In a context of multiple crises and the increasing vulnerability of digital systems, Cigref, in partnership with the French Institute for Sustainable IT (Institut du Numérique Responsable – INR), has published its latest report: « The low-tech approach serving the digital resilience of organisations: Adaptation strategies in times of fluctuations. » This document explores how the low-tech approach provides both a relevant conceptual framework and an operational lever to enhance the adaptation, strategic autonomy, and technological sovereignty of organisations.
Ce rapport est disponible en français (French version).
Why is Low-Tech Entering the CIO’s Agenda?
Digital technology now accounts for a significant portion of an organisation’s environmental footprint. Beyond the ecological dimension alone, the sector is facing pressures on critical resources and soaring component prices.
The low-tech approach does not advocate for a step backwards; rather, it proposes a design and management philosophy guided by three fundamental principles:
- Accessibility: Ensuring tools are simple, user-friendly for the widest possible audience, and economically viable.
- Utility: Focusing on the essential needs of business units and end-users.
- Sustainability: Promoting robust, repairable solutions that are less resource-intensive.
A Foresight Study Looking Towards 2035-2040
Based on a foresight methodology conducted with the support of Futuribles, this report identifies the most plausible future threats likely to affect organisations and their digital systems. It analyses the strengths and limitations of low-tech principles in the face of these challenges and concludes with recommendations—some operational, others exploratory.
The working group defined three disruption scenarios for the 2035-2040 horizon, selected for their criticality regarding the increased dependence of organisations on digital technologies and their high probability of occurrence:
- Escalation of Global Conflicts: Triggered by a potential invasion of Taiwan by China, leading to major technological supply chain disruptions (semiconductors, critical metals) and exacerbating Europe’s critical multi-dependency.
- Explosive Growth in Digital Usage: Driven by the meteoric rise of generative and agentic AI, necessitating energy and water rationing and leading public authorities to impose usage quotas.
- Intensification of Extreme Climate Events: Causing increasing physical damage to digital and energy infrastructures, thereby directly impacting the continuity of digital services.
The development of these scenarios is supported by a cluster of « weak signals »: semiconductor supply shortages, rising component prices straining IT budgets, large-scale energy shedding or failures, and infrastructure destroyed by climate events leading to temporary business shutdowns. It is clear that these events, once identified as « weak signals, » are already shaping our reality (e.g., Chinese restrictions on essential metals like gallium and germanium; a predicted 40% to 60% surge in RAM prices in 2026; and the blackout in the Iberian Peninsula in April 2025).
A Framework for « Right-Sized Technology »
The report emphasises that low-tech is, above all, an exercise in technological discernment. It is not about opposing « high-tech » with « low-tech, » but about finding the right balance for each specific use case.
This approach addresses several strategic challenges:
- Improved Resilience: Less complex systems are often easier to maintain in operational condition during crises or supply chain disruptions.
- Carbon Footprint Reduction: By extending equipment lifespan and combatting software obsolescence.
- Cost Control: By simplifying architectures and limiting the « drift » of non-essential Cloud or SaaS services.
Towards Operational Implementation
This report offers concrete pathways for integrating low-tech thinking within digital departments:
- Valuing Existing Assets: Prioritising the maintenance and evolution of current systems through in-house expertise rather than systematic replacement.
- Questioning Needs at the Design Stage: Adopting « design-to-cost » and « design-for-environment » approaches.
- Promoting Green Software Engineering: Reducing unnecessary load on infrastructures and devices.
A Call for Cultural Transformation
Adopting low-tech requires a profound evolution of corporate culture toward a more agile and sustainable model, capable of adapting to a constantly fluctuating environment. As the report indicates, the goal is to shift from a logic of performance driven by technological power to a logic of performance driven by robustness and resilience.
