Why Digital Transformation Stalls: And How a GCC Can Help Address It

As a former CTO and CIO, I have seen firsthand that while the ambition for digital transformation is nearly universal, the path to success is notoriously narrow. A recent study by Bain & Co. estimates that more than a third of large organizations are undergoing business transformations at any given time, yet new research shows only about 12% achieve their original ambition. 

In this ongoing series on the state of digital transformation in 2026, I want to take a candid look at the typical blockers that slow these initiatives down and how a modern global tech operating model can help overcome them. These constraints generally fall into five critical categories. 

Tech Organization Un-Aligned 

One of the primary challenges is balancing the needs of a modern digital ecosystem with legacy architectures and siloed departments. Research from McKinsey indicates that 85% of digital transformation initiatives fail, with the primary obstacles being organizational resistance and ineffective change management rather than technological limitations.  

Organizations often maintain legacy applications for decades to “sweat the assets.” While these systems run the majority of the business, they consume the bulk of IT budgets and are difficult to integrate with cloud-enabled platforms, resulting in transformation delays. To address this, companies often try two flawed methods:  

• Splitting “Run” and “Change” 
• Over-reliance on System Integrators 

Both approaches create parallel structures that are difficult to unwind and often dilute ownership. 

How a GCC Can Help
A well-designed Global Capability Center enables organizations to build transformation capability inside the enterprise rather than outsourcing it. By embedding modern engineering, cloud, and platform skills directly within the company’s operating model, GCCs allow legacy and modern systems to be managed as part of a single, aligned technology organization, reducing dependency on external entities and improving long-term ownership. 

Processes Not Modernized

Like technical debt, outdated processes supporting IT environments act as a major constraint. Manual workarounds make it difficult to deploy a truly digital enterprise. 

• Resistance to Change: Deloitte reports that 45% of employees resist change in digital initiatives. 
• The “Tech Upgrade” Fallacy: Treating transformation as a technology refresh rather than an operating model shift. 

How a GCC Can Help
GCCs provide a platform to institutionalize modern engineering, DevOps, and operating processes at scale. Because these teams are part of the enterprise, new ways of working can be designed, tested, and embedded systematically rather than imposed externally. Over time, GCCs become centers of process maturity that help modern practices spread across the broader organization. 

Legacy Application Dependencies

Legacy systems are often fundamentally incompatible with the speed, data requirements, and security standards of the 2026 digital economy. 

• 79% of organizations report legacy applications hinder transformation 
• These systems can consume up to 80% of IT budgets 

How a GCC Can Help
GCCs enable a phased modernization approach by housing both legacy and modern engineering capabilities under one governance structure. This allows enterprises to maintain business continuity while progressively modernizing platforms. GCCs also help bridge talent gaps as legacy skill sets decline, ensuring that institutional knowledge is retained while new architectures are introduced. 

Cybersecurity and Compliance

Security is often viewed as a bottleneck. While essential, it can slow transformation if not embedded early. 

• Only 28% of organizations integrate security from the outset 
• Heavy third-party reliance increases risk exposure 

How a GCC Can Help 
Because GCC teams operate as an extension of the enterprise, security, compliance, and data governance can be built directly into transformation initiatives. This reduces third-party risk and ensures consistent application of enterprise policies across cloud, AI, and platform environments, rather than retrofitting controls after deployment. 

Financial Case Not Made

Despite widespread transformation efforts, many companies fail to realize expected financial returns. 

• Only 31% of expected revenue lift captured 
• Only 25% of anticipated cost savings achieved 

How a GCC Can Help
GCCs strengthen the transformation business case by combining cost efficiency with sustained capability building. By centralizing critical skills, reducing duplication across regions and functions, and improving productivity over time, GCCs help enterprises move beyond short-term ROI calculations toward measurable, long-term value creation.  

Conclusion 

Digital transformation rarely stalls because of technology alone. It slows down when organizations lack alignment, ownership, modern processes, and a sustainable operating model to support change at scale. 

A next-generation Global Capability Center addresses these challenges by embedding engineering, platform, AI, and security capabilities directly within the enterprise. As organizations enter an AI-driven era, GCCs are increasingly becoming the backbone of transformation, enabling companies to modernize continuously, retain institutional knowledge, and deliver outcomes with speed, resilience, and accountability.  

In 2026 and beyond, the question is no longer whether to transform, but whether the operating model is designed to make transformation endure.