How much is organisational complexity really costing UK organisations?

At Propel Tech, we've been exploring what complexity looks like in practice through our Organisational Complexity Survey 2026.

We are excited to share some early insights from our complexity survey. More than 1,300 people have now taken part, from organisations and sectors across the UK. The research is still open, and we'll publish our full findings later this year, but early results are already raising interesting questions about how much time businesses are losing to complexity and what they plan to do about it.

Organisational complexity is growing

54.9% of respondents say operational complexity in their organisation has increased over the past two years.

For 22.5%, it has increased significantly.

When we asked people what is creating that complexity, there wasn't one overwhelming culprit.

Data spread across multiple systems was the most common answer at 17.1%, followed by AI adoption and integration at 14%, manual processes at 13.3% and disconnected systems at 12.7%.

It is no surprise that complexity isn't sitting neatly within one system or one department. It's developing across the connections between technology, data, processes and people.

And growing complexity is taking up a lot of time

One of the findings that stood out most was the amount of working time respondents believe their organisations are losing.

66.7% estimate their organisation loses six hours or more every week to operational complexity.

That includes time spent dealing with manual processes, switching between systems and searching for information. More than one in five put the figure at over 20 hours a week.

At an individual level, a staggering 54.5% of respondents estimate they personally lose six hours or more each week to operational complexity.

Multiply that across a team, a department or an entire organisation, and those apparently small inefficiencies start looking considerably more expensive.

What's getting in the way of productivity?

We also asked which issues have the greatest impact on productivity. Lack of systems integration currently tops the list at 15.1%.

That's closely followed by switching between multiple systems at 14.3%, limited use of AI and automation at 13.7%, repetitive manual tasks at 11.9% and waiting for approvals at 11.2%. We can see how each part of the process or system adds issues and how, together, each aspect builds to a staggering level of complexity and lost efficiency. We see this time and time again across the projects we deliver at Propel Tech, and one of the main areas our bespoke software work delivers is to first see each of these problems and work out a way to make more possible and limit friction and issues.

We ensure that people don't just have technology available to them, but that they are not spending as much time moving between systems, finding information and completing work. We develop ways to streamline and ensure that good working practices and automation are in place.

Businesses are responding to complexity by bolstering technology investment

The good news is that 55% of respondents firmly agree that good technology is the solution to organisational complexity, and 89% have already experienced the power of good software as a key force in unravelling organisational complexity. An affirming 87.6% of respondents say additional investment in new software or AI capability is either already budgeted or they are currently exploring their options for the next 12 months.

When asked which technology investment could have the greatest impact over the next two years, embedding AI into existing systems was the most popular answer at 19.4%, followed by connecting existing systems at 17.4% and automating manual processes at 16.2%.

The survey's early themes also highlighted that Bespoke software is seen as an important part of the solution; developing bespoke software was selected by 13.8%, while replacing legacy software was chosen by 12.1%.

This bolster waht we at Propel Tech already know and have been advocating for years, that for many organisations, reducing complexity may not require another wholesale technology replacement programme.

There can be considerable value in looking at what is already there. Where are systems disconnected? Where is data difficult to access? What are people repeatedly doing manually? Where could existing software be improved, integrated or extended?

Bespoke software can play an important role here, particularly where an organisation needs to connect existing technology or create workflows around the way its business actually operates.

And then there's AI

78.3% of respondents say AI has already been used to improve operational complexity where they work.

But as we heard in our previous Wishlist survey and now again AI investment is also uncovering existing complexity.

When we asked respondents what a drive to invest in AI had exposed within their organisation, systems issues were the most commonly selected answer, ahead of cost, data and people issues.

The opportunity presented by AI is significant, but organisations also need to consider the software, systems and data it will depend upon. We advocate that the route to getting more from AI starts with sorting out what's underneath it.

This is only the beginning

These are early findings from 1,302 responses, and we're continuing the research before publishing the full Propel Tech Business Complexity Report 2026.

The final report will look more closely at the cost of complexity, how experiences differ across organisations, the views of senior business and technology leaders and where businesses intend to invest next.

We'll also explore what the findings mean for organisations looking to simplify operations, connect technology, improve productivity and build stronger foundations for AI.

If you're a CTO, CIO, COO, Technology Director, Operations Director, MD or senior business leader, we'd particularly like to hear from you.

Take the Business Complexity Survey 2026 and add your perspective to the research.

Early findings based on 1,302 cross-sector responses captured from July 2026 to August 2026 in response to the Propel Tech Business Complexity Survey 2026. The survey remains open, and findings may change as further responses are received.