An independent survey from TEKenable of 700 executives revealed that 61% of top executives say digital transformation is a top priority but making it work isn’t always easy due to lack of understanding of Business Transformation, committed leadership, a supportive organisational culture and strong employee engagement and development.
Medium-sized organisations (201-500 employees) made up 24% of the sample and cited that business transformation was Very Important to their business, with the main drivers being equally split between regulatory changes and internal strategic goals (75%).
Smaller organisations (1-50 employees) made up 47% of the sample, and they were found to be less likely to use AI. When using it, they did so with a focus on cost reduction (24%) and customer experience (59%).
71% of all respondents felt that Business Transformation was Very Important and listed these top drivers as reasons:
Technical advancements 25%
Internal strategic goals 25%
Regulatory changes 20%
Customer demand 16%
“Our survey showed that managers consistently rated business transformation as very important (75%) and exhibited high confidence in achieving transformation goals, with half reporting they were ‘very confident’,” explains Peter Rose, Group CIO, TEKenable.
60% of AI users were from either C-suite or director roles and AI was most commonly used for customer insights, analytics, and predictive maintenance.
Finance and technology respondents (41% combined) were more likely to report AI usage and prioritised innovation (47%) and data-driven decision-making (29%).
Industries such as energy, government, insurance, NGOs and logistics (grouped as ‘other’) showed moderate AI adoption with a strong focus on legacy system updates (41%) and application security (41%).
Only 29% of respondents are currently using AI in their organisations.
Respondents show cautious optimism around the usage of AI. They are showing interest and recognise the value, however, adoption is limited due to practical challenges.
“It is our experience that many of the responding companies’ staff are probably using AI tools and services in their day-to-day business without approval from, or the knowledge of, their employer. Hence, the company is using AI but not in a governed manner. This is a risk and a missed opportunity.” concludes Peter. “Business transformation using AI and Data is not about adopting new technologies; it’s about fundamentally changing the way companies operate, from how they interact with customers to how they manage their supply chain.”