7 in 10 UK government IT leaders say outdated systems are hindering AI adoption

Cloudhouse research highlights public sector skills gaps and reactive technical debt as key factors shaping IT modernisation

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, February 25, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- New analysis from Cloudhouse, based on a survey of UK public sector IT decision-makers, reveals significant technical debt across government technology estates - and an urgent need for modernisation as AI adoption accelerates.

The Cloudhouse State of Technical Debt Report found that 7 in 10 (69%) government IT leaders say existing systems are currently hindering AI adoption. At the same time, 84% of public sector organisations continue to rely on existing Microsoft Windows environments, underlining the scale of transformation now required across government infrastructure.

Internal capability also remains a critical challenge. Three quarters (75%) of public sector organisations lack the skills needed to modernise ageing systems, while 53% say technical debt is still addressed reactively rather than through structured transformation programmes - reinforcing the need for practical, low-risk modernisation approaches.

“Government organisations need to modernise traditional systems while protecting critical services and maintaining audit confidence,” said Mat Clothier, CEO at Cloudhouse. “Cloudhouse provides the control and visibility needed to reduce transformation risk and ensure change doesn’t become a failure.”

Operational resilience and compliance are also shaping priorities. Half of government organisations report difficulties proving compliance during audits, while 78% experience configuration drift across their estates - highlighting the growing importance of continuous visibility and control as transformation progresses.

To see more findings from the Cloudhouse State of Technical Debt Report, click here.

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About Cloudhouse

Founded in 2010, Cloudhouse helps organisations make change safe, repeatable, and provable across complex application estates – wherever they run. Its three proven solutions – Alchemy, Foundry and Guardian – help enterprises keep critical systems stable while modernising at pace.

Alchemy removes risk from forced platform change by enabling business-critical and incompatible applications to run unchanged on modern, supported environments. Foundry industrialises application delivery by automating packaging at scale across Windows and Linux. Guardian provides continuous visibility of configuration state and drift, helping teams evidence control, support audits, and reduce operational risk.

Cloudhouse is trusted by organisations including GE Healthcare, National Australia Bank, and HM Government to cut cost and complexity while improving resilience, compliance confidence, and operational stability.

https://cloudhouse.com/

Roseanna Lane
CommsCo
rlane@thecommsco.com

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