How to Avoid the Hidden Costs of Neglecting Technology Training With AI

International spending on digital technology is set to reach $3.4 trillion by 2026. However, 84% of digital transformation projects fail. This means US businesses waste $30 billion on unused software that their team does not or cannot harness.

Of course, neglecting the importance of technology training for your team could cost much more than dollars and cents. It may also decrease productivity, harm customer satisfaction, and reduce team morale, ultimately resulting in devastating business losses.

The good news is that having low technology adoption rates is a treatable issue. Re-establishing the importance of tech training with AI can help facilitate healthy adoption within your business.

This article raises awareness of the often-overlooked financial, productivity, and security risks of underinvesting in technology training. It also explains how AI-powered learning tools are a scalable, cost-effective solution for bridging skill gaps, future-proofing the workforce, and reducing operational inefficiencies.

The True Cost of Overlooking Technology Training

Technology training, also known as adoption training, is a program, course, or onboarding process that helps employees learn to use digital tools. This may be facilitated by change management companies, webinars, e-learning courses, or professional onboarding sessions provided by the software provider.

It may be tempting to overlook technology training in certain circumstances, particularly when the investment is high or the technology appears “intuitive” at first glance. But making these assumptions could lead to swift and negative impacts. It may put your organization “behind the curve,” enabling your competitors to keep pace with or even overtake you in the market.

There are three hidden costs of ignoring technology training.

1. Finances

A whopping one-third of all enterprise software projects go completely unused by businesses, as do 50% of all software licenses, which costs companies up to $45 million per month in unrealized spend and potential.

The waste is even higher for businesses in specific industries, including:

• Education (47%)
• Energy (46%)
• Technology (41%)

2. Productivity

Unused software not only wastes money but can also quickly become a drain on organizational productivity. The extent of this loss is heavily dependent on the industry, department, and role in question. For example:

• If IT teams spend time managing licenses for tools that provide no value, it may slow administrative processes and complicate budget management.​
• Finance departments may struggle with accuracy when allocating large budgets to software solutions that don’t deliver returns.
• Individual users in sales or outbound lead-generation roles may miss opportunities to close leads more efficiently.

These factors ultimately compound, creating frustrating and expensive setbacks for businesses.

3. Security Risks

Poorly managed software stacks are often much more vulnerable to security risks, as unmonitored, underutilized, or undersecured software can lead to compliance issues and costly security incidents. The numbers speak for themselves:

• Approximately 10% of employees drive 73% of a business’s cyber risk. This means a small number of active employees are the least prepared to assess cyber threats.
• Many are unfamiliar with best practices or are unsure just how “at risk” their actions may be.
• In a survey comparing confidence versus knowledge, 60% of those who failed a cybersecurity quiz reported feeling safe from cyber threats.
• Among those who answered every security question wrong, 74% said that they felt protected.

To summarize, your greatest security risks may come from undertrained employees who have insufficient knowledge regarding how to protect your business assets.

Reclaiming Technology Training With AI: Simple, Cost-Effective Methods for Teams

It’s clear that technology training is essential for businesses of any size or growth trajectory. That said, the traditional change management and technology adoption methods pose major challenges for growing brands.

Financially speaking, traditional change management can cost thousands per year, as much as 30% of your operating costs. There’s another layer of challenge when training remote or hybrid workforces. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to keep in-person and out-of-office teams on the same page. Communication gaps or miscommunication can result in major breakdowns that persist for weeks, if not months, without resolution.

Artificial intelligence tools like Baryons AI can help bridge the gap between traditional training and modern workplace needs. They ensure successful technology training in three distinct ways.

Personalized Support

Baryons’ unique Flourishing Partners offer customized support for individual learners. They are also available in various formats to help learners access help whenever it is most convenient for them. This includes:

• Phone calls
• Texting
• Desktop and laptop access

Keep in mind that employees often desire training, with at least 74% wanting to acquire new skills. Providing this through AI tools ensures the seamless adoption of new platforms, software, and programs.

Self-Paced Learning

AI mentors work with employees to solidify their knowledge and comprehension before moving to new skills or concepts. This ensures that no worker feels like they’re getting left behind. Plus, each employee can rest easy knowing that they’ve mastered the basic skills.

Since there’s a personalized learning pathway for each staff member, everyone on your team can learn at their own pace.

Cloud-Based Visibility

Inside Baryons, you can see collective progress in visualized dashboards. These summarize the overarching improvements that your team has made.

Additionally, AI mentors are easy to roll out across hybrid or remote teams and are far less expensive overall, a fraction of the cost of traditional change management processes.

Recouping Technology Training Loss Through Baryons AI

Acquiring an AI mentor through Baryons requires nothing but a simple phone call. There’s no training, setup, or extensive onboarding required. It only takes minutes to get started with a Flourishing Partner.

All you need to do is:

• Sign up at app.baryons.com.
• Fill out information for yourself and your team.
• Have your team and supervisors check in with Baryons immediately.

The AI revolution isn’t just about technology—it’s about people. But your workforce can’t unlock AI's promise without the right tools, training, and support. It’s time to move beyond underused platforms and disconnected decisions. Empower your people, reclaim lost productivity, and create lasting value with AI that works for everyone. Are you ready to bridge the gap between AI potential and real-world performance?