New AI Research from GFT Technologies: 84% of CIOs Have Canceled an AI Project Over Legacy System Limits

Global survey of 945 CIOs and CTOs at $500M+ companies finds outdated infrastructure, AI bubble fears, geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty, and workforce distrust are slowing meaningful AI progress

A new AI study from GFT Technologies, an AI-centric global digital transformation company, finds that legacy infrastructure is one of the biggest obstacles to enterprise AI success, with the vast majority of technology leaders reporting it has forced them to abandon AI initiatives.

The GFT survey, conducted by Wakefield Research among 945 CIOs and CTOs across 19 countries at companies with at least $500M in annual revenue (fielded August 11-31, 2026), reveals that AI's promise and its risks are accelerating in tandem. Key themes include legacy infrastructure undermining AI initiatives, skepticism over AI's return on investment, geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty reshaping strategy, distrust of how companies explain workforce decisions, and rising personal risk for technology leaders.

“AI adoption is moving quickly, but our research shows that enterprises are increasingly recognizing the importance of the foundation underneath it. For many organizations, legacy infrastructure is becoming a real constraint—not only on innovation, but also on security and scalability. Closing that gap between AI ambition and infrastructure readiness is critical to turning AI investment into sustainable business value,” said Marco Santos, Global CEO, GFT Technologies.

Key findings from the report include:

Legacy infrastructure is undermining AI

• 84% say limitations in their legacy systems have caused their organization to cancel an AI pilot or project
• 93% believe failing to modernize before running AI on legacy infrastructure will eventually trigger an enterprise-wide security crisis

AI investment is outpacing realistic value

• 89% are concerned that global AI investment may be growing faster than the business value it can realistically deliver

Geopolitical uncertainty is reshaping strategy

• 99% say potential government restrictions on AI access increase the importance of not depending on a single AI provider

Skepticism over workforce narratives

• 91% believe some public companies cite AI to justify workforce changes that are primarily intended to boost their share price

Personal risk for technology leaders

• 89% are concerned a wrong workforce decision made while scaling AI could put their own job at risk
• Only 20% say their organization's other C-suite executives and board members fully understand the security risks of running AI on legacy systems

What the data shows

GFT's analysis points to a widening AI implementation gap, as many enterprises are scaling AI faster than the foundation underneath it can support. Legacy systems cause project failures, single-provider dependence compromises AI roadmaps, and technology leaders increasingly bear the cost of organizational failure.

Nonetheless, adoption is accelerating. Enterprises creating value with AI are treating it as a ground-up investment rather than a layer added atop outdated infrastructure, governance, and workforce strategies.

The findings point to a clear priority for enterprises seeking to close the AI implementation gap: preparing the foundations needed to scale AI securely and sustainably, by modernizing legacy environments, strengthening governance, managing technology dependencies, and aligning AI adoption with broader business and workforce strategies.

"The pressure to show AI results is real, but rushing ahead of your own infrastructure just moves the risk downstream. Building the foundation first is what makes the value and speed that comes later sustainable and scalable," said Santos.

Learn more about the study and its findings here.

About GFT Technologies

GFT Technologies is an AI-centric global digital transformation company. We design advanced data and AI business transformation solutions, modernize technology architectures, and develop next-generation core systems for industry leaders in Banking, Insurance, Manufacturing, and Robotics. Partnering closely with our clients, we push boundaries to unlock their full potential. Our team of 12,000+ technology experts operates in 20+ countries worldwide.

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About Wakefield Research

Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) is a leading, independent provider of quantitative, qualitative, and hybrid market research. Wakefield Research supports the world’s most prominent brands and agencies, including 50 of the Fortune 100, in 96 countries.

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