Organizations that have modernized their applications are three times more likely to see a clear ROI on their AI investments compared to those that haven’t, according to a new survey from Cloudflare.
The 2026 App Innovation Report found that 93% of leaders believe that updating their software was “the single most important factor in boosting their AI capabilities.”
Organizations that have fallen behind on their modernization efforts report being 85% less confident in their infrastructure. Those who fall into that camp often only modernize reactively after a security breach happens.
Additionally, companies that align security with modernization are four times more likely to reach advanced AI maturity.
“If you aren’t modernizing your business to embrace AI and prevent the next wave of cyberattacks, you aren’t just standing still, you’re rapidly falling behind. The winners of this era of the Internet will ultimately be defined by their infrastructure,” said Matthew Prince, CEO and co-founder of Cloudflare.
Cloudflare’s research also reveals that AI mindsets have shifted from adoption to integration, with 91% of leading companies having already integrated AI into their portfolio, and 74% planning to double down on it this year.
The App Innovation Report was conducted with help from Qualtrics, and they interviewed 2,351 organizational leaders at companies with 1,000+ employees between June and July of last year.