11% of CIOs Fully Implement AI Amid Data, Security Concerns

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

A new report from Salesforce has revealed that only 11 per cent of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) have fully implemented Artificial Intelligence.

In the survey conducted by the firm, the main reasons for the full adoption of this technology are data and security concerns.

“Generative AI is one of the most transformative technologies of this century.

“This research gives a glimpse at the foundations that CIOs across industries and geographies are laying in preparation for the rollout of truly transformational AI,” the CIO of Salesforce, Mr Juan Perez, stated,

“The adoption of mass market generative AI tools by workers is ushering in a new era of shadow AI that highlights the urgency of implementing trusted tools,” he added.

Business Post gathered that Salesforce sampled the views of 150 verified CIOs of companies with 1,000 or more employees.

The study offered a snapshot of the state of enterprise AI, along with the hurdles ahead that must be addressed as organisation pursue their AI strategies and ramp up their adoption of agents.

From the research, it was observed that about 61 per cent of CIOs feel they’re expected to know more about AI than they do, and their peers at other companies are their top sources of information, as 84 per cent believe the technology will be as significant to businesses as the internet, though 67 per cent are taking a more cautious approach compared to other technologies.

In addition, the CIOs report spending a median of 20 per cent of their budgets on data infrastructure and management compared with 5 per cent on AI, as security or privacy threats and a lack of trusted data rank as their biggest AI fears.

Further, 66 per cent believe they’ll see a return on investment (ROI) from AI investments, but 68 per cent believe their line-of-business stakeholders have unreasonable expectations for when that ROI will occur.

While functions like customer service are seen as having the most AI use cases, they may be perceived as being the least prepared for the technology, the survey revealed.

The report showed that some CIOs are finding that this mismatch between AI business value, enthusiasm, and readiness requires a more surgical approach to the technology’s implementation across the enterprise.

“Leaders have a unique opportunity to showcase AI across their enterprises and to demonstrate to sceptical employees that AI can help — not hinder — their work.

“Effective enablement is critical to empower those employees with the necessary skills, tools, and guidelines to drive tangible value so their organisations can begin to trust AI and believe in the power it delivers,” the General Manager of Salesforce Industries, Mr Jeff Amann, noted.