How effective was your project delivery success rate in 2025?

Delivering IT projects remains challenging, and as we enter 2026, organisations face familiar hurdles alongside new pressures: tighter budgets, hybrid work models, and rising expectations for speed and resilience. Despite these challenges, IT transformation continues to be a priority for driving business growth.

Empowered has outlined the critical areas to focus on in 2026 to help you deliver successful IT programmes:

Scope Creep

Scope creep is still one of the biggest risks. In 2026, with projects spanning multiple platforms and vendors, it’s even easier for scope to expand unnoticed.

Solution:

• Implement rigorous change control processes.
• Use incremental delivery models to keep stakeholders aligned and reduce surprises.
• Regularly revisit scope during sprint reviews or milestone checkpoints.

Resource Allocation

Skills shortages and budget constraints continue to impact delivery timelines.

Solution:

• Plan resource allocation early and realistically.
• Build flexibility into your resourcing strategy by leveraging specialist partners for niche skills.
• Invest in cross-training existing teams to reduce dependency on single points of failure.

Communication

Hybrid and distributed teams make communication harder than ever. Misalignment can lead to delays and frustration.

Solution:

• Establish clear communication protocols from day one.
• Use collaborative platforms for real-time updates and decision tracking.
• Schedule regular stakeholder engagement sessions to maintain transparency.

Technical Complexity

Projects now involve integrating cloud, legacy systems, and emerging technologies, increasing complexity.

Solution:

• Conduct early technical feasibility assessments during planning.
• Engage technical design authorities and specialist vendors early in the process.
• Document integration points thoroughly to avoid surprises during delivery.

Change Management

Resistance to change remains a major barrier to adoption.

Solution:

• Develop a structured change management plan that includes stakeholder mapping and impact analysis.
• Communicate benefits clearly and often.
• Provide training and support to ease the transition for end-users.

The Importance of the PoC Phase

The Proof of Concept (PoC) phase is still critical in 2026. With complex integrations and evolving compliance requirements, PoCs help validate assumptions before full-scale deployment.

Best Practices:

• Test for scalability, interoperability, and performance under realistic conditions.
• Use PoC findings to refine scope and secure stakeholder buy-in.
• Ensure compliance and security checks are part of PoC validation.

From PoC to Delivery: Key Success Factors

• Thorough Validation: Confirm PoC results meet technical and business criteria.
• Clear Goals & Timelines: Define scope, milestones, and success metrics upfront.
• Strong Teams: Blend internal expertise with external specialists where needed.
• Transparent Communication: Maintain visibility through dashboards and regular updates.
• Continuous Monitoring: Track progress against milestones and adjust proactively.

Tony Everson, Managing Director, Empowered commented: “In 2026, IT programme delivery comes with familiar challenges: scope creep, resource constraints, technical complexity, and change management. Our proven approach ensures projects stay on track by managing scope rigorously, aligning resources effectively, and maintaining clear communication throughout every phase. From validating assumptions in the Proof of Concept stage to delivering complex network and IT infrastructure projects on time and within budget, we work hand-in-hand with partners to remove complexity, reduce risk, and deliver transformation with confidence. Our goal is simple: to help partners strengthen their brand and achieve outstanding outcomes for their customers.”

Empowered’s World Class Service Delivery

Empowered’s reputation has been built on its ability to consistently deliver its service outcomes, to complete customer satisfaction every time.

Our proven approach to delivering IT consultancy combines our experience working closely with customers to fully understand their objectives today and tomorrow, along with our ability to drive the outcome and deliver complex network and IT infrastructure projects on time and within budget.

In 2026, we are looking forward to supporting our partners in transforming their customer’s infrastructure and bringing our expertise to support their brand with successful delivery.

You can learn more about our project capabilities here: https://www.empowereduk.com/it-professional-services or contact our sales team at [email protected].