Why the 93-7 Split Matters—and Why It Isn’t Working
In a striking critique of modern business priorities, Deloitte’s Chief Technology Officer has highlighted a startling statistic: organizations devote roughly 93% of their technology budgets to tools, models, chips, and software, while only about 7% goes toward people, culture, and workflows. This 93-7 split, he argues, is not just imbalanced—it’s a fundamental barrier to achieving durable digital transformation. The warning isn’t speculative. It’s a call to reframe how companies measure progress, allocate capital, and design operating models around the human elements that actually make technology work.
The Hidden Cost of Neglecting People and Culture
Technology alone cannot deliver value without the people who design, deploy, and operate it. When the emphasis is almost entirely on hardware, software, and models, organizations lose sight of adoption, governance, and continuous improvement. Culture shapes how teams collaborate, how fast they learn, and how effectively they respond to changing needs. Without intentional effort to align talent, process, and culture with technological ambitions, even the most advanced tools can fail to produce lasting outcomes.
From Tool-Centric to Human-Centric Transformation
A human-centric approach means investing in roles, skills, and experiences that enable workers to leverage technology with confidence. It involves redesigning workflows to reduce cognitive load, establishing clear decision rights, and fostering cross-functional collaboration. The goal is not merely to deploy sophisticated systems but to ensure people can use them to create value, innovate, and scale impact across the organization.
Concrete Steps to Rebalance the Budget and Outcomes
Industry leaders can begin reshaping the 93-7 dynamic with deliberate actions in four areas:
- Skills and reskilling: Create learning journeys tied to strategic tech initiatives. Prioritize practical hands-on training, mentorship, and career progression that align with new tools and platforms.
- Culture and governance: Establish clear collaboration norms, decision rights, and feedback loops. Embed psychological safety so teams experiment and iterate without fear of failure.
- Workflow design: Reevaluate processes to minimize handoffs and bottlenecks. Use design thinking and value stream mapping to ensure technology supports meaningful work, not just faster work.
- Measurement and incentives: Track outcomes such as time-to-value, user adoption, and business impact, not only technical milestones. Reward teams for outcomes that rely on strong people practices as much as on tools.
Aligning CIO and CTO Roles with People-First Goals
To close the gap, organizations should align the CIO/CTO agenda with human-focused metrics and leadership. This means integrating talent strategy into technology roadmaps—from procurement to deployment. It also requires executive sponsorship for culture initiatives, ensuring that learning, change management, and user experience are treated as strategic imperatives rather than afterthoughts.
What This Means for the Future of Work
The 93-7 critique isn’t about slowing innovation; it’s about ensuring that innovation is sustainable. As AI, automation, and advanced analytics become pervasive, the human touch becomes more valuable, not less. Companies that balance capital expenditure on technology with investments in people will likely see higher adoption rates, better governance, and faster realization of strategic outcomes. Deloitte’s CTO isn’t predicting doom for tech spend; he’s urging a recalibration to build resilient, adaptable organizations that combine smart tools with capable, engaged people.
Conclusion: A Call to Action
Digital transformation is as much about organizational design as it is about digital assets. The 93-7 split should be a starting point for rethinking how resources are allocated. By investing in talent, culture, and workflow alongside technology, companies can unlock the full potential of their innovations and deliver sustained business value.
