How digital leaders are accelerating, and why others need support to catch up
Our 2025 Voice of Our Clients (VOC) research brought us into conversation with more than 130 health and life sciences executives across sectors, including providers, payers, public health agencies, and life sciences companies.
This year, one message stood out more clearly than ever:
The future of health and life sciences is not just digital—it’s being built at two very different speeds.
Across all sectors, organizations recognize the urgency to transform. They are investing in digital platforms, AI-enabled automation, and new operating models. However, while some are scaling innovation rapidly, others are still struggling to modernize core systems, bridge workforce gaps, or comply with increasing regulatory pressure. The focus is no longer just on transformation; it’s on transformation readiness.
At CGI, we’ve identified three major trends that are shaping this environment and creating clear opportunities for action.
- 1. Digital acceleration is happening everywhere, but not equally
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Automation, AI and cloud technologies are being adopted at scale to improve care delivery, research efficiency, and patient engagement. In our VOC results, 53% of executives are investing in digital capabilities to improve the customer or patient experience, while 51% cite AI and automation for operational efficiency as a top investment priority.
Yet even among the most ambitious organizations, the path to AI adoption isn’t always smooth. Implementation challenges often stem from fragmented data, unclear governance models, and talent constraints, especially when AI is deployed in clinical or regulatory settings. Moving from pilot to production requires not just technical capability but organizational readiness, accountability frameworks, and people who can operate confidently at the intersection of health and technology.
Digital acceleration is well underway, but translating momentum into measurable impact remains a challenge for many.
- 2. A widening digital maturity gap is shaping a two-speed sector
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To better understand the range of digital readiness, we’ve developed a transformation journey model that reflects how organizations are navigating modernization at different speeds:
- Digital Leaders—those executives who report achieving expected results from their digital strategies—are scaling AI, modernizing platforms, and embedding governance across their operations.
- Transitional Clients are actively modernizing but often face integration gaps, talent constraints, or limited alignment across business units.
- Digital Aspirants (referred to as ‘others’ in the VOC findings) are in earlier stages, often working with legacy systems or constrained resources, and establishing a strong digital foundation.
What sets Digital Leaders apart is not just technology investment—it’s intentionality. They embed digital into clinical and operational workflows, scale purposefully with strong change management, and build inclusive teams that lead with people, not just platforms. It’s this blend of strategy, structure, and culture that enables sustained transformation.
Still, even among leaders, complexity remains. While 42% report having a holistic AI strategy, only 15% of other organizations make the same claim. Just 29% of Digital Leaders say their operating models are agile enough to adapt to digitization, suggesting that scaling innovation is difficult even for the most mature organizations.
- 3. Economic, regulatory, and workforce pressures are forcing strategic trade-offs
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Digital transformation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Across our interviews, executives highlight growing concern over regulatory complexity, financial constraints, and persistent workforce shortages. Fifty-three percent cite legacy systems as a top barrier to achieving their digital strategy, up three percentage points from the previous year.
These pressures are reshaping IT and business priorities. While business leaders emphasize innovation, patient experience, and cost resilience, IT leaders are increasingly focused on cybersecurity, operational efficiency, and internal alignment. Notably, “business-IT alignment” was cited as a new priority in this year’s VOC findings, signaling a broader awareness of the need to connect strategic ambition with execution.
Regulatory demands, while often viewed as constraints, can also act as design drivers. Privacy, security, and trust are now embedded in how modern health systems are built. Innovations in federated learning and privacy-preserving AI have emerged directly in response to these pressures, demonstrating that organizations that treat regulation as part of innovation, not an obstacle to it, are the ones pulling ahead.
Key takeaways for industry leaders
Organizations across the health and life sciences sector are not just adopting digital tools; they are rethinking how they operate, deliver value, and grow in an increasingly complex environment. Success will depend not just on which technologies are used, but on how and where they are deployed.
The most effective approaches are iterative, inclusive, and aligned with a clear purpose. Transformation is as much cultural as it is technical. Leaders who engage clinicians, administrators, and patients early and who build flexibility into their strategies are best positioned to adapt as systems evolve. Starting small is smart, but it must be connected to a bigger vision.
Where to focus on the journey ahead: Tailored priorities by maturity level
Based on this year’s VOC findings, we’ve identified actionable recommendations tailored to an organization’s digital maturity. These priorities are designed to help health and life sciences leaders focus their digital transformation efforts, whether they are just beginning to modernize or scaling complex AI-driven ecosystems.
| Maturity level |
Key challenge |
Recommendations |
| Digital Leaders |
Scaling with agility and governance |
- Focus on operationalizing GenAI and AI governance with cross-functional oversight.
- Invest in interoperability platforms that can support multi-jurisdictional scaling.
- Strengthen integration capabilities with new data and AI platforms to unlock real-time insight and cross-sector innovation.
|
| Transitional Clients |
Integration and internal alignment |
- Prioritize platform modernization with measurable ROI (e.g., infrastructure consolidation, FHIR-based APIs).
- Establish co-governance models to align business and IT teams.
- Adopt hybrid delivery models (e.g., analytics-as-a-service, modular cloud pilots) to scale flexibly.
|
| Digital Aspirants |
Foundation-building with constrained resources |
- Focus first on digitizing priority workflows with bundled services and funding-aligned pilots.
- Use readiness assessments to sequence investment (data, automation, experience).
- Anchor efforts in regulatory compliance and cybersecurity to unlock broader funding and trust.
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At CGI, we’re helping clients navigate this two-speed world. Whether enabling digital-first providers, modernizing infrastructure for transitional payers, or helping government health agencies build interoperability and resilience, our role is to meet clients where they are and guide them toward what’s next.
Regardless of where your organization is in its digital journey, CGI is committed to supporting your next steps with confidence, clarity, and care. I invite you to watch the 2025 Voice of Our Clients – Health & Life Sciences video where I share more insights on our findings, and contact me to learn more.
