Technology leaders around the world are making strides in their technology roadmap, although over 8 in 10 leaders feel it is difficult to keep up with the pace of change. That is according to new research from KPMG.

The Global Tech Report from KPMG, which surveyed around 2,500 executives from 26 countries, including 138 from Australia, found that Australian organisations are spreading their investment across technology domains, with a particular focus on XaaS (83%) and AI (66%) in the next 12 months.

70% of Australian tech leaders see AI as a game changing technology, with 74% respondents saying AI is already increasing the productivity of their knowledge workers and improving the overall performance of their organisation. However, just 28% of Australian leaders have successfully deployed AI at scale.

Source: KPMG

The research also found that Australian organisations were very similar to their global counterparts in terms of general tech maturity. On average across tech domains measured in 2023 and 2024 there was an increase of 12% in the number of organisations at the highest level of tech maturity (defined as organisations actively progressing business goals and proactive in adapting strategy as needed).

This progress in digital maturity has helped deliver measurable gains, said KPMG. In Australia, 87% of organisations have managed to use technology to achieve higher profits, and notably, 55% have achieved profit uplifts in excess of 10% from digital transformation in the last 24 months. When it comes to AI, nearly 9 in 10 respondents said that the AI initiatives they implemented are already generating measurable value.

Guy Holland, partner at KPMG in Australia, said that high performance organisations – those that align their technology investments to broader business and technology strategies and successfully balance value creation with risk – are reaping the benefits from their excellence, outperforming their peers and paving the way for a further competitive advantage in the future.

Source: KPMG

These high performance organisations are meanwhile 22 percentage points more likely than other organisations to rely on customer feedback to inform investment decisions.

“The key to tech success is basing investment decisions on genuine value, drawing on data insights, prioritizing resilient solutions, and scaling with confidence. When implementing new technology, tech leaders should look to align stakeholders around a clear definition of success that cascades into a set of tangible metrics,” said Holland.