02 September 2025

A new survey reveals that the UK public sector is still grappling with the complexities of fully realising the benefits of digital transformation, with only 16% of organisations having successfully implemented comprehensive strategies across their entire operations — a decline from 23% in 2023.

The 2025 State of Digital report, conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Unit4, surveyed senior and mid-level management across various sectors, including central government, healthcare, and non-departmental bodies, with 100 UK respondents participating.

Respondents highlighted ongoing frustrations with their existing IT systems, notably struggling to access data in real-time, a challenge exacerbated by an increase in manual data exports, which rose from 40% in 2023 to 50% in 2025. A significant 60% expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of transforming back-office applications alone to achieve interoperability, reflecting doubts about the impact of current initiatives.

Concerns over project delivery also persist, with 53% of those surveyed lacking full confidence that digital transformation programmes will be completed within budget, and 45% worried about delays in delivery. Less than half believe their investments have delivered value for money, highlighting the need for more tangible benefits from ongoing efforts.

“With the UK public sector under immense pressure to cut costs while improving citizen services, it is crucial that digital transformation strategies translate into tangible benefits swiftly. While the complexity of existing IT infrastructure presents challenges, there remains a strong commitment to modernisation. Leadership must provide clear strategic guidance, as adopting cloud-native applications can boost agility, enable rapid service scaling, and drive cost efficiencies,” said Mark Gibbison, AVP of Global Public Sector and Higher Education at Unit4.