Discover insights from 4,000+ IT leaders on AI and app development in our latest State of IT report, featuring four key trends and strategies driving progress.
AI is no longer the future. Rather, it’s becoming a foundational piece for successful businesses, and IT is leading the charge. Across every industry, IT teams are hitting a critical inflection point: AI has moved from a “nice-to-have” to “must-have.” It’s something teams are expected to build into every workflow, every agent, and every app your organisation ships.
To understand what that shift looks like in practice, we asked more than 4,000 IT leaders (of which 2,173 specialise in software development and developers worldwide) what’s changing. Their answers – captured in the new State of IT: AI and App Development report – shows both the upside and the pressure that comes with an AI-first roadmap.
AI is fuelling innovation – and it's not just transforming what businesses can do, it's changing what people expect.
Nearly 40% of all new applications already include AI features, and project requests are climbing each year. Everyone wants smarter tools, faster answers, and better experiences, and IT is expected to make it all happen.
But while expectations are sky-high, many teams are stuck with legacy systems, siloed data, and tight resources – a recipe that has caused IT teams to miss nearly one in three project deadlines. And it's not just IT being strained. Productivity across the business is nearing a breaking point:
To flip that script, IT leaders are doubling down on AI to free employees from digital busywork.
Bottom line: When it comes to implementing AI, the message is clear – if your organisation doesn't yet have a clear, end-to-end AI strategy, the clock is ticking. Competitors are already moving, and the gap will widen quickly.
AI agents have moved from theory to production. They're already automating workflows, surfacing insights, and powering live customer interactions in every corner of the business – from service and marketing to finance and HR. Developers are all-in:
Leadership is on board too: 82% of IT leaders say they're using – or plan to use – agents within two years. Yet fewer than half of developers feel fully confident in their knowledge of how AI agents work. What does this mean for you? AI agents are becoming non-negotiable, but success hinges on the right foundation:
Bottom line: Treat AI agents as a business imperative, but roll them out where the impact is highest and your people are most prepared.
Everyone knows: AI runs as far as its data can carry it. But only 53% of IT leaders say they fully trust their organisation’s data accuracy. Fragmented systems, weak governance, and integration issues are slowing down even the most advanced teams.
And it’s not just data that’s under the microscope. Most enterprise infrastructure was never designed for AI workloads, and 68% of dev teams say they lack the resources to build and deploy AI agents at scale. From modern architectures to user-friendly deployment platforms, organisations are realising they need to rethink how their tech stacks support AI systems.
With AI, customer trust is on the line. When your teams are building new solutions, they can’t just bolt on security and privacy at the end, which is why 85% of IT teams have embraced DevSecOps — embedding trust into every stage of development.
State of IT, Fourth Edition: AI and App Development Report
Bottom line: Forward-thinking organisations are shoring up the basics first — deep integrations, ongoing data cleansing, and continuous quality management. Without that groundwork, AI won’t be able to deliver on its full potential.
AI is changing the day-to-day work of developers. In fact, nearly one-third of devs already use AI for code generation, and adoption is climbing fast.
As low-code and no-code tools gain traction, instead of hand-coding every feature, devs increasingly review, orchestrate, and safeguard AI-assisted builds.
State of IT, Fourth Edition: AI and App Development Report
This evolution requires new skills — not just technical, but strategic. Developers need to understand AI behaviour, assess risk, and make sure outputs are in line with business goals. That shift is driving three big changes:
Bottom line: AI agents are becoming non-negotiable, but turning promise into practice requires deliberate rollout, continuous up-skilling, and a culture that treats responsible AI as core infrastructure.
We unpacked these stats and read the story: the spotlight on IT teams has never been brighter, and with increased visibility comes endless project requests and mounting pressure. Chatting with Richard Hall , Certinia VP of Global Business Operations, we explored the challenges that IT teams are currently facing and dived into his guiding principles for teams navigating their AI journey.
Before anything is built, Hall emphasises the need to have a clear direction and assess whether AI is truly the viable solution for specific painpoints. Once priorities are set, creating a strong foundation for AI initiatives is essential. It’s simply not enough to layer AI on top of bad processes and data. Instead, companies can refine their processes and elevate their data quality.
While it can be tempting to add AI everywhere, all at once, prioritisation and level setting expectations can help make sure workloads are manageable and sustainable for IT teams. Starting out, it is totally fine (and even encouraged) to ‘start small and iterate,’ rather than pursuing an all-at-once rollout. This gives organisations the opportunity to test, learn, and evolve as they go. And in turn, building momentum and expertise as they scale and take on more complex AI initiatives.
In the full interview, Hall dives into his takeaways from the report, how developers have embraced vibe coding, maintaining trust around AI apps and agents, and more. For the full story, watch the recording on the Salesforce Platform LinkedIn page .
The real competitive advantage? Humans + AI agents working together — and how we design systems that bring out the best in both. The new State of IT report drives that home: AI isn’t just another line item in the tech stack. It’s re-engineering how IT teams operate, collaborate, and lead.
Success now depends on a new kind of IT strategy — one that’s agile, data-driven, and purpose-built for human-AI partnerships. As AI reshapes the business landscape, download the report today to see how IT leaders are the ones writing the playbook for what comes next.
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