Energy and Commodities Trading: The 14 Behaviours Driving Successful Digital Transformation

Yet despite record levels of technology investment, successful transformation remains the exception rather than the rule.

According to Gartner, global IT spending exceeded $5.5 trillion in 2025, with more than $1.7 trillion spent on technology services alone. Even using conservative assumptions, industry research suggests that between 50% and 80% of technology-led transformation expenditure fails to generate the intended value. At the lower end of those estimates, more than $226 billion is wasted every year on transformation initiatives that fail to deliver their objectives. When the wider organisational costs of change are included, including the people, operational and management effort that often accounts for as much as 70% of overall transformation expenditure, the total annual cost of unsuccessful transformation rises to more than $900 billion globally.

At the upper end of the estimates, the figure exceeds $2.4 trillion annually.

For technology leaders, these statistics are more than an academic concern. Whether modernising an ETRM platform, building a cloud-based market data architecture, implementing AI-enabled software delivery or replacing decades of accumulated technical debt, the consequences of failure are significant. Delays impact trading operations, increase operational risk and erode confidence among business stakeholders.

Over decades of delivering complex technology and data programmes, a consistent pattern has emerged. Successful transformation initiatives are characterised by the consistent application of 14 core behaviours. When these behaviours are missing, even technically sound initiatives can struggle to create value.

THE 14 BEHAVIOURS DRIVING SUCCESSFUL TRANSFORMATION

1. Frame the Problem in the Right Way

Technology teams are often asked to deliver solutions before the organisation has clearly defined the problem. In trading environments, this frequently manifests as a desire to implement AI, migrate to the cloud or replace an existing platform without fully understanding the business challenge that needs solving.

The most successful programmes begin by establishing a clear understanding of the underlying problem. Is the objective to improve trader productivity, reduce operational risk, increase speed to market, improve data quality or create greater flexibility for future change? Clarity at this stage influences every decision that follows.

2. Match the Team Make-up to the Nature of the Problem

Commodity trading systems sit at the intersection of technology, markets and operations. Success requires more than strong engineering capability.

The most effective teams combine deep domain expertise, technical excellence and strong delivery disciplines. Engineers who understand trading workflows, risk management processes and market data challenges make better decisions and create solutions that are more closely aligned to business needs.

3. Inspect and Adapt

Markets change constantly. Requirements evolve. New information emerges.

Successful teams recognise that transformation is a learning process rather than a linear delivery exercise. Regular review cycles allow programmes to adjust course, improve delivery practices and respond to changing priorities before problems become embedded.

4. Confront Complexity Early

Trading organisations operate within some of the most complex technology ecosystems in any industry. Legacy applications, third-party market data feeds, ETRM platforms, cloud services and regulatory reporting systems create an intricate web of dependencies.

Ignoring complexity does not reduce it. Successful teams identify and address the most difficult dependencies and architectural challenges early, reducing risk throughout the programme lifecycle.

5. Do the Hard Stuff First

Programmes often focus on highly visible, low-risk activities to demonstrate progress.

The challenge is that transformation programmes rarely fail because the easy work was difficult. They fail because critical architectural, integration or organisational issues were left unresolved until late in delivery. The most successful teams tackle the hardest problems first.

6. Surface Value to Stakeholders Early and Continuously

One of the biggest sources of tension between technology teams and trading businesses is a lack of visibility.

Traders, risk managers and operations teams need to see progress, provide feedback and influence priorities throughout delivery. Working software creates far more valuable conversations than project plans or PowerPoint presentations.

7. Road Test End-to-End Pathways to a Full “Done”

Technology leaders often underestimate the complexity of the complete trading lifecycle.

A successful outcome is not simply a functioning application. It is a fully operational process that supports front office, risk, operations, finance and compliance requirements under real-world conditions. Testing must therefore extend beyond individual components to cover the complete end-to-end business journey.

8. Develop a Fault-Tolerant Organisational Culture

Innovation requires experimentation.

Whether implementing AI-enabled software engineering, modernising data platforms or introducing new trading capabilities, some initiatives will not work as expected. Organisations that treat every setback as failure discourage learning and slow progress. The strongest organisations create environments where teams can learn from incremental failures while maintaining focus on long-term success.

9. Create Psychological Safety

Psychological safety remains one of the most overlooked drivers of successful transformation.

When engineers, architects, analysts and business users feel able to challenge assumptions, raise concerns and discuss mistakes openly, programmes move faster and make better decisions. This becomes particularly important when introducing new technologies such as AI, where uncertainty and experimentation are inevitable.

10. Openly and Frequently Celebrate Joint, Incremental Successes

Large-scale transformation programmes can take years to complete.

Recognising progress along the way reinforces positive behaviours, builds momentum and strengthens collaboration between technology and business teams. Small wins compound into larger successes.

11. Control Time

Successful trading organisations understand the value of disciplined execution.

Fixed delivery cycles create focus, encourage prioritisation and improve transparency. By controlling time, teams gain greater control over scope, quality and outcomes.

12. Define What Quality Means for You, Then Measure It

Quality cannot be assumed.

For some trading platforms, quality may mean latency measured in microseconds. For others it may mean resilience, scalability, usability or data accuracy. Successful teams establish clear quality measures and continually validate progress against them.

13. Optimise for One Parameter per Iteration

Every programme is constrained by time, cost, quality and scope.

Attempting to optimise all four simultaneously creates confusion and conflicting priorities. High-performing teams establish a clear objective for each delivery cycle and align their decisions accordingly.

14. Mitigate Risks Wherever You Can

Technology transformation is fundamentally an exercise in managing change.

Risk awareness must be embedded throughout delivery, from architectural decisions and third-party dependencies to operational readiness and user adoption. Successful programmes treat risk management as a daily discipline rather than a periodic governance activity.

Technology Doesn’t Determine Success. Behaviour Does.

As Trading organisations accelerate investment in AI, cloud platforms and modern trading architectures, the ability to execute transformation successfully will become a significant competitive differentiator.

The evidence suggests that technology alone is not the deciding factor.

The organisations that consistently outperform their peers are those that create environments where the right problems are solved,
complexity is confronted early, teams learn continuously and value is delivered incrementally.

The 14 behaviours provide a practical framework for achieving exactly that. They are not theoretical concepts. They are observable characteristics of successful transformation programmes and, increasingly, essential capabilities for technology leaders navigating the next generation of change.

Ian Murrin is Founder and CEO of Digiterre and is co-author of ‘Transform: The 14 Behaviours Driving Successful Transformation in the Age of Gen AI’ by Ian Murrin, Rajesh Jethwa, and Mike Wright.

You can find out more about Transform! here.