91% of Financial Services Firms Say Automation Improves Compliance, But Fragmented Execution Leaves Most Far From AI-Ready

New research from Redwood Software reveals an execution gap in data and orchestration slowing the industry's progress toward the autonomous enterprise.  

VIENNA Va., May 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Redwood Software™, the leading orchestration platform for the autonomous enterprise, today released its "State of AI and data pipeline automation in financial services 2026," based on a global survey of 300 financial services professionals, with data collected via panel by independent research firm Leger Opinion.

The research reveals a significant gap between automation adoption and how reliably it executes across systems, limiting the ability to scale AI and emerging agentic capabilities. Three of the top four challenges identified relate specifically to data pipeline and cross-system coordination, not individual process failures. While financial services organizations have broadly adopted automation and invested in centralized platforms, most remain limited to process-level execution. Workflows, data pipelines and system orchestration remain fragmented.

Key findings: 2026 financial services AI, automation and orchestration trends

• 91.4% say automation improves compliance and resilience, but disjointed execution stifles its ability to support AI and agentic operations at scale
• 59.8% cite AI infrastructure as a top investment driver, but 61.4% say their current environments are siloed enough to constrain AI progress
• 3 of the top 4 challenges cited are related to data pipelines and cross-system coordination, not individual process failures
• 50.5% automate more than half of their data transfers, yet manual and inconsistent data movement remains common across critical workflows requiring coordinated execution
• 65.1% say legacy platforms limit their ability to modernize
• 80.4% of organizations report using a centralized automation platform, yet only 18.6% have enterprise-wide orchestration with cross-system visibility
• 62.8% cite cost efficiency as a top driver of automation investment, while over half report high maintenance and infrastructure costs tied to their current environments
• 72.4% remain in mid-stage automation maturity, while only 8.6% have reached fully autonomous operations capable of supporting end-to-end execution
• Redwood customers are 20% less likely to report high labor costs from manual oversight and 25% less likely to cite manual intervention as a key operational challenge

Key takeaways from the research

• AI and agentic readiness are constrained by fragmented data and automation environments: While organizations are aligned on high-value AI use cases, siloed systems and inconsistent data pipelines limit their ability to scale AI effectively.
• Data quality and visibility now drive investment decisions: Organizations prioritize improving data quality and visibility over cost reduction, signaling a shift toward building the foundation required for AI-ready operations.
• The core challenge has shifted from lack of automation to lack of orchestration: Financial institutions have automated individual processes, but struggle to coordinate workflows and data across systems, preventing consistent, end-to-end execution.
• Fragmented data pipelines are the primary barrier to AI at scale: Integration, coordination and visibility challenges dominate, making it difficult for AI to operate with reliable, real-time context.

"AI doesn't deliver value until it's connected to real-world execution," said Charles Crouchman, Chief Product Officer at Redwood. "In most financial services environments, data pipelines, workflows and systems are still fragmented, which makes that difficult. This is the execution gap that separates enterprises running AI pilots from those achieving real autonomous outcomes. A centralized orchestration layer allows organizations to connect existing business logic to agentic frameworks and run those processes reliably at scale."

As AI and agentic adoption accelerate in financial services, the research underscores that consistent, reliable data movement — enabled by orchestration — is the foundation for effective outcomes.

Access the report

The "State of AI and data pipeline automation in financial services 2026" provides detailed benchmarks on automation maturity, coordination models, data movement, cost pressures and AI readiness across financial services organizations. Download the full report here.

About Redwood Software

Redwood Software is the leading orchestration platform for the enterprise, driving business transformation at the lowest total cost of ownership. Redwood empowers organizations to intelligently automate and orchestrate mission-critical business and IT processes across complex ERP, hybrid cloud, data and emerging agentic AI systems. Through its SaaS-first automation fabrics — with AI embedded across the entire automation lifecycle — Redwood accelerates your path to the autonomous enterprise. Backed by 30 years of experience, the trust of more than 50% of the Fortune 50 and a culture of customer obsession, Redwood unleashes the human potential in your enterprise to focus on innovation, growth and what's next. For more information, visit www.redwood.com. Follow Redwood Software on LinkedIn, @Redwood Software.

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Liz Reilly

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SOURCE Redwood Software