% Dependencies between systems that make change difficult 40% Business demand for new capabilities taking priority over simplification 38% Budget constraints or competing investment priorities Complexity of legacy systems and technical debt
Coleman Parkes | Colt – 2026 The cost of complexity: Why simplifying digital infrastructure accelerates enterprise growth 16 CONCLUSION 8. Digital infrastructure complexity has moved beyond the category of technical difficulty. It now shapes how confidently organisations can grow, transform, adopt AI, manage risk and make better use of their people’s time. That is why simplification should be treated as an enabling strategy rather than a remedial project. The opportunity is not to pause change until the estate is perfect. It is to reduce friction while change continues: to be selective about vendors, retire old layers as new ones are introduced, audit complexity regularly, and choose partners that make transformation more straightforward. For organisations, the prize is clearer execution, stronger resilience and more headroom for AI, innovation and growth. For Colt, the solution is equally clear. The market is moving beyond abstract transformation toward practical, secure global infrastructure. Designed to simplify complexity and give enterprises the clarity and control they need to progress at their own pace and achieve tangible outcomes.
Commissioned by Colt About this research In February and March 2026 Coleman Parkes surveyed 600 senior decision-makers with awareness of their company’s digital infrastructure across Japan, the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Respondents worked in finance, manufacturing, professional services, retail, transport and defence organisations with at least 2,000 employees. About Coleman Parkes Coleman Parkes is a full-service B2B market research agency specialising in IT/technology studies, targeting senior decision makers in SMB to large enterprises across multiple sectors globally. For more information, contact ianBeston@coleman-parkes.co.uk. About Colt Technology Services We’re Colt. We own and operate exceptional digital infrastructure which powers the global AI economy, connects societies, builds communities and transforms lives. Thousands of colleagues in 65+ offices across Europe, Asia, and North America share a deep commitment to delivering an outstanding experience and making every interaction effortless for our customers. Customers and partners choose our award-winning fibre infrastructure, digital platforms and security solutions, delivered across a network that spans continents and crosses oceans. We’re Europe’s largest B2B operator: we connect 40+ countries, 32,000 enterprise buildings, 275+ points of presence, and 12 cable landing stations and we manage eight subsea cable systems. We also co-manage AS3356 - the most widely peered network in the world. Founded in London over 30 years ago, we’re privately funded and driven by values of fairness, inclusion and equity. We’re known for our urgent call for social and sustainable change and we’re guided by our purpose in everything we do: creating effortless connections and extraordinary outcomes for our customers, communities and people. Be a part of our story: come on over to www.colt.net or join our amazing communities at LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.