Evidence shows 70%+ of digital programmes underperform in scope or impact, with several systemic causes:
Technical Debt Trap: layered legacy cores restrict modular deployment and slow regulatory adaptation.
Operating Model Mismatch: business and technology remain siloed; compliance and risk enter too late.
Value Ambiguity: digital output (features shipped) replaces outcome (unit economics, retention, NPS).
Talent Asymmetry: incumbents lack senior product talent capable of balancing growth, data and risk.
Vendor Over-dependence: low knowledge transfer erodes long-term capability-building.
Retail banking tends to fail at scale agility, wealth firms at advisor modernisation, and insurers at claims digitisation & underwriting automation.
Resources & Further Reading