Software Improvement Group publishes new energy-focused report on the AI boardroom gap
New SIG research shows that the surge in AI is pushing software quality, governance, and security onto energy boardroom risk agendas.
AMSTERDAM – 24 February 2026 – Software Improvement Group (SIG) has published ‘The AI Boardroom Gap in Energy 2026′, a new report that examines why AI expectations in the energy sector are outpacing operational readiness, and what boards must do to regain control.
AI is rapidly reshaping the energy industry, from grid optimisation and predictive maintenance to renewable forecasting and control-room operations. Yet SIG’s research shows that while ambition is high, the software foundations needed to scale AI safely and reliably are often missing.
Today, 88% of organisations globally now use AI but at enterprise scale most remain stuck in experimentation. In energy specifically, SIG’s new report highlights that just 1% of organisations have reached the highest level of responsible AI maturity, despite the sector’s dependence on reliable, secure software for operational continuity.
“In energy, AI is turning up the speed and the stakes. Software decisions increasingly shape reliability, security, and operational continuity, yet leadership often has limited visibility into what systems exist, how they behave, and where the risks sit.” says Luc Brandts, CEO of Software Improvement Group.
“What the enterprise needs in 2026 is a clear and unified view of the IT landscape, with measurable KPIs that leaders can question, and act on. With the clarity that comes with continuous software portfolio governance, organisations don’t just react to AI’s pace; they can steer it with strategic control.”
Software is now critical infrastructure
The report highlights that most AI challenges in the energy sector are driven not by technology, but by weak software governance, uneven engineering practices, and limited board-level visibility.
Key findings
AI is present, but not dominant in IT landscapes: From all production systems SIG analysed in 2025, only ~1.5% qualify as AI systems, indicating that large-scale, business-critical AI adoption is still in its early stages.
Quality is a major concern: 72% of AI systems score below SIG’s recommended build-quality threshold, raising risks for maintainability, resilience, and regulatory compliance in safety-critical environments.
AI-assisted coding delivers mixed results: Productivity outcomes range from a 19% slowdown to a 26% speed-up, depending on context and controls. In SIG experiments, AI-generated code showed roughly double the security risk violations compared to comparable human-written projects.
Security risks are amplified, not replaced: AI introduces new attack surfaces through data, models, prompts, and external dependencies. SIG’s research shows many energy systems already sit at or below industry-average security benchmarks, making uncontrolled AI adoption a material cyber and operational risk.
Governance gaps widen as regulation fragments
The report also maps the increasingly complex regulatory landscape facing energy operators. With divergent approaches across the EU, US, UK, and APAC, and AI used in electricity, gas, heating, and water classified as high-risk in the EU, boards must adopt proactive, flexible governance models that work across jurisdictions.
SIG emphasises that international standards are emerging as a shared language to bridge these gaps, enabling organisations to demonstrate control over how AI systems are built, deployed, monitored, and corrected.
Why it matters now
As AI moves from experimentation into core energy operations, the cost of misalignment between business, IT, and risk teams grows rapidly. SIG’s report concludes that designed speed, innovation with guardrails, is now a board responsibility. Organisations that invest in software portfolio governance, measurable quality metrics, and shared visibility are better positioned to turn AI into reliable performance gains, rather than operational surprises.
Download the full report here: The AI Boardroom Gap in Energy: Global insights to close the gap between AI ambition and operational reality in 2026
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About Software Improvement Group
Software Improvement Group (SIG) empowers organizations to govern the software their business runs on. Through complete portfolio analysis and tailored strategic advice, SIG helps companies embrace AI with control, improve software quality and security by focusing strategic efforts across people, process, and technology.
Sigrid® its software portfolio governance platform analyzes over 400 billion lines of code across more than 30,000 systems and 300+ technologies, offering evidence-based insights to help organizations prioritize and manage their most critical IT initiatives.
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Amsterdam, SIG has offices in New York, Copenhagen, Brussels, and Frankfurt. The company complies with leading ISO/IEC standards, including 27001 and 17025, and co-developed ISO/IEC 5338 the new global standard for AI lifecycle management.
Combining expert consulting with over 25 years of industry-leading research, SIG is the global authority on continuous software portfolio governance.
For more information, please visit Software Improvement Group‘s website or social media channels.
