New data on why some digital workplaces outperform by 2x

With AI reshaping how work gets done, economic headwinds testing every investment decision, and competition intensifying across every sector, how effectively your people work directly influences whether your organization leads or falls behind.

I see this in my work with enterprise leaders. Organizations with similar budgets, similar challenges, and access to the same technology are producing wildly different results. Understanding these patterns is why Unisys periodically surveys the market – to see how digital workplace strategies are evolving and share what we learn.

This year, we surveyed 1,000 senior IT and business decision-makers across three continents. The findings are detailed in our Unisys Digital Workplace Insights Report 2025: Performance Gaps and Winning Strategies. The data reveals a clear answer – and it's not what most executives expect.

A performance gap that keeps widening

The research identified a distinct group, which we call Productivity Leaders – 106 organizations that consistently exceed expectations in workforce productivity while incurring minimal downtime due to technology issues.

Here's what matters: these organizations are twice as likely to exceed revenue expectations compared to their peers. They're outperforming across every metric that matters – innovation, ROI, cybersecurity, and employee retention.

The data confirms a clear pattern: organizations that execute well on their digital workplace strategy see measurable advantages across revenue, innovation, and retention. Meanwhile, the gap between high performers and everyone else continues to widen.

Commitment over caution

When budgets are tightened, many organizations scale back their digital workplace investments. Productivity Leaders take the opposite approach – they maintain or increase investment even during uncertainty.

The data shows that these leaders have increased their investment in generative AI, while late adopters are pulling back. Nearly all plan to accelerate AI-enabled business initiatives next year, compared to just over a third of late adopters. This sustained commitment sets them apart.

What truly reveals their conviction is that these leaders treat AI as essential infrastructure for business operations, not an experimental add-on. They report that AI plays a critical role in keeping operations running during disruptions – something late adopters rarely experience because they haven't integrated AI deeply enough into their operations.

These leaders invest early, but strategically. They make decisions based on where technology is heading, asking clear questions about business outcomes before deploying. That deliberate approach, combined with a willingness to move, creates advantages that compound over time.

Employee experience delivers measurable returns

Here's what distinguishes Productivity Leaders most clearly: they stopped guessing what employees need and started asking them directly.

The data shows a significant gap in how well these organizations understand their workforce compared to late adopters. More importantly, Productivity Leaders have built structured ways for employees to provide input on technology investments – something most late adopters haven't implemented.

This focus on employee input drives a significant shift in how these organizations measure success. Productivity Leaders are six times more likely to use experience-level agreements (XLAs) instead of service-level agreements (SLAs). They measure whether people are more productive and satisfied, not just whether systems stay operational.

This approach changes the adoption dynamic entirely. Rather than deploying tools and hoping employees use them, these organizations build tools that address problems employees have identified.

This approach also helps to solve the retention challenges many organizations face. People stay where they feel heard and equipped to do their best work.

The alignment challenge no one can ignore

Our research revealed one finding that affects every organization, including Productivity Leaders: a significant disconnect between IT and business executives on digital workplace priorities. This pattern has been consistently observed across our research over time.

When we surveyed the two groups separately, their perspectives on success metrics diverged significantly. Business executives focus on human-centric outcomes, such as employee productivity and satisfaction. IT executives prioritize operational efficiency, risk reduction, and system reliability.

Both perspectives have merit. The problem is that these executives often work in parallel rather than in partnership, which creates friction when making investment decisions and measuring results.

Productivity Leaders demonstrate that you need both lenses. They track system reliability and employee experience. They measure downtime reduction and productivity gains. This holistic view fosters alignment between IT and business leadership – a crucial factor in sustaining momentum.

For AI implementation specifically, this alignment becomes critical. You need the operational rigor IT brings, and the human insight business leaders provide. Leaders who address both dimensions avoid the common pitfall of deploying technically sound solutions that employees won't use, or employee-friendly tools that create security and governance risks.

Making the shift

The strategies Productivity Leaders use are proven and repeatable. They require commitment, but not perfect conditions or unlimited budgets.

Start by understanding what your employees need from technology. Build mechanisms for ongoing feedback. Measure outcomes that matter to people, not just systems. Invest strategically in AI capabilities that address real productivity barriers. Don’t lose sight that the technology will likely displace functions performed by the very people helping to create and implement it. That means you need a plan for the people and technology with utmost transparency . Most importantly, align your IT and business leadership around shared success metrics that reflect both operational excellence and human outcomes.

Economic uncertainty makes these investments feel risky. The research suggests the opposite: organizations that maintain strategic investment in digital workplace services during uncertain times position themselves to capture market share while competitors pull back.

The research proves these strategies work. The question is whether your organization is ready to commit.

Our Unisys Digital Workplace Insights Report 2025: Performance Gaps and Winning Strategies details what Productivity Leaders are doing and how it translates to measurable results. It details the specific approaches Productivity Leaders take, the results they achieve, and insights from executives who have successfully made this shift. Download a copy to explore the specific strategies, supporting data, and insights from executives who have successfully made this shift.

Download the report