New research from CDW shows digital friction is slowing innovation, increasing security risk and reducing productivity across organizations.

CDW has released its 2026 Frictionless Enterprise Research Report. The new report, which examines insights from more than 950 IT decision-makers across industries, explores how digital friction is slowing organizations down and what leaders can do to build more efficient technology environments.

Despite major advances in workplace technology, friction remains a persistent challenge inside many organizations. The research suggests that eliminating friction requires close leadership attention to how technology, processes, and teams all interact.

The survey uncovered several key findings, including the following:

• Implementing new IT tools is an area of opportunity. More than half of IT decision-makers (54%) said introducing new tools feels slower or more difficult than it should, while IT operations (43%) and access controls (42%) were also frequently cited friction points.
• Friction is creating real business risk. Thirty-four percent of respondents said friction increases security risk, while 33% said it slows innovation or prevents quick decision-making. Among those experiencing friction tied to cybersecurity efforts, 56% reported reduced productivity and 53% cited higher operational costs.
• Organizations are increasingly turning to AI and automation to reduce friction. Half of respondents (50%) said their organizations are investing in AI integration and automation for routine tasks, and 53% of those using AI said automation and efficiency are the most important benefits.
• Legacy systems and manual processes continue to slow work down. Legacy system integration was cited as the leading source of workplace friction (41%), followed by lack of automation for manual tasks (39%) and cumbersome approval processes (38%).

“Every point of friction you remove gives people back time, focus, and capacity to do higher-value work, and it compounds fast,” said Conor Waddell, Senior Vice President of Integrated Technology Solutions at CDW. “Organizations that are getting this right have made friction reduction an explicit goal. AI and automation can be powerful tools for getting there, but only when they’re deployed intentionally. Leaders should evaluate every new system or process through a simple lens: ‘Does this make work faster and easier for the people using it?’”

The full report can be viewed here. To learn how CDW is helping organizations to optimize their technology environments, explore the company's high-impact AI solutions, cyber resilience, and platform engineering capabilities.