The Hackett Group, Inc., a leading generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) consultancy and executive advisory firm, released its 2025 Digital World Class Technology research. It reveals how enterprises with top-performing information technology (IT) organizations are reshaping value creation by embracing Gen AI, automation and agile delivery models.

Enterprises with top-performing IT organizations operate with 9% lower technology costs than peers, while delivering 40% more revenue and 3X higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

The report defines Digital World Class IT organizations as those achieving top-quartile performance in both business value and operational excellence. Enterprises with top-performing IT organizations operate with 9% lower technology costs than peers, while delivering 40% more revenue and 3X higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). They are outperforming not just through efficiency, but by embedding Gen AI across the enterprise, aligning tightly with business strategy, and modernizing the technology landscape to enable speed, innovation, and scale.

AI Authority Trend: The Hackett Group Launches Gen AI Executive Advisory Program for Enterprises

“Technology organizations and leaders that embrace their role as AI and transformation enablers help their enterprise deliver exponential business impact,” said Kyle McNabb, principal and head of research at The Hackett Group®. “Digital World Class® IT teams are redefining how value is created – with a clear focus on innovation, alignment and agility.”

Key metrics defining today’s Digital World Class IT teams

The Hackett Group’s research, based on global benchmarks from hundreds of companies, highlights four key differentiators that define Digital World Class® IT performance:

1. Tighter integration with business strategy

  • 2.9X more likely to be consistently engaged in business strategy and decision-making
  • 69% have IT strategies fully aligned with enterprise goals (vs. 29% of peers)

2.Greater focus on innovation

  • 34% of IT spend allocated to Gen AI, intelligent automation and other emerging technologies – 3X more than peers
  • 22% more per end user spend on application innovation processes

3. Higher investment in IT talent

  • 11% higher labor rates overall, reflecting higher compensation in key roles
  • 56% higher average tenure for skilled employees and 43% higher tenure for managers

4. Modernized, streamlined technology environments

  • 50% of total tech budgets spent on cloud (vs. 28% for peers)
  • 57% fewer applications and 64% fewer primary databases managed than peer organizations
  • 36% more business processes automated, including full automation of critical customer and supplier transactions

AI Authority Trend: The Hackett Group: 89 Percent of Executives Fast-Tracking Gen AI to Drive Enterprise Performance

Digital World Class® IT organizations are not only more efficient – they are more agile, resilient, and better equipped to navigate disruption and seize new value creation opportunities.

Reshaping the IT operating model to close the performance gap

The next wave of IT excellence will be led by organizations that embrace AI to reimagine work, talent and service delivery. The research outlines six key levers for reshaping the IT service delivery model and enabling enterprisewide Gen AI adoption:

  • Service design: Build agile delivery models, scale machine learning operations, and prioritize innovation that can be proven and scaled.
  • Technology: Rationalize outdated systems, prioritize cloud-first strategies, and use Gen AI to accelerate coding, documentation, and IT operations.
  • Human capital: Upskill teams for AI fluency and embrace co-intelligence models where people and agents work together.
  • Analytics and information management: Ensure enterprise data is AI-ready with strong governance, orchestration and security protocols.
  • Service partnering: Rebalance outsourcing to focus internal talent on transformational work; partner with AI leaders who emphasize ethical practices.
  • Organization and governance: Shift to a business-enablement mindset; create AI centers of excellence and formalize top-down AI evaluation and prioritization.

AI Authority Trend: The Hackett Group Announces Acquisition of GenAI Development Firm LeewayHertz

Source – businesswire

To share your insights, please write to us at sudipto@intentamplify.com