Poor Software Quality Costs Companies Millions

Tricentis Quality Transformation Report Poor Software Quality Costs Companies Millions

2026-06-08 From Ira Zahorsky Ira Zahorsky | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

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The massive use of artificial intelligence in software development leads to a risky imbalance between delivery speed and software quality. Those who knowingly accept untested code risk significant financial losses.

Under management pressure, the rapid release of software often outweighs its quality.(Image: Dall-E / AI-generated) — Under management pressure, the rapid release of software often outweighs its quality.
(Image: Dall-E / AI-generated)

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is significantly accelerating software development, and 76 percent of German companies (82% worldwide) feel ready to implement AI agents. However, as companies—even in critical sectors—often prioritize speed over quality, trust suffers and financial risks increase, according to the Quality Transformation Report by Tricentis. In Germany, nearly one in three companies (20% worldwide) loses more than one million US dollars annually due to resulting security breaches, technical debt, high maintenance costs, and customer churn. The cause of these problems is the "immense pressure from management for faster delivery," according to the survey results. But how do the errors arise?

Speed vs. Quality

Increasing complexity and growing code volume lead to new risks, as there is insufficient time for comprehensive code testing due to the high release pressure. Nearly 70 percent of German companies (60% worldwide) deploy code into production without testing it beforehand. According to the study, the financial sector (64%), retail (63%), and the energy industry (58%) are most affected. In addition to rapid code growth (28%), tool sprawl (33%), lack of expertise (33%), and missing quality metrics (26%) are among the biggest challenges.

Different AI Perception

The pressure from management also arises from the discrepancy in AI perception: 81 percent of executives trust the systems, while only 56 percent of developers do. Additionally, 44 percent of managers perceive organizational maturity as significantly higher than practical users (24 percent).

When quality processes fail to keep pace with development speed, companies often take shortcuts that measurably undermine trust in software quality.

Kevin Thompson, Tricentis-CEO

"Accelerating business transformation initiatives is a top priority at the C-level," comments Kevin Thompson, CEO of Tricentis. "AI has the potential to drive software development teams faster than ever before. However, with higher speed comes increased risk. When quality processes fail to keep pace with the development speed, companies often take shortcuts that measurably undermine trust in software quality. Our study highlights the growing pressure on teams to balance speed, quality, and control in software development. As risks such as financial losses and the erosion of customer trust become increasingly visible and measurable, software quality can no longer be treated as a purely engineering issue. It must be a matter for top management."

Specifically, the CEO recommends "scaling speed and control together" as well as "maintaining trust, control, and quality assurance in AI releases on a large scale."

About the Tricentis Quality Transformation Report

The 2nd annual Tricentis Quality Transformation Report 2026 is based on a survey of more than 2,500 executives and industry experts worldwide—including CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, engineering VPs, as well as leaders in DevOps, Quality Assurance, and software development.
The respondents come from Germany (250 participants), Ireland, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Industry sectors represented include manufacturing, energy and utilities, retail, financial services, and the public sector.

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