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ARTICLE · 09 JULY 2026

Technology Report 2026 – Return On Investment: The Key Commercial Question

William Fry LLP
William Fry LLP
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William Fry LLP

William Fry LLP

William Fry advises leading Irish and international companies, covering both the public and private...

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Irish organisations face mounting challenges in demonstrating measurable returns from their AI investments, with 69% of larger companies actively concerned about ROI and only 11% reporting positive results to date. As new EU regulations including the AI Act, DORA, NIS 2, and the Data Act introduce stringent requirements, many are forced to revisit first-generation AI contracts that inadequately addressed risk allocation and return metrics.

IrelandTechnology

We are delighted to share the third edition of the William Fry Technology Report.

69% of larger Irish organisations remain actively concerned about extracting measurable return from the AI solutions they have already procured, and only 11% report a positive return to date.

The issue is compounded by first-generation AI contracts that transferred risk to the buyer while leaving the return question undefined, and which many organisations are now revisiting as the EU AI Act, DORA, NIS 2, and the Data Act introduce requirements those contracts do not adequately address.

Dr. Barry Scannell, Partner in our Technology group, examines what renegotiation looks like in practice, the five principal barriers to scaling AI identified in this year’s survey, and how the economics of AI contracts are beginning to shift in favour of buyers prepared to negotiate.

Explore ‘Return on Investment: The Key Commercial Question‘below, or read our full report here.

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