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AI Value Realization Is Driving a New Phase of Cloud Modernization for Canadian Organizations

CDW
  • CDW Canada released its 2026 State of Digital Infrastructure & AI in Canada Report, based on research by IDC surveying 700 senior leaders.
  • AI adoption is maturing in Canada with 77% using copilots, 60% using generative AI, & 31% testing agentic AI.
  • 85% of organizations prefer purchasing or adapting AI solutions rather than building models from scratch.
  • AI investment is driving cloud modernization, with 64% modernizing applications & infrastructure & 59% accelerating cloud adoption.
  • Scalability is the top data architecture improvement required to support AI, cited by 63% of respondents.
  • Hybrid cloud is the preferred operating model for 63% of Canadian organizations to balance performance, cost, security, & compliance.
  • Medium-sized organizations favor hybrid strategies for cost control, while large organizations often utilize multicloud environments for differentiated capabilities.
  • Key investment areas include real-time management (63%), AI automation (51%), & cloud orchestration (36%).
  • Cybersecurity remains the top concern (62%) & leading priority for futureproofing (69%) despite 57% rating infrastructure as sufficiently resilient.
  • Data fragmentation (54%) & data security (56%) are the leading challenges in data management capabilities.
  • 72% of organizations are pursuing sovereign cloud adoption to address privacy regulations like Quebec's Law 25.
  • 27% of large organizations already use Canadian cloud providers, with another 24% planning to shift within the year.
  • 34% of respondents are balancing global cloud scale with sovereign controls such as keeping data in Canada & holding their own encryption keys.
  • Success metrics are shifting from technology access to the ability to operationalize AI & generate measurable business value.