5 key take aways for CIOs from Celonis' 2026 Process Optimisation Report

To modernise, or not to modernise. That is no longer the question. The question now is: how do I transform my enterprise thoughtfully while disrupting as minimally as possible?

Celonis has released its annual 2026 Process Optimisation Report which is a major research piece involving 1,649 business leaders from around the globe.

The report shows that most businesses are aggressively pursuing an AI-driven future. In fact, 85% of organisations want to be an "agentic enterprise" in three years. However, a large majority (76%) admit that their current processes are holding them back.

To act autonomously and effectively, AI agents need optimised, AI-ready processes and the process data and operational context that only comes from process intelligence. Without both, AI agents can't understand how a business actually runs or know how to improve it. And 82% of decision-makers believe AI will fail to deliver return on investment (ROI) if it doesn't understand how the business runs.

One thing the report is clear on is that CIOs and IT leaders know that having clear process visibility via Process Intelligence is the key to enterprise modernisation success. PI gives your people a clear view of how the business actually runs.

Further, it uses AI to accelerate modernisation, transformation, or migration. Without a digital twin of your business operation, systems often fail to play well together. They become disconnected, providing inadequate capabilities that slow your progress.

Based on the report, there are five need-to-knows for CIOs to help them think, plan, and modernise their enterprise without disrupting current systems and business operations. They are:

1. Modernisation success depends on business context, not just raw data

AI needs more than raw data; it needs a deep understanding of how the business runs.

• 89% of leaders said that business context such as the rules, KPIs, and enterprise architecture, is crucial for effective AI deployment.
• 82% of leaders believe AI can only deliver meaningful ROI if it understands the nuances of how the business actually runs.
• 45% of businesses are struggling to get AI to grasp this context.

2. The alignment gap is a huge modernisation roadblock

The survey shows there is a disconnect between how IT perceives its performance and how the rest of the business experiences it.

• While only 37% of IT leaders see a lack of alignment with the business as a major hurdle, two-thirds of other departments cite this as their biggest roadblock to Enterprise AI success.
• Over half (54%) of business leaders report that their departments still work in silos, meaning they lack the end-to-end visibility needed for enterprise modernisation.

3. Flying blind is (still) an issue

You can't modernise what you can't see. And IT leaders agree.

• 66% of IT leaders admit they cannot see how, where, or when technology is actually used across their organisation.
• 79% of IT leaders say their current observability and analytics tools fail to provide the real-time process visibility they need to drive transformation.

4. Broken processes equals a tax on new technology

Layering advanced AI on top of broken processes is a recipe for frustration. Currently, 76% of businesses admit they are just getting by with sub-optimal processes.

• 69% of IT leaders say their AI solutions aren't delivering the expected ROI, often because the underlying processes are too manual or fragmented to scale.
• The number one sign that your processes are failing is "difficulty adopting new technologies," cited by 20% of leaders which is a greater concern than rising costs or missed SLAs.

5. Digital twins are IT leaders' best friends

Operational readiness is the obstacle that stands in the way of AI success in 2026. Hence, CIOs are shifting away from static process mapping and moving toward real-time modelling such as digital twins.

• While only 38% of organisations use them today, 50% plan to implement a digital process twin in the coming year.
• 93% of process and operations leaders believe a business-wide digital twin would be a "gamechanger".

Download the full report here.