Briefing Frontiers, February 2026: Build on tech energy with transformational realism
The annual Briefing Frontiers survey casts a wide net – 24 questions spanning cloud strategy, data maturity and AI adoption. But three findings leap out at me, not because they are surprising, but because together they signal a sector becoming more hard-headed, commercially disciplined, and far more demanding of its technology partners.
First, the cooling innovation appetite isn’t a step backwards – it’s a correction. The sharp fall in leaders reporting a significant increase in innovation demand reflects a growing intolerance for sprawling pilots, long implementations and abstract promises. Firms haven’t fallen out of love with innovation; they’ve fallen out of love with risk. And rightly so. In 2026, if technology can’t deliver something concrete, quickly, and without derailing live client work, then it doesn’t deserve airtime. The winners will be those who recognise that risk-free delivery of rapid, tangible benefit isn’t a luxury – it’s the entry requirement.
Cloud inevitability isn’t the same as cloud strategy. Migration timelines are compressing, but clarity of purpose is not. ‘Cloud’ covers everything, from genuine platform modernisation to simply relocating yesterday’s issues to someone else’s infrastructure
Second, data strategy is the industry’s most dangerous blind spot. The fact that the number of firms with a firm-wide data strategy has not moved is alarming. Meanwhile, AI pilots are accelerating, often fed by unreliable, manually entered or duplicated data. That combination elevates risk, undermines accuracy, and drives inconsistency. The profession talks endlessly about ‘AI readiness’, but without good data, you are building on uncertainty. If AI is the engine, data is the fuel – and too many firms are topping up with whatever is to hand.
