How Pega used B2B executive insights to close the AI confidence gap

NewtonX helped Pega reach 177 enterprise leaders to move the market conversation from theoretical promises to operational reality.

The cynicism wall: Why the C-suite stopped listening to vendors

Pega supports the world’s largest organizations through massive infrastructure transformations. However, this executive audience is notoriously weary of AI-first marketing and empty vendor promises. They don’t want to be sold to; they want to know how their peers are navigating the same legacy complexity.

For Pega, explaining its technology wasn’t the challenge. The true challenge was overcoming the inertia of “good enough.” It needed to move beyond the marketing deck and produce a strategic reality check that carried the weight of industry truth. 

Across the broader B2B landscape, nearly every enterprise is experimenting with AI—but most organizations struggle to scale AI beyond pilot projects because their operating models, processes, and decision-making still lag behind their ambitions.

A mirror for the market: Creating a peer-backed benchmark

Pega aimed to develop a strategic tool—a research-backed benchmark and roadmap—that created urgency by reflecting the market’s actual state. They needed to move the conversation from theoretical AI benefits to the ‘Confidence Gap’—the stark reality that while 72% of leaders report a growing urgency to transform, only 28% feel confident in their current path.

By identifying the specific psychological and technical hurdles that cause large-scale deals to stall, Pega aimed to reposition its offering. The goal was to pivot from being seen as another software vendor to being the essential navigator for change management, addressing the human friction and cultural resistance that code alone cannot solve. The research revealed that 45% of frontline employees and 41% of business leaders resist the shift to autonomy, primarily because uncertainty creates fear and fear creates inertia.

Direct lines to leadership: Capturing the architects of change

To build a truly authoritative benchmark, NewtonX conducted a quantitative study of 177 enterprise business leaders across North America and Europe. Instead of relying on recycled B2B panels or secondary research, Pega partnered with NewtonX to run primary market research with fully verified survey respondents. These were the decision-makers responsible for the world’s most complex workflows: individuals who deal daily with the tension between innovation and legacy stability.

Each participant was verified through a rigorous identity-confirmation process to ensure the data carried the prestige required for Pega’s C-suite audience. This high-fidelity approach allowed Pega to present its findings not as a survey, but as a definitive map of the enterprise transition from manual work to true autonomy.

The great divide: Insights into the operational gap

When asked “Where would you place your organization on the journey to becoming an Autonomous Enterprise?”, the results were sobering: only 5% of enterprises reported reaching true autonomy where work is optimized in real-time. The vast majority (95%) are still “circling the base” or plateaued in the “Automated” (40%) and “Managed” (30%) stages.

This gap is maintained by specific “thorns” in the trail: 59% of leaders are still burdened by technical debt, 62% cite integration complexity as a major barrier, and 49% are slowed by regulatory or compliance concerns. These insights proved that the delay isn’t just about a lack of tools, but a struggle to untangle years of legacy complexity.

From internal data to public headlines: Powering the autonomous campaign

Pega released a strategic insights report to serve as the empirical backbone for its global Autonomous Enterprise campaign. The research provided the critical narrative hook—that while urgency is high, only 5% of enterprises have broken through to true autonomy. This moved the strategy from research to revenue by publicly defining a new maturity model—proving that “Orchestrated Intelligence” isn’t a buzzword, but the only verified path out of pilot purgatory.

This reality check gave Pega’s go-to-market teams a powerful wedge. Sales reps could now challenge prospects on their actual readiness using the Confidence Gap as an objective benchmark rather than a subjective sales opinion.

Most importantly, the data paved the way for Pega’s Blueprint technology. The research validated that while leaders feel urgent pressure, they lack a plan. Pega positioned Blueprint as the specific answer to that anxiety—the necessary bridge for the 95% of enterprises currently stuck circling the base.

The final word: Turning skepticism into strategic momentum

By partnering with NewtonX, Pega replaced vendor-led speculation with a verified industry reality that speaks directly to the concerns of its target market. This data-driven approach has allowed Pega to lead the conversation on enterprise readiness, transforming cynical prospects into motivated partners ready for the next move. 

If your organization needs to pierce through market noise with insights that command executive attention, the path forward starts with the truth.

Connect with NewtonX to see how we can build your next high-authority research project and arm your team with verified data that drives confident decisions.