The way organizations work is being fundamentally reshaped by AI, evolving technologies, and macroeconomics. And IT leaders are not just responding to this change; they’re defining the strategic direction for how their organizations work.
A new commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Atlassian, surveying 280 IT leaders globally (44% Directors, 56% VPs and CIOs), revealed a decisive shift in how enterprises are approaching their digital workplace. The mandate is clear: better customer experiences, sharper business agility, and stronger security, with the work management and collaboration platform emerging as a central strategic lever.
The organizations best positioned to thrive aren’t buying more tools. They’re building smarter foundations.
What’s standing in the way of AI Adoption?
Despite 64% of survey respondents conveying confidence in their current work management and collaboration technology foundation, a closer look reveals a gap between aspiration and infrastructure.
Team silos remain the single biggest barrier, so cross-functional coordination is at the top of the agenda.
75% of IT leaders ranked streamlining cross-functional team execution and coordination as important or critical over the next 12 to 36 months (Forrester, 2026). This isn’t about incremental process improvement. It’s about fundamentally rewiring how large organizations move forward, together.
But the gap between ambition and reality remains wide. While leaders recognize the urgency of breaking down barriers to collaboration, the obstacles they face are deeply structural. 68% of C-level IT executives ranked silos that create misalignment, duplication of work, and inefficiencies as the top challenge preventing them from achieving their goals. Meanwhile, 52% of IT leaders pointed to fragmented knowledge and data as a critical obstacle (Forrester, 2026).
And here’s where fragmentation compounds. IT leaders today purchase an average of nine work management and collaboration tools as part of a bundle, and 82% still rely on two or more vendors for work management, with 38% using six or more. That level of tool sprawl doesn’t just create operational drag; among leaders using multiple vendors, 58% say the disconnection between tools and data is actively hindering their ability to scale AI.
When the data AI needs to learn from is scattered across disconnected systems, moving from piloting to enterprise-wide adoption becomes exponentially harder. These challenges directly sabotage the growth, agility, and customer satisfaction goals CIOs say matter most.
The AI opportunity is equally clear, even if the journey is still early. Only 14% of IT leaders have achieved enterprise-wide AI operationalization, with the majority still exploring, piloting, and scaling. Yet the ambition is unmistakable: When zooming in on Technology industry IT leaders, 81% ranked embedding AI into core work processes as their top future investment priority.
IT leaders today are prioritizing connecting teams – enabling faster execution and laying the groundwork for AI at scale.
The conviction is there. Now the question is whether their foundation can support it.
Building a simpler, scalable foundation
The path forward is becoming clear, but making decisive moves in the next few months is critical.
The strategy centers on fewer, more extensible platforms.
71% of IT leaders say it is important or critical for organizations to have a companywide platform connecting teams, work, and knowledge sharing that can evolve to meet future needs. And 74% ranked stronger governance, security, and compliance at enterprise scale as important or critical over the next 12 to 36 months (Forrester, 2026).
Recent patterns point to a shift toward extensibility and stronger governance. Rather than bold bets, IT teams are prioritizing platforms that are easier to extend, simpler to control, and more accountable by design. These choices make it easier to adapt as needs change and to operationalize AI over time.
The clearest signal it’s working? Increased employee productivity is the number one signal that work management and collaboration technology strategies are delivering results, a majority of IT leaders said.
Gaining a critical foothold
One theme runs through every finding. The future belongs to organizations that treat their digital workplace infrastructure as a strategic asset, not a cost center. Those that connect teams and knowledge across the enterprise, reduce fragmentation, and build foundations ready for AI will be the ones positioned for resilience, agility, and sustained growth.
Modern digital workplace platforms are becoming a strategic lever for enterprise performance. The organizations that recognize this now will have a significant head start.
