Digital Transformation in the Finance Sector

The results of the Cetif Research Reply study on CIO Strategy have been published

Milan, February 4, 2026 - The results of the research project carried out by Cetif Research
Cattolica del Sacro CuoreUniversità) and Reply have been published today. The project aimed to analyze the level of digital maturity, the evolution of organizational models and IT governance, and the technologies adopted to support transformation processes in the financial sector in Italy.

The data shows that over 65% of financial institutions now consider IT to be a structural lever of industrial strategy, rather than a mere support function. Digital transformation is thus entering a phase of greater maturity, in which technological choices are consolidated, collaboration between IT and business is strengthened, and increasingly data-driven approaches are being adopted to govern
processes and customer journeys.

In this scenario, IT strategy plays a decisive role in defining investment priorities, guiding modernization models, and mitigating the regulatory and technological constraints that still slow down the execution of more complex projects.

Paolo Gatelli, Senior Research , Cetif, states: "If we look five or ten years ahead, the IT infrastructure of banks will be very different from what it is today. Hybrid models will prevail, with more extensive use of the cloud and solutions that simultaneously guarantee flexibility, data sovereignty, and security. The data platform will be at the center of everything: both for customer services and internal operations. Architectures will be modular, based on APIs and microservices, and automation will be widespread at every level—from software development to security controls. AI will become a pervasive element, integrated into decisions, processes, and daily operational support. Alongside these, technologies such as data meshes, advanced MLOps tools, and intelligent observability solutions will emerge. Legacy systems will not disappear overnight, but will be progressively reduced, encapsulated, and managed until the business case allows for their complete decommissioning.

Paolo Zandano, Group Head of Strategic Customers, Financial Services, Reply, adds: "Today, the real differentiator is the ability to transform technological vision into concrete value: measurable, replicable, and governable. In the near future, IT strategy will have to balance efficiency (automation, standardization, and reduced time-to-market), product innovation, services, customer interaction, and risk management in a context of cyber threats and increasing regulatory requirements. Hybrid models and modular architectures will prevail, in which cloud, data, and security are designed as a coherent and measurable whole, not as separate initiatives. AI will become increasingly pervasive, but will only have an impact if it is integrated into processes and governed as a critical asset, with policies, controls, KPI accountability. The focus will shift from planning to continuous execution: agile and specialized teams, capable of quickly putting into production and scaling what works, following a clear roadmap on AI, data, cloud, and cyber within a framework.

Operations the driving force behind digital transformation

Looking more closely at the evidence, 72% of the market confirms that strengthening operations is the main driver of innovation. Institutions are focusing their investments on processes that are closer to the business and the customer, recognizing operations as the area with the highest level of digital maturity. The automation of core processes, the reengineering of workflows, and the digitization of activities with the greatest operational impact are contributing to a structural redesign of the entire operating model, laying the foundations for a further acceleration of the entire transformation cycle.

IT demand increasingly evolving in business-critical functions

The study also highlights a clear polarization of IT demand. In Operations, Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service, over 75% of IT demand is now predominantly evolutionary in nature, focused on developing new features, improving customer journeys, and increasing the scalability of solutions. In governance and support processes, on the other hand, demand remains more balanced: approximately 55% of IT requests combine corrective and evolutionary interventions, signaling a phase of consolidation of the existing and less pressure for radical change.

Prioritization of digital projects driven by integration, scalability, and customer engagement

Today, IT departments are focusing their investments on areas that enable platform integration, interoperability, and modularity. More than 65% of strategic initiatives involve projects related to omnichannel marketing, customer journey personalization, the development of API-based platforms, and the improvement of digital interfaces. Conversely, infrastructure projects or initiatives less directly related to customer experience show a more stable priority or a slight slowdown, confirming a growing selectivity in the allocation of IT resources.

Complex regulations and long lead times: the main obstacles to digital transformation

Despite good internal maturity, the speed of digital transformation remains affected by structural factors. Almost 80% of financial institutions cite regulatory complexity and implementation times as the main obstacles to transformation projects. This is followed by high integration costs (around 65% of the market) and issues related to data management and quality (over 60%). Internal obstacles, such as cultural resistance or difficulties in collaboration between IT and business, are marginal and reported by less th
than a third of institutions.

Adoption of GenAI still limited, while AI and RPA grow selectively

Generative AI is still in an experimental phase: less than 20% of institutions report structured use of GenAI in core processes. In contrast, more established technologies show significantly higher levels of adoption. RPA is used regularly in Operations over 60% of the market, while traditional AI is growing mainly in marketing and customer-facing functions, where around 50% of operators use it for personalization, predictive analysis, and customer experience improvement.

Architectures still on-premises, but adoption of hybrid models is growing

On the architectural front, on-premise models still prevail, accounting for approximately 55% of application architectures, especially in core systems and critical processes. However, hybrid models are becoming increasingly widespread, now accounting for approximately 45% of infrastructures, particularly in front-end domains and shared services. The cloud is establishing itself as a lever for agility and time-to-market, but it introduces new complexities of governance and integration in hybrid contexts.

Technical debt, security, and skills are slowing cloud migration, but to a decreasing extent

Migration to the cloud continues to be slowed down by technical debt, security requirements, and a shortage of specialist skills. Over 60% of institutions still report technical debt as the main obstacle. However, the overall impact of these critical issues has fallen by around 10 percentage points compared to the previous year, thanks to the strengthening of infrastructure, improved security controls, and the gradual growth of internal skills.