AUSTIN, Texas, June 28, 2024 — Soft Serveis a leading IT consulting and digital services provider. Latest Research An assessment of the current use of Generative AI (Gen AI) in enterprises worldwide, commissioned by research and consulting firm Forrester Consulting.
More than 18 months after the launch of ChatGPT, and with Gen AI products, solutions and services increasingly available, the survey revealed that businesses are still not reaping the value that executives had hoped, with only 22% of organizations reporting they are using the technology effectively across all business functions.
According to a global survey of 777 technology buying decision makers involved in Gen AI use in their organizations, enthusiasm for Gen AI continues to grow unabated, though not as fast as expected. Responses show that organizations continue to invest and pursue more use cases in search of those that will have the greatest impact, while at the same time struggling with in-house data preparation, governance, and skills development.
Key findings include:
- More than half of decision makers say their companies have set business goals for using Gen AI, but more than 79% are concerned about whether their organization can execute on those goals with their current level of in-house or external expertise.
- Despite over 75% experiencing challenges with Gen AI skills readiness, organizations continue to pile on the use cases, with most having implemented at least three use cases and expanding their use of two more, including plans to pilot at least one more use case within the next 12-18 months.
- While just 51% of Leaders are very confident that their current strategies will enable them to realize the greatest Gen AI value from future use cases, 77% are concerned about their organization’s ability to realize business value in the near or long term.
- Only 42% of organizations have the capability to train Gen AI models, and a staggering 89% have difficulty preparing their business data for use with Gen AI.
- Despite 90% agreeing that having a governance plan in place is essential to the responsible use of Gen AI and mitigating risks, less than a quarter (24%) have a governance plan in place.
“The Gen AI race has gotten off to a fast start, but many efforts are stalling at the pilot stage as many organizations realize their data infrastructure isn't ready to properly deploy Gen AI technologies beyond proof-of-concept,” said Alex Chubay, CTO at SoftServe. “Skill and knowledge gaps around emerging Gen AI technologies, technical feasibility, and data readiness are preventing companies from moving from tactical wins in pilot mode to full-scale adoption that enables new business capabilities and experiences. Making a qualitative leap to the next level requires a holistic approach to align business priorities, use cases, and data across the technology ecosystem, from initial strategy to final execution.”
The gap between expectations and reality
Respondents agree that data is paramount to an effective Gen AI strategy, yet only 3% say their organization's models make full use of six or more types of business data (operational, customer, employee, source code, public and partner data), double the average of respondents who use three types of data. Additionally, a technical skills gap persists, with 88% saying deeper technical expertise is increasingly important for data integration, model optimization, use case development and further application development.
Significant external expertise required
Despite the plethora of use cases, 80% of decision-makers claim that their employees currently struggle to recognize use cases and generally understand the complexities of Gen AI, and 90% say their organizations need partners with more advanced technical capabilities to see transformative value in future use cases.
According to the survey, businesses are looking for partners with rapid adoption support (89%) and deep industry understanding (88%) to assist with execution and implementation.
Notable trends in Gen AI results
The survey revealed that organizations getting the most value from Gen AI are prioritizing data, governance and skills development with the support of technology partners and experts. Of the four countries surveyed, the United States led the way in unlocking the value of Gen AI, followed by the UK, Singapore and Germany.
By industry, retail is the most likely to realize the value of Gen AI and train their organization's models on their own data, while FSI (Financial Services and Insurance) reported being more likely to face challenges before realizing the benefits of Gen AI. FSI leaders also reported announcing fewer governance plans than retail and other industries. Companies across healthcare, life sciences, oil and gas, manufacturing, ISVs, and enterprise technology were evenly spread in achieving value from Gen AI. Large enterprises with revenues over $5 billion are also less likely to demonstrate success with Gen AI due to the challenges of marshalling the necessary capabilities across extensive hardware, software, and infrastructure environments.
For more detailed data and insights from the study, see SoftServe's full study. This link.
About Soft Serve
SoftServe is a leading IT Consulting and Digital Services provider. We are expanding the realm of new technologies to solve today's complex business challenges and achieve meaningful outcomes for our clients. Our boundless curiosity drives us to explore and reimagine the art of the possible. Clients trust SoftServe to design and execute mature, innovative capabilities in Digital Engineering, Data & Analytics, Cloud, AI/ML, and more.
Source: Softserve
