Kyndryl flags rising gap in quantum, data & networks

Kyndryl has published survey findings that highlight a widening gap between where organisations are investing in infrastructure and how prepared they are for emerging security, regulatory and network pressures.

The company's 2025-2026 Security and Networks Snapshot, part of the Kyndryl Readiness Report, is based on responses from 3,700 technology and business leaders in 21 countries. It looks at quantum computing risk, data sovereignty demands, and the state of networks and other core infrastructure.

Kyndryl says the results point to a convergence of three issues that enterprises often run as separate programmes. The data suggests that this separation is creating gaps in controls and planning as regulation tightens and infrastructure refresh cycles come under strain.

Quantum focus

On quantum technologies, 62% of respondents said their organisations are investing. Yet only 4% described quantum as the most impactful near-term technology. Another 20% said they were concerned current investments may not deliver short-term return on investment.

Kyndryl argues that this mismatch between investment activity and perceived near-term impact increases exposure to "harvest now, decrypt later" threats, in which attackers collect encrypted data today and attempt to decrypt it later as computing advances.

Security teams are already dealing with long-lived sensitive datasets such as customer records and intellectual property, which can retain value for many years. The findings suggest planning for post-quantum cryptography is now a board-level priority, rather than a distant research topic.

Sovereignty rules

The research also points to rising pressure from data sovereignty and repatriation requirements. Eighty-four percent of leaders said data sovereignty and repatriation regulations have become more important in the past year.

It also found that 86% of respondents viewed regulatory alignment of cloud providers as increasingly critical. That reflects growing attention to where data resides, who can access it and how it moves across borders, particularly in tightly regulated industries or where national security is a factor.

Kyndryl describes this as a shift in how organisations approach architecture. Instead of treating sovereignty as an add-on to pass compliance checks, leaders are increasingly viewing it as a constraint that shapes system design, vendor selection and operating models.

Ageing networks

The third pressure point is the health of core infrastructure and how ready networks are for future operational and security demands. A quarter of mission-critical networks, storage and servers are already at end-of-service.

At the same time, only 37% of respondents said they believe their network infrastructure is ready for future risks. Another 20% said networks were a primary barrier to scaling recent technology investments.

Network condition affects everything from security monitoring coverage to the reliability of connections between data centres, cloud services and edge environments. It also influences whether organisations can maintain consistent performance for applications that rely on continuous data movement.

Kyndryl links these findings to AI-driven operations, which depend on stable, high-quality data flows across an organisation's systems. It positions network modernisation as an issue that must sit alongside security and architecture choices, rather than as a standalone upgrade programme.

Converging pressures

Kyndryl says enterprises face compounding risk when quantum planning, sovereignty requirements and network upgrades run on separate tracks. That approach can create blind spots, especially where controls depend on assumptions about data location, encryption standards and the resilience of underlying infrastructure.

Paul Savill, Global Practise Leader, Cyber Security & Resiliency, Network & Edge at Kyndryl, said the themes in the snapshot need to be considered together.

"Quantum threats, evolving data sovereignty rules and aging networks are not separate challenges; they are connected pressure points on the same system," Savill said. "In the AI era, organisations engineered for agility, sovereignty awareness and quantum readiness will not only reduce risk, but also build the trust required to fuel innovation."

The snapshot adds to a wider industry debate about how quickly organisations should prepare for post-quantum cryptography while also dealing with regulatory fragmentation and ageing infrastructure estates. Many large enterprises have long refresh cycles for network equipment and core platforms, which can complicate the shift to newer security approaches and updated data governance requirements.

Overall, the survey points to a widening gap between investment decisions and preparedness across core infrastructure in an increasingly complex and regulated global environment.