San Francisco: Will the next wave of AI tools displace IT services firms? The argument seems intuitive. If AI models are becoming increasingly powerful and more accessible, why do companies need intermediaries to build and run technology? Yet, this debate is focused on the wrong question.
The more important question: why do so many companies continue to struggle to translate unprecedented AI investment into measurable business outcomes? A June 2026 Cognizant-Pearson study, 'The AI workforce pulse: The adaptability imperative', found that 63% of enterprises report a moderate-to-large gap between their AI ambitions and current capabilities, even though more than half already spend $10 mn or more annually on AI.
