Digital budgets increase by 30 percent – almost a third goes to AI projects
Companies are significantly increasing their digital budgets, with almost a third going to AI. Still, many executives are critical of the technology's maturity.
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Around two-thirds of companies in the DACH region, the USA, and Scandinavia plan to increase their digitalization budget by an average of 30 percent for 2026. Almost a third of this is intended for AI projects. This is according to the current "Digital Value Study" by the consulting firm Horváth, for which more than 200 companies were surveyed – including 100 from Germany.
Despite the growing willingness to invest, the Horváth study paints a sobering picture of practical implementation. While 68 percent of executives see a greater willingness among top management to invest in AI than in other technologies, 66 percent of respondents simultaneously rate the maturity and scope of current AI applications as falling short of expectations. Respondents attribute this discrepancy to the aggressive sales tactics of providers.
Silo mentality and lack of KPIs as main brakes
The study identifies significant structural weaknesses in the implementation of digital projects. Lack of collaboration across departmental boundaries, i.e., silo mentality, is cited by 67 percent of respondents as a central obstacle. Inadequate process management (66 percent), lack of key performance indicators for success measurement (65 percent), and fundamental implementation weaknesses (64 percent) follow closely behind. Only one-third of companies evaluate their digitalization measures regarding implementation risks – even though the complexity of AI implementations, in particular, is regularly underestimated, warns study leader Rainer Zierhofer.
"The willingness to invest has increased significantly after a year of uncertainty and hesitation – and AI is no longer just an add-on, but an integral part of digital budgets," says Zierhofer. The crucial factor now is to systematically manage the value contribution, rather than just adding projects.
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Germany relies on CIOs – the USA on CEOs
The different organizational approach to digital responsibility is striking: In Germany, this lies with CIOs and IT management in 70 percent of cases. In the USA, however, CEOs are responsible for digitalization in more than half of the cases – with a stronger strategic focus. The study authors see a risk in the German model that business value and customer benefit may take a back seat to purely technical aspects.
Only half of the surveyed companies have a holistic digitalization strategy. A quarter works with partial strategies, 19 percent pursue only divisional goals, and 4 percent have no strategy at all. Nevertheless, German companies comparatively frequently measure the value contribution of their digital projects: 73 percent do so regularly in an established process, while internationally only 44 percent do. The study identifies the integration of digital effects into business performance management, inclusion in the personal goals of those responsible, and clear responsibilities as central success factors for measurable "Digital Value" – aspects that only 54 to 59 percent of companies have sustainably anchored.
Cross-industry skepticism despite budget growth
Horváth's findings align with an overall picture painted by other surveys. A Bitkom survey on AI costs recently showed that around one-third of AI-using companies are surprised by the actual costs. The shortage of skilled workers also acts as an external brake – 70 percent of Bitkom respondents cited it as a hindrance. There is also disillusionment internationally: According to an NBER study, over 80 percent of surveyed companies see no measurable impact of AI on employment or productivity yet.
Zierhofer warns that the complexity and effort of implementation are often underestimated: "This virtually pre-programs an implementation weakness – which often results in a negative cost/benefit balance, leads to frustration, and thus also reduces acceptance for these measures." In addition to AI projects, the surveyed companies are therefore also prioritizing classic approaches such as process automation and outsourcing to increase their efficiency.
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