Since 2024, the digital transformation of French companies is no longer just a strategic choice. Two structural reforms, the European AI Act and mandatory electronic invoicing, are redefining the scope of what “going digital” concretely means. Companies launching or accelerating their digital transition in 2026 must contend with regulatory constraints that did not exist two years ago.
AI Act and digital transformation: compliance as a new starting point
The AI Act, which came into effect in 2024 and fully applicable in 2026, imposes a binding legal framework on any company integrating artificial intelligence systems into its processes.
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Customer service chatbots, commercial scoring tools, automated monitoring systems: these components, often deployed as part of digitalization projects, are now subject to specific obligations. According to Group GAC, companies must document each AI system used, assess its risk level, verify the compliance of their suppliers, and establish internal governance (AI policy, charter, ethics committee).
Organizations like essentium.fr assist companies in navigating the intersection of digital strategy and regulatory framework, a crossroads that many service providers have yet to address head-on.
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In practical terms, a transformation project that incorporates an AI tool without having mapped its obligations under the AI Act faces a real legal risk. Compliance is no longer a topic to be “dealt with later”: it conditions the choice of solutions and the governance of the project from its inception.
Mandatory electronic invoicing: a catalyst for digital transition for SMEs
The other regulatory constraint affecting digitalization projects in France concerns the reform of electronic invoicing. All companies subject to VAT are affected, and the obligation requires invoice formats that allow for automated data processing.
This reform acts as a catalyst. For many SMEs, it represents their first concrete contact with the dematerialization of financial processes. Acelys emphasizes that most companies are not as prepared as they think: document management systems, validation workflows, and interconnections between accounting tools and ERPs need to be rethought.
What the reform really imposes on teams
Beyond the technical tool, internal organization is shaken up. Finance and accounting teams must upskill on standardized digital formats. Validation processes, often manual in mid-sized organizations, now go through dematerialized circuits.
Field feedback varies on this point: some companies absorb the transition in a few months, while others discover technical dependencies between their tools that significantly extend the timeline. The actual state of the information system conditions the duration of the project, much more than the size of the company.
Data governance and cybersecurity in digitalization projects
A digital transformation project mechanically generates an increasing volume of data. The question of their governance arises at two levels: protection (cybersecurity) and compliance (GDPR, AI Act, sector-specific obligations).
- Documenting AI systems and their training data becomes a formal obligation, not an optional good practice.
- Healthcare companies migrating to cloud solutions must verify the SecNumCloud qualification of their hosts, a topic now concerning players like Doctolib or Alan.
- Centralizing customer and supplier data in a single tool (ERP, CRM) exposes the company to an expanded attack surface risk if security is not integrated from the project’s architecture.
Digital transformation pushes companies to balance deployment speed and governance robustness. The right balance depends on the sector, existing digital maturity, and specific regulatory constraints.
Supporting employees: the human factor remains the primary risk of failure
Digital transformation projects predominantly fail for human reasons, not technical ones. Resistance to change, lack of training, and absence of clear communication about project objectives are among the most documented causes.
According to CFO Weekly Briefing, alignment between the CIO and CFO on digital strategy is a prerequisite. When these two departments move forward with divergent priorities, the project fragments.
Upskilling and involvement of teams
Involving employees does not mean organizing an information meeting. Companies that succeed in their digital transition structure upskilling around concrete use cases directly related to the daily work of teams.
- Train finance teams on new electronic invoicing formats before deployment, not after.
- Involve end users in the selection of digital tools to reduce friction in adoption.
- Designate internal liaisons (digital referents) capable of carrying the project beyond the launch phase.
Developing employees’ digital skills is not a peripheral expense item. It is the foundation on which the sustainability of any digitalization project rests.
Companies in France approaching their digital transformation in 2026 face a more constrained context than three years ago. The AI Act, electronic invoicing, cybersecurity requirements: these frameworks do not hinder digitalization, but they impose structuring each project with a rigor that the mere logic of innovation alone could not guarantee. The strongest digital strategy is the one that integrates these constraints from day one.