Why Are Organizations Struggling to Keep Up With AI Advances?
Organizations cite lack of the right talent, data privacy and cybersecurity concerns, and budget as challenges they face in driving innovation, finds new report.
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[Image source: Krishna Prasad/MITSMR Middle East]
There is broad optimism that AI and GenAI will transform industries significantly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Still, the extent to which organizations are prepared for the rapid pace of change varies greatly, according to the Dell Technologies Innovation Catalyst Research.
Ninety percent in the UAE and a similar percent in Saudi Arabia say they are well positioned competitively and have a solid strategy, but nearly eight in ten report struggling to keep pace. They cite the lack of the right talent, data privacy and cybersecurity concerns, and budget as challenges they face in driving innovation.
Respondents from the UAE and Saudi Arabia cite GenAI’s transformative or significant potential to deliver value in improving IT security posture, productivity gains, and customer experience.
They are also aware of challenges to overcome. They fear GenAI will introduce new security and privacy issues and agree that their data and IP are too valuable to be placed in a GenAI tool to which a third party may have access.
More broadly, responses suggest that organizations are working through GenAI practicalities as they transition from ideation to implementation, with more than half saying they have begun implementing GenAI.
As organizations increase adoption, concern centers around understanding where risks reside and who is responsible for them. An overwhelming majority (80% in the UAE and 87% in Saudi Arabia) agree that the organization, rather than the machine, the user, or the public, is responsible for any AI malfunction or undesired behavior.
“Organizations seeking to stand out in today’s disruptive market must pivot from innovation being a side project to it being deeply embedded into their corporate identity,” said Mohammed Amin, Sr. Vice President, CEEMETA, Dell Technologies.
“By combining GenAI and other transformative innovations, businesses can augment their capabilities and raise their productivity levels to new heights,” he added.
The research also reveals modern data infrastructure’s critical role as technologies like GenAI gather pace and data volumes increase. Investing in a modern, scalable infrastructure was cited as the number one area of improvement for businesses to accelerate innovation. Most IT decision-makers say they prefer an on-prem or hybrid model to address the challenges they foresee with implementing GenAI.
The ability to share data across the business is also a key part of the innovation puzzle. Only one in three say they can turn data into real-time insights today to support innovation efforts. Almost half also anticipate that the bulk of their data will come from the edge in the next five years.
The report also revealed that two-thirds claim there is currently a shortage of talent required for innovation in their industry. Learning agility and desire, AI fluency, and creativity and creative thinking rank as the top skills and competencies for the next five years.
