A new report from WalkMe reveals a stark disconnect between enterprise AI investment and employee readiness, leading to significant financial losses. The study, titled “State of Digital Adoption 2025, Special AI Edition,” highlights that while executives are bullish on AI transformation, a vast majority of employees are struggling to harness its potential.
According to the report, enterprises squandered $104 million in 2024 in underutilized technology and inefficient productivity practices. This loss is particularly alarming considering the booming investment in AI, which is expected to surge by 64% in 2025.
Although 79% of executives express confidence in meeting their AI goals, only 28% of employees feel adequately trained, and 25% report being able to use AI to improve their work efficiency.
A critical gap
The study, based on a survey of 3,700 executives and employees, as well as data from 1.5 million users across 2,400 enterprise applications, exposes a critical adoption gap. Without effective digital adoption strategies, the report argues, AI investments are likely to fall short of their intended return.
The study indicates enterprises that implement even a single digital adoption best practice can nearly triple their digital transformation ROI, from 22% to 64%.
According to Dan Adika, Co-Founder & CEO of WalkMe, “Over a decade of innovation in digital adoption has shown us one truth: Technology alone doesn’t deliver results – people do. This year’s findings outline actionable steps leaders can take to close the readiness gap and turn their AI investments into impact.”
What the data reveals
One of the most striking findings is the “visibility gap” in software usage. Executives believe their organizations use an average of 37 applications, while WalkMe’s data reveals the actual number to be 625, a gap that is 17 times larger. This lack of transparency hinders effective software management and digital transformation efforts.
The report also highlights persistent employee frustrations with technology, with workers losing an average of 36 working days a year to tech-related issues.
However, there is positive movement in digital adoption investment, which has nearly doubled from $2.8 million in 2023 to $5.1 million in 2025. Additionally, digital adoption teams are expanding, indicating a growing recognition of the importance of effective technology implementation.
The report cites examples from Accenture and EDF Renewables to reinforce the importance of digital adoption platforms in maximizing AI transformation efforts. It also underscores that the success of AI hinges on employee ability to seamlessly integrate it into their workflows, making digital adoption a critical component of any successful AI strategy.
What this means for ERP insiders
Streamline ERP training by collaborating with companies like WalkMe. ERP systems are often complex and multifaceted and can be a major source of employee frustration and underutilization. Although AI automates many processes, training employees on the organization’s ERP system can speed up the adoption process. WalkMe’s platform provides in-application guidance, walking users through specific ERP tasks and workflows, significantly reducing the learning curve. This addresses the report’s finding that 75% of workers struggle to harness AI efficiencies, by ensuring that employees can effectively navigate essential systems like ERP.
Leverage your ERP system to maximize ROI. The WalkMe report indicates that enterprises lose $104 million annually due to underutilized tech. For ERP users, this highlights the importance of ensuring they are fully leveraging their ERP systems. WalkMe’s analytics help organizations in this aspect by identifying areas of underutilization and provide targeted training to improve adoption rates, aligning with the report’s finding that digital adoption best practices can nearly triple ROI.
Bridge the visibility gap in ERP usage. The report reveals a significant discrepancy between perceived and actual software usage. For ERP administrators, WalkMe’s platform can provide detailed insights into how employees are interacting with the ERP system, identifying bottlenecks and areas for improvement. This helps to close the visibility gap, allowing for more effective management of the ERP system and ensuring that it is supporting, rather than hindering, productivity.
