Amsterdam, Oct. 6, 2023 - A new report from MIT Technology Review Insights, produced in partnership with Databricks, reveals the powerful opportunities for business growth with data and AI.
- 81% of executives expect major efficiency gains thanks to AI
- 46% increase their AI budgets for next year by more than 25%
For the report, "Laying the foundation for data- and AI-led growth," 600 global CIOs, CTOs, CDOs and other tech executives working for large public and private organizations were surveyed. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with executives. Participants in the survey include ADP, Condé Nast, Databricks, Dell Technologies, General Motors, Starbucks, Razorpay, Regeneron Genetics Center and the Transportation Security Administration.
Key findings:
- The adoption of AI leads to a transformative effect in the short term.
A majority - 81% - of respondents expect AI to increase efficiency in their industry by at least 25% in the next two years. A third say efficiency gains will be as much as at least 50%.
- CIOs are investing substantially more in data and AI.
Because of tougher competition and unprecedented speed of innovation, the use of data and AI should deliver more business growth than ever before. Executives in tech are therefore increasing their investments: every organization surveyed is investing more in AI implementation and modernizing their data infrastructure in the coming year. For nearly half (46%), that budget is increasing by more than 25%.
- Democratization of AI comes with governance challenges.
As more and more of their teams use generative AI, governance is needed that can ensure the necessary quality, integrity, security as well as privacy protection of enterprise data. 60% label such a governance model for data and AI as "very important."
- Flexible strategies for deploying generative AI are preferred.
The survey found that 88% of organizations use generative AI, with 26% investing in it and implementing the technology, and another 62% experimenting with it. The majority (58%) take a hybrid approach to developing generative AI capabilities. In doing so, they use vendors' language models (LLMs) for certain activities, but build their own models when there are more stringent requirements for intellectual property, privacy, security and accuracy of AI output. - Talent and skills shortages overshadow other data and AI challenges.
According to a large proportion of respondents (39%), more should invest in talent and upskilling to improve their data strategy. An even greater proportion (72%) believe it is "very important" to encourage innovation to attract and retain talent. Research in the EMEA region reveals a similar picture, with 41% indicating that training and upskilling are two of the biggest stumbling blocks to overcome. - Executives in the EMEA region are not worried about jobs disappearing. For only 14% of CIOs in the EMEA region is the (potential) loss of jobs a top concern. Instead, they (like executives in the rest of the world) are more concerned about privacy and security (52%), compliance (40%), and transparency and accountability (34%).
- In the era of generative AI, the lakehouse is the most desired data architecture. Nearly three-quarters of surveyed organizations have implemented a lakehouse architecture, and nearly all others expect to do so in the next three years. Respondents say they need their data architecture to support streaming data workloads for real-time analytics ("very important" for 72% of respondents), easy integration of emerging technologies (66%) and sharing live data across platforms (64%). 99% of lakehouse users say this architecture helps them achieve their data and AI goals, and 74% experience "significant" benefits.
"Our report highlights the commitment of C-level executives to stay the course toward a transformative future where data and AI are central to innovation," said Laurel Ruma, global director of custom content at MIT Technology Review. "Strategic investments, consolidation pathways and a focus on governance and democratization of AI are not just choices; they are critical to business success."
"This research indicates that investment in generative AI is no longer optional for business success - and this is clearly recognized by leaders around the world," said Samuel Bonamigo, SVP and GM EMEA at Databricks. "In EMEA in particular, we are not only seeing increasing adoption of lakehouses in general, but also a high level of optimism about AI among leaders. For example, 63% of CIOs in EMEA are "very optimistic" about the business value AI promises to bring within two years. 88% of organizations are investing in implementing generative AI. And there is no sign that this trend is losing momentum."
The full research report can be downloaded here
About MIT Technology Review Insights
MIT Technology Review Insights is a publishing division of MIT Technology Review, the world's longest-running technology magazine. Supported by the world's leading technology institute, it produces events and research on today's leading technology and business challenges. Insights conducts qualitative and quantitative research and analysis worldwide and publishes a wide variety of content, including articles, reports, infographics, videos and podcasts. In addition, Insights has unparalleled access to senior executives, innovators and entrepreneurs around the world for surveys and in-depth interviews through its growing MIT Technology Review Global Insights Panel.
About Databricks
Databricks is the data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations, including Comcast, Condé Nast and over 50% of the Fortune 500, rely on Databricks' open and integrated platform for data engineering, machine learning and analytics. Headquartered in San Francisco, with locations around the world - including Amsterdam. Databricks was founded by the founders of Apache Spark, Delta Lake and MLflow with a mission to help data teams solve the most complex problems. Follow Databricks on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook or visit www.databricks.com for more information.
