The State of AI in the Enterprise 2023: AI-Related Investment as a % of Annual IT Budgets
Uncover the secrets of effective enterprise AI investments. Are you on the right track?
Derek E. Brink of Aberdeen Strategy & Research dives into the world of enterprise AI investments, discusses winning strategies, and explores the hows and whys behind effective approaches.
Recently, I wrote a six-part blog series about the natural fit between cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML), which shared several examples from my previous research — and also acted as a prelude to sharing selected findings from Aberdeen’s latest study on The State of AI in 2023.
To what extent are all discussions about AI in the enterprise translating into tangible investments? Here are some of the findings from Aberdeen’s new research, based on the responses from people who are involved in AI initiatives in some way at about 350 organizations:
- More than 95% see current or potential value in AI and the impact it can have on their business
- Nearly 3 out of 5 (58%) are investing in enterprise AI technologies, either homegrown or commercial
- About 1 in 3 (31%) are investing in people with AI competencies, e.g., hiring for expertise in data science
- Cybersecurity (30%) and automation (29%) are the top two operational use cases identified as likely to produce the greatest business impact if addressed with AI.
- A significant percentage (ranging from 0% to 45%, with a median of 20.4%) of annual IT budgets are being invested in AI technology tools and AI-based initiatives — see Figure 1
- A majority of respondents would like to invest even more in AI technology tools and AI-based initiatives; the gap between current spending and desired spending ranges from -7.9% to 15.9%, with a median of 4.0% — see Figure 2
Figure 1: Organizations are investing a significant % of their annual IT budgets on AI-based initiatives
Source: The State of AI in the Enterprise 2023; Aberdeen, September 2023
See More: Outlast Uncertainty: 5 Ways To Retool IT Budgets Now
Figure 2: A majority of organizations would like to be investing an even higher percentage in AI
Source: The State of AI in the Enterprise 2023; Aberdeen, September 2023
How does your organization compare in each of these areas? Simply estimate the current and desired percentages of your annual IT budget invested in AI technology tools and AI-based initiatives. Use those to “eyeball” where you fall on the respective percentile curves in Figure 1 and Figure 2.
For an experience that’s a little more fun and interactive, Aberdeen has also developed an online “mini-assessment” tool — which eliminates the need to “eyeball” your results and provides a simple summary in PDF format suitable for sharing with others.
In the next blog of this series, I’ll take a similar approach to share Aberdeen’s research findings on how AI is changing enterprise investments related to people (e.g., hiring).
How are you approaching AI investments? Share your strategies with us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
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