Implementation of new technology is a perennial challenge for leaders in Design and Make industries, but those who tackle the complexities of digital transformation are reaping the rewards of their efforts. In fact, most leaders surveyed for the 2025 State of Design & Make report have already realized a 50%-plus return on their digital transformation efforts through increases in innovation, productivity, and other categories.

Survey question: Has your company or organization experienced any of the following benefits of digital transformation? Select all that apply. Followed by survey question: You selected [benefit] as a benefit of digital transformation. How much has digital transformation improved [benefit]? Response scale: “Marginally,” “Moderately, by 25%,” “Considerably, by 50%,” “Significantly, by 75%,” and “Drastically, by 100%.” In AMER, due to select distribution, there is a small sample size.

Along with improvements in customer satisfaction, productivity, and innovation, leaders benefitting from digital transformation report it is also having positive effects on company reputation (72%), expansion of products and services (68%), and improved data exchange (67%).

With results like these, less digitally mature organizations thinking about reducing their digital transformation investments in the next few years should reconsider. The benefits of digitization are clear, and the longer organizations take to get up to speed, the greater the drag on their performance could be. While sometimes challenging, the long-term benefits of digital transformation far outweigh short-term struggles.

Digital maturity benefits the entire organization

In this report, “digitally mature” companies are defined as those that are approaching the goal or have achieved the goal of their digital transformation journey. “Less digitally mature” companies are defined as those that are in the early stages or right in the middle of their digital transformation journey.

Respondents from digitally mature companies report they are..

+30%

more likely to have experienced “above average” or “exceptional” performance

+35%

more likely to have “increased” or “strongly increased” investment in the past 3 years

+29%

more likely to “agree” they are prepared for the future

+26%

more likely to have kept up “very well” with change in the industry

“Our digital transformation program today will create huge amounts of efficiency, allowing us to go 50% faster and 30% cheaper.”

– Nitesh Alagh, Business Lead – Digital Engineering, Sustainability, & Emerging Tech, Severn Trent Water, a water and wastewater utility company headquartered in the UK
“When it comes to modernization and digitalization, we will continue to invest in these areas because it helps us get more done and increase our profitability.”

– Anna Noneder, BIM and Change Manager, Lindner Group, an interior construction specialist headquartered in Germany
“Our digital transformation program today will create huge amounts of efficiency, allowing us to go 50% faster and 30% cheaper.”

– Nitesh Alagh, Business Lead – Digital Engineering, Sustainability, & Emerging Tech, Severn Trent Water, a water and wastewater utility company headquartered in the UK
“When it comes to modernization and digitalization, we will continue to invest in these areas because it helps us get more done and increase our profitability.”

– Anna Noneder, BIM and Change Manager, Lindner Group, an interior construction specialist headquartered in Germany
“Our digital transformation program today will create huge amounts of efficiency, allowing us to go 50% faster and 30% cheaper.”

– Nitesh Alagh, Business Lead – Digital Engineering, Sustainability, & Emerging Tech, Severn Trent Water, a water and wastewater utility company headquartered in the UK
“When it comes to modernization and digitalization, we will continue to invest in these areas because it helps us get more done and increase our profitability.”

– Anna Noneder, BIM and Change Manager, Lindner Group, an interior construction specialist headquartered in Germany

Cost, time, and talent are the biggest barriers to digital transformation

Survey question: What are the barriers to digital transformation in your company or organization? Select all that apply.

The cost of digital transformation is a growing challenge for many organizations, with 44% of leaders saying it’s their main barrier, up from 35% in 2024 and reflecting a global increase in concern about cost control. But given the outsize returns organizations are seeing from their digital transformation investments, cost-cutting measures could have equally outsize negative effects if they impact technology initiatives.

Concerns about cost are followed by the persistent challenges of time and talent, tied for second this year as the most-cited obstacles as organizations struggle to meet implementation goals while also trying to do more with fewer resources.

The more digitally mature an organization, the less concerned its leaders are with cost and talent and the more concerned they are with the actual technology. Digitally mature companies less often cite cost (41% compared to 46%) and more often cite the limited capabilities of tools (29% compared to 24%) as a barrier. These organizations also have an advantage when it comes to talent, with 27% of leaders saying digital transformation has improved talent acquisition and retention compared to 18% at less digitally mature companies.