EDITOR’ S QUESTION
ARTHUR AZIZOV, FOUNDER AND INVESTOR, B2 VENTURES
Absolutely. Today, there is an increased digital adoption, but I see it as an unchecked dependency that starts to look more like an addiction. Even the surge from 26 % to 41 % of companies digitising most operations in a year reflects a real saturation. And the thing is that, like any saturation point, it comes with diminishing returns and escalating risks.
Digital dependency becomes a problem when tech is adopted reflexively, not strategically. So, we see an overload in IT environments, bloated tech stacks and fragile systems that can be easily collapsed under pressure. The CrowdStrike failure evidenced this. Using too much tech is ok, but it’ s way better to do it with due diligence,
integration discipline and clear purposes.
Plus, there is a cultural issue. We don’ t ask,“ How can tech solve this business problem?” anymore. We are likely to ask:“ How can we adopt the latest tech first?” Such a mindset creates situations where AI is integrated for its own sake, where systems pile up with little governance, and where redundancy is disguised under‘ innovation’.
If yes, why is this and what can be done?
I think the root is a misalignment between operational discipline and digital ambition. Tech decisions are made in very narrow circles, budgets follow trends not results, and vendordriven adoption outruns internal strategy. Companies just lose visibility of what they’ ve adopted and why they’ ve done it. The way out here is to strive to become gatekeepers of digital innovation, not just enablers. This means a full audit of the tech stack, finding redundancies and getting rid of tools no longer delivering ROI. Also, structured‘ runways’ for any new tool can be established( with clear go / no checkpoints).
Thinking of moving from quantity to quality can also help to handle digital dependency. So, firms would better prioritise interoperability, business impact and resilience over novelty. www. intelligentcxo. com
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