Is your business’s digital health holding it back?

2026 Europe Digital Health Study, commissioned by Zoho, conducted by Censuswide

The 2026 Zoho Digital Health Study Europe surveyed 1,500 senior digital transformation leaders across five European markets and the findings are stark. Businesses with good digital health are pulling decisively ahead on AI returns, customer experience, cost control, and competitive resilience. Those without it are paying a compounding price. This report tells you where Europe stands, why the gap is widening, and what it means for your business.

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Six numbers that define this year's study

27%

of European businesses surveyed now have good digital health, up from 25%

14×

more likely to see AI as critical if they have good vs poor digital health

97%

of good digital health businesses see ROI from AI data insights (vs 45% with poor digital health)

86%

say data sovereignty is now a key procurement factor

52%

of good digital health businesses rate CX innovation as excellent (vs 5% with poor digital health)

of European businesses are fully digital. A decade into the transformation era

Perspectives from the report

“The gap between businesses with good and poor digital health will be one of the defining business stories of the next five years and beyond. Businesses at an early stage of their digital health journey are not just behind — they are falling further behind with each passing month.”

“The AI ROI gap between businesses with good and poor digital health is the defining finding of this year’s study. The question businesses should have been asking is whether they are ready for AI, not whether to invest in it.”

“Data centralisation emerging as a top challenge this year is the clearest signal yet that businesses have been building their digital infrastructure without a blueprint. Fragmentation is the enemy of AI and the enemy of great customer experience.”

“European businesses are now asking vendors hard questions about where their data lives, and they are walking away from vendors who cannot answer clearly. Data trust is the foundation of any lasting vendor relationship.”

Sridhar Iyengar

Managing Director, Europe, Zoho

What you will discover

14× more likely to see AI as critical: businesses with good digital health are already seeing exceptional returns from AI. For those without the right foundations, the same tools are largely failing to deliver and increasingly feared as an existential threat.

52% of businesses with good digital health rate their CX innovation as excellent — versus just 5% of those with poor digital health. Fragmented systems are preventing businesses from seeing customers clearly, responding in real time, and deploying AI effectively.

90% of businesses have experienced issues adopting cloud tools before they were fully ready. A new challenge has entered the top three: the inability to centralise data onto a single platform — now a strategic ceiling, not just an operational inconvenience.

50% of European businesses saw cloud costs rise in the past year — with 17% forced to reduce the quality of service to customers as a result. Businesses with good digital health can see their spending clearly; those without it often cannot.

86% of businesses now say data sovereignty matters in procurement decisions. 75% say they would not want their data stored in another country. Vendors who cannot answer “where does my data live?” are losing deals.

96% of digital leaders say digital tools are important for employee experience — up from 86% in a year. Good digital health creates a virtuous cycle: better tools attract and retain the talent needed to further improve digital foundations.

Find out where your business stands

Download the full 2026 Europe Digital Health Study and benchmark your business against 1,500 leaders across five European markets.

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How good is your digital health? Check your score with our digital health calculator.

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Additional resources

Download report infographic

View press release

1,500

senior decision-makers

European markets

UK, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands

Jan 2026

fieldwork conducted

chapters of findings