Today’s CIOs face a digital paradox: The more technologies their organizations adopt, the more complex their environments become. Legacy infrastructure and decades of regulation have combined to create technical debt and disconnected silos. Even as workloads shift to the cloud, CIOs struggle with integration; expanding toolsets often create fragmented estates rather than streamlined operations.

Amit Mehrotra, Vice President, Head of United Kingdom and Ireland at Tata Communications, says: “CIOs today are under huge pressure to drive transformation – navigating regulatory complexity, cyber risk, and tight cost constraints – often all at once.”

Nick Reeks, Director of IT at Tata Steel, agrees: “There’s always pressure to get to the end result quickly, but in IT you must get to the detail first. If you don’t, costs spiral – with systems and data burning money without delivering value. That’s why CIOs must be involved early in transformation discussions, otherwise something critical gets missed.”

Without a streamlined digital foundation, agility stalls, innovation slows, and security vulnerabilities multiply. CIOs must transform their organizations’ digital fabrics, turning potential liabilities into an integrated and modular foundation for long-term growth.

**A complex web **

Today’s hyperconnected ecosystems bring added pressure. By 2034, 40.6 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices are forecast to be connected globally. This explosion of endpoints expands the attack surface and strains already fragmented infrastructures, and puts agility and resilience at risk.

Across Europe, challenges vary by sector. In Germany, manufacturers are accelerating digitalization but remain tied to legacy OT systems, while fluctuating energy costs and supply chain pressures complicate transformation efforts. Within the U.K. financial services, some banks operate up to seven years behind on tech updates, which are driven by regulations, but also hindered by limited budgets.

The costs of inaction

AI also introduces complexity. In 2024, only 14% of European Union (EU) businesses with 10 or more employees were using AI technologies, highlighting how many E.U. organizations remain in the early stages of their AI adoption journey – and risk being left behind.

The gap between ambition and execution is costly. For example, 43% of European CEOs say they won’t fully achieve their transformation goals, despite heavy investment in digital initiatives. The result: Slower growth, weaker customer engagement, and declining competitiveness.

“Post-COVID, many U.K. enterprises are still defining what ‘digital-first’ means across hybrid working and customer channels,” says Mehrotra. “Getting the basics right is still a work in progress.”

Reeks adds: “Today, organizations need more data – held for longer and traceable across the whole supply chain. Yet many are still struggling to make sense of it. AI could be seen as a quick fix, but without the right data structure, quality controls, and guardrails, it risks adding complexity rather than solving it.”

Integrate, uncomplicate, and innovate

Tata Communications addresses this challenge through its digital fabric, which integrates and uncomplicates infrastructure, enabling CIOs to innovate with speed and confidence.

The process starts with integrating disparate technology stacks across cloud, network infrastructure, IoT, and applications.

In manufacturing, for example, this means bridging IT and OT – modernizing legacy systems while ensuring continuity and real-time visibility.

Amit Kapoor, Vice President and Head of Europe, Tata Communications, says: “Across Europe, we’re seeing manufacturers adopt AI and machine learning as innovation tools and enablers of autonomous operations. AI-driven edge computing is becoming critical for real-time decision making and localized data processing.”

A notable example is Tata Motors, which uses an edge-native solution to optimize energy consumption in its paint shops – integrating OT data, AI algorithms, and 5G connectivity for real-time efficiency.

Next comes uncomplicate: streamlining the IT estate by consolidating platforms, eliminating redundant systems, and optimizing workflows. A typical European enterprise network might involve hundreds of vendors, complicated by mergers and legacy contracts that have created sprawling infrastructures.

Networks are critical, but technology refresh cycles now outpace contracts – forcing upgrades sooner than planned. Untangling the IT estate boosts agility, resilience and performance, while reducing risk.

Once simplified, organizations can focus on innovation. Visibility unlocks smarter insights and quicker decisions, which can be the difference between winning and losing in today’s market.

Mehrotra adds: “And of course, security is at the core of every digital discussion we’re having in the U.K. Boards want reassurance that their transformation journeys are secure by design and resilient by default.”

A fabric for the future

CIOs increasingly recognize that a foundational digital fabric is the key factor to achieve long-term value. In financial services, manufacturing, logistics, and retail, this approach simplifies complexity, reduces costs and brings order to fragmented ecosystems.

Alexandru Duca, Director, Head of Automation and Operation Technology at Maersk, a shipping and logistics company, says: “Businesses need systems to talk to each other – from the terminal to vessel to inland logistics. Without integration, companies lose visibility and can’t plan properly. For us, digital transformation isn’t optional; connecting digital and physical worlds is the foundation for growth.”

For many mid-sized enterprises, the challenge isn’t ambition; it’s execution. This is where Tata Communications can help. It supports businesses with a co-creation model, aligning infrastructure design with business priorities, and growth objectives.

By unlocking real-time visibility across the value chain, Tata Communications helps organizations make faster decisions, embed resilience, and scale with confidence.

Ankur Jindal, Vice President and Global Head at Tata Communications, says: “Enterprises today face major challenges from disparate systems, networks, and processes powering their applications. To unlock value, businesses must reweave their digital fabric with integrated, ‘right-fit’ technologies embedded seamlessly into work and customer experiences.”

With the right foundation of a resilient network, integrated infrastructure, and trusted partnerships, CIOs can move beyond reactive transformation to build a digital fabric designed not just to keep up, but to lead. Doing so enables innovation, manages risk and drives long-term competitive advantage.

Click here to learn more about how a digital fabric helps your business ensure long-term growth.