Business Technology Roundtable

Has your organization prepared to compete in a world where Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn't just an IT tool, but the new operating system for digital transformation? Based on the findings from a Menlo Ventures market study, it's now clear that Generative AI (GenAI) has moved beyond the realm of experimentation and firmly established itself as a mission-critical imperative for enterprises across industries. The transformative power of this rapidly emerging technology is reshaping digital business strategies, enterprise workflows, and entire sectors at an unprecedented pace. The Numbers Tell a Compelling Story The surge in AI spending is nothing short of remarkable. In 2024, enterprise AI investments skyrocketed to $13.8 billion, a staggering sixfold increase from the $2.3 billion spent in 2023. This dramatic uptick in investment signals a definitive shift from pilot programs to full-scale implementation, with GenAI tools becoming deeply embedded in core business operations. T...

The emergence of Generative AI (GenAI) represents a pivotal moment in business technology evolution, with early enterprise adoption showing promising results according to PwC's latest Global CEO Survey . While much attention has focused on potential future impacts, concrete productivity, and revenue gains are already materializing across industries, suggesting we're at the beginning of a transformative wave in how organizations operate. Current State of Enterprise Adoption The PwC research findings, drawing from 4,701 CEOs worldwide, reveal encouraging early returns from GenAI tools and associated use case investments. Notably, 56 percent of CEOs report that GenAI has improved employee time efficiency, while about one-third have seen increased revenue (32 percent) and profitability (34 percent). These performance metrics, while slightly below initial expectations, demonstrate that organizations are finding practical ways to extract value from the latest technology. Perhaps most...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools evolved and the inevitable outcome has arrived. The emerging Generative AI market demand has rapidly grown from initial hype and pilots to full-blown strategic implementation. The Wharton AI Report for 2024 reveals a nuanced picture of how the leading firms integrate this groundbreaking business technology into their operational frameworks. Key Insights and Market Dynamics The most striking statistic is the surge in generative AI adoption: 72 percent of decision-makers now report using generative AI at least once a week, compared to just 37 percent in 2023. This represents a dramatic shift from curiosity to active experimentation across multiple business functions. Spending has matched this enthusiasm, with generative AI budgets increasing by 130 percent since 2023. However, the growth trajectory is showing signs of stabilization. While 72 percent of respondents plan to increase AI budgets in the next year, a majority (57 percent) anticipate more mod...

The digital business sector is at a pivotal moment, particularly with Generative AI (GenAI) emerging as the most defining value-creation trend of 2024 and beyond. Are you prepared? Bain & Company's latest Technology Report provides a comprehensive look at how AI reshapes the industry landscape, creates new opportunities, and delivers tangible results for enterprises across sectors. As an independent industry analyst and consultant, I find the report's insights on enterprise opportunities with GenAI applications particularly enlightening and compelling. This transformational technology is driving meaningful and substantive business outcomes. It now has the potential to revolutionize how companies operate and compete globally. The Strategic GenAI Imperative Generative AI has moved firmly into the mainstream, with cloud service providers, enterprises, and technology vendors increasing their GenAI investments to unprecedented levels.  However, as with any transformative busine...

We have reached the tipping point for business technology investment. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the economy is a transformative force that executives can no longer ignore. The Stanford HAI's " Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2024 " provides invaluable insights into the economic impact of AI, highlighting both opportunities and challenges that demand strategic action from today's business leaders. The AI Investment Race: America Sprints Ahead The United States has emerged as the undisputed leader in AI investment, outpacing China and the European Union by a substantial margin. In 2023, American companies invested a staggering $67.2 billion in AI, nearly 8.7 times more than China, the next highest investor. This investment surge underscores the immense strategic importance placed on AI by U.S. enterprises, positioning them as frontrunners in the race to harness this game-changing technology. Job Market Dynamics: AI's Transformative Im...

Are you likely to increase your business technology investment next year? If you are, then you're not alone. Worldwide ICT spending is expected to accelerate in 2014, after dipping to its slowest pace of growth since the financial crisis in 2013, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation ( IDC ). Overall business technology spending is on course to increase by 4 percent this year at constant currency, reaching $2.04 trillion -- that's down from last year’s growth of 5 percent, due mainly to the slowdown in key emerging markets including China and Russia. IDC forecasts that in 2014, a rebound in China and continued momentum in the U.S. and Europe will see a return to overall industry growth of more than 5 percent (reaching $2.14 trillion). The Business Technology That Will Drive Growth In fact, almost half of this year’s industry growth is due to continued strength in smartphone and tablet shipments. Excluding mobile phones, IT spending will ...

Are you one of those independent executives that uses strategic foresight to gain a decisive lead over competitors that tend to follow the crowd? Granted, it takes courage to make bold moves -- and follow the path that's less traveled. Big rewards tend to go to the confident, not the cautious. What's your business technology investment strategy for 2013, and beyond?  Does your corporate foresight anticipate success, based upon your ability to deploy quantum-leap technological advances -- like managed cloud services ? According to International Data Corporation ( IDC ), the economic slowdown in China has driven them to lower their expectations for worldwide IT spending growth this year. IDC now forecasts IT spending growth of 4.6 percent in constant currency for 2013. That's down from the previous forecast of 4.9 percent growth and a sharp deceleration from last year's growth of almost 6 percent. Despite the lower forecast, IDC expects IT spending will reach $2 tr...

You may think that the worldwide economic downturn has negatively impacted most CIO's budgets, but so far that hasn't been the case. According to the latest market study by IDC, worldwide IT spending remains on course to grow by 6 percent this year in constant currency, that's only slightly down on last year's pace of 7 percent growth. Strong performance in software, storage, enterprise network and mobile device markets has offset weaker trends in PCs, servers, peripherals and telecom provider equipment. However, the strength of the U.S. dollar in the first half of 2012 means that IT spending is on course for growth of just 4 percent this year. Including telecom services, it's now estimated that total ICT spending will increase by 5 percent this year in constant currency to $3.6 trillion (that's growth of 2.5 percent in U.S. dollars). "In spite of economic uncertainty, which continues to inhibit enterprise investment in some tech segments, the conti...

This week, the world's financial markets have been negatively impacted by continued concerns about the global economic outlook. There has been little good news about the economy lately, particularly regarding the U.S. jobs forecast. That said, enterprise related IT spending has apparently been one positive forward-looking market indicator -- particularly the current and planned use of managed cloud services . According to the latest market study by In-Stat , enterprise business spending on IT and telecom services -- which include cloud computing, wireless, wireline voice, wireline data, and business IP/VoIP -- will move in a positive direction in 2011, increasing by healthy 6 percent. "There will be positive growth across all 20 verticals with education and healthcare & social services leading the surge with growth of 10 percent and 9 percent respectively,” says Greg Potter, analyst at in-Stat. These forecast increases in spending are across all product groups e...

It's the time of year when most business technology market research and consulting companies release their predictions for the new year. In its annual outlook for 2010, IDC predicts the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) spending and growth in the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region will reach $184 billion -- with a 7.7% growth over this year. IDC predicts most growth will come from India and China, although all countries are expected to experience varying degrees of growth. "While budgets are still tight, and the buying patterns may have changed irrevocably from what the ICT industry has been accustomed to, the fact remains that there is cautious optimism in the market with some interesting pockets of surprising growth," said Simon Piff, Head of IDC's Asia-Pacific Predictions Committee for 2010. The net result of the economic slowdown has been an overarching change in how and why companies make new business technology investments. Proven Technol...

As 2009 comes to a close, a recent editorial in CIO magazine sums-up a nagging issue -- "Despite the emergence of improved IT management tools over the past decade, CIOs continue to grapple with the same IT challenges they dealt with five and even 10 years ago. Which can make a CEO wonder: when are we going to get there?" Forrester Research believes that CIOs have typically run "the tech factory" for their firms -- responding to business needs with solutions and operations from both internal and external sources. These IT leaders have pursued operational maturity to optimize solution delivery. Forrester says that CIOs won't ever get away from delivering on operational maturity. But as technology becomes pervasive -- more stable, standardized, and available as a business-centric service -- it's inevitable that business executives will take greater direct control over technology investment decisions. Forrester calls this evolutionary transition the shift from...

New studies demonstrate the pros and cons of Business Technology deployments, especially as they relate to IT investment strategies. First, the downside: in a recent study of IT management excellence, the results showed the continuing disconnect between finance and IT roles, and the value each one brings to the organization. As the report states: "The lack of alignment within organizations is exacerbated by a lack of awareness on the part of both IT and finance about their own contributions to the problem. Nearly one-quarter of the respondents report that discord between IT, business, and finance is a frequent occurrence when making IT investments." Why Clear IT Processes Matter Lack of alignment is triggering a bigger cascade of problems relating to IT investment. For instance, sometimes companies excuse their lack of IT investment due to limited budget and resources. In reality, "companies are unsure how to define or implement management processes, therefore they are u...