42% of companies in Central America and the Dominican Republic cite technology and digital transformation as their main internal challenge for the next three years, according to EY's Challenges and Trends of Companies 2026 study.
42% of companies in Central America and the Dominican Republic identify technology and digital transformation as their main internal challenge for the next three years, according to the Challenges and Trends of Companies 2026 study by EY, which gathered 1,988 responses from executives and directors across more than 18 Latin American countries, with a regional aggregate of 90 responses for Central America and the Dominican Republic. The information, reported by ecosistemastartup.com, places this percentage above other internal concerns.
The global economic scenario worries 24% of respondents, while geopolitical uncertainty is cited by 23%. The gap between these figures and the 42% for digital transformation indicates that technology has ceased to be an issue exclusive to the systems area.
Among external challenges, changes in customer preferences, demand, and behaviour top the list at 33%. This is followed by sector-specific risks (29%), the emergence of new competitors and substitute products (27%), and market share growth and operational improvements (27%).
Regarding the dispute between the United States and China, 50% of executives foresee a neutral effect on their businesses in the short term. 27% anticipate positive or very positive consequences, while 23% expect a negative or very negative impact.
When asked about trends, cybersecurity and data protection lead with 89%, followed by accelerated digital transformation (87%), data as a cross-cutting asset (84%), innovation (82%), and technology-driven productivity (80%).
In terms of specific technologies, artificial intelligence tops expectations at 87%, ahead of Analytics and Big Data (81%) and intelligent automation, robotics, and cyber-physical systems (also 81%).
The bottleneck lies in execution: 81% of companies are in early phases. Among them, 25% are in research and evaluation, 24% in pilot testing, and 32% in specific implementations. The proportion of organisations that have already achieved significant results at scale remains a minority, according to the report.
"The ability to implement will be the decisive factor in turning technology into tangible results," stated Jaime Bonilla, senior manager at EY Parthenon.
Bonilla noted that companies are moving from an agenda focused on optimising existing structures to one aimed at developing capabilities to transform and differentiate themselves.
Other studies reflect a similar pattern. The fourth edition of the State of AI in Latin America report by Hi Ventures indicates that 71% of the corporations surveyed have already adopted artificial intelligence in some team or function, but the depth of use is uneven: 53% of startups are already using agents in production, compared to 30% of corporations, and only 5% of large companies have achieved fully autonomous operation.
The AI readiness index from Hi Ventures shows convergence among countries, with Chile leading at 72.5 points, followed by Argentina (71), Brazil (70.2), Mexico (67.5), and Colombia (53.1). Central America and the Dominican Republic do not appear separately in that ranking.
Globally, the The State of AI 2026 report by McKinsey (QuantumBlack) confirms that 89% of organisations have already adopted AI in at least one business function and that 80% of employees report having gained individual productivity.
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