Leading in the Intelligence Age: What the KPMG Global Tech Report 2026 means for digital leaders

The KPMG Global Tech Report 2026 captures a shift that many organisations are already feeling. AI, data and digital platforms are no longer emerging capabilities operating on the edges of the business. They are becoming central to how organisations compete, make decisions and deliver value. 

Drawing on insights from 2,500 technology leaders globally, the report explores how organisations are navigating what KPMG describes as the “Intelligence Age”. While confidence in technology investment is high, the findings reveal a persistent gap between ambition and execution. The challenge is not whether organisations believe in the opportunity, but whether they can scale it in a way that delivers consistent, measurable impact. 

Below are five key takeaways from the report, viewed through a Mediaworks lens, and what they mean for marketing and digital leaders planning for the year ahead. 

1. The Intelligence Age is an execution challenge, not a technology one 

KPMG positions 2026 as a tipping point where intelligence becomes a core driver of competitive advantage rather than a supporting function. AI is increasingly embedded into decision-making, operations and customer experience, raising expectations across the organisation. 

What the report makes clear is that moving from experimentation to embedded capability is not straightforward. Success depends less on adopting new tools and more on how effectively intelligence is integrated into everyday processes and decisions. 

For marketing and digital leaders, this means shifting focus away from isolated use cases and towards practical application. Intelligence delivers value when it improves how audiences are understood, how resources are allocated and how experiences are optimised over time. 

2. Tech maturity is rising, but uneven 

Only 11% of organisations currently consider themselves fully scaled across key technologies. While many expect to reach higher levels of maturity by the end of 2026, progress remains uneven across functions, platforms and teams. 

This unevenness is often less about access to technology and more about consistency of use. Capabilities may exist in parts of the organisation but are not yet connected or applied in a joined-up way. Data may be available, but not fully integrated. Reporting may describe performance without clearly informing decisions. 

The result is a risk of misplaced confidence. Organisations can appear more mature than they are, which makes it harder to prioritise investment and harder still to unlock meaningful performance gains. 

Closing this gap requires an honest assessment of current maturity and a focus on the capabilities that will deliver the greatest commercial impact, rather than assuming that more technology alone will move the organisation forward. 

3. ROI comes from readiness and focus, not spend 

The report highlights an average 200% return on technology investment but also points to wide variation in outcomes. The difference is not explained by budget size alone. It is driven by organisational readiness. 

Clear objectives, effective governance and the ability to adapt quickly all play a critical role in determining whether investment delivers value. Without these foundations, even well-funded initiatives struggle to translate into meaningful results. 

For marketing and digital leaders, this reinforces the importance of linking technology investment directly to business outcomes. Measurement frameworks need to move beyond activity and outputs, and instead support decisions around growth, efficiency and long-term value. 

4. Talent gaps and tech debt continue to limit progress 

More than half of organisations report skills shortages that restrict their ability to execute digital strategies, while nearly two-thirds cite legacy systems and accumulated tech debt as barriers to progress. 

These challenges slow decision-making and reduce the organisation’s ability to respond to change. They also increase complexity, making it harder to scale new capabilities or embed intelligence consistently. 

Addressing these issues does not always require large-scale transformation. Many organisations make progress by simplifying their technology landscape, improving integration and supplementing internal capability so teams can move faster with greater confidence. 

5. Scaling AI means integrating insight into decision-making 

AI adoption continues to accelerate, but many organisations remain focused on siloed or experimental applications. The next phase of maturity is about scale and consistency. 

Value is created when intelligence informs decisions across the organisation, rather than sitting in isolated tools or teams. Insight needs to flow through planning, activation, experience and optimisation, creating a feedback loop that improves performance over time. 

For marketing and digital teams, this means using AI not just to generate insight, but to guide action, prioritisation and investment across the full customer journey. 

The Mediaworks perspective 

The KPMG Global Tech Report 2026 reinforces a clear message: success in the Intelligence Age is driven by focus, execution and alignment, not technology alone. Organisations that perform well are those that connect intelligence to strategy, skills and measurable outcomes. 

At Mediaworks, we work with organisations to close the gap between insight and action. That includes helping teams understand their current maturity, identify quick-win performance opportunities and prioritise investment for the year ahead. 

As many organisations plan for 2026, the challenge is no longer whether to invest in intelligence, but where it will deliver the greatest impact. We support organisations in turning ambition into practical, sustainable growth by aligning media, data, technology and customer experience around clear commercial objectives. 

For further discussion on positioning your strategy for the year ahead, please get in touch. 

Contact: info@mediaworks.co.uk 

Read the full KPMG Global Tech Report 2026: https://kpmg.com/xx/en/our-insights/ai-and-technology/global-tech-report.html