CIOs are battling to temper expectations as enterprises ramp up AI adoption

More than one-third (39%) of UK technology leaders believe their board has unrealistic expectations over the potential of generative AI tools, according to new research.

An IDC InfoBrief, commissioned by Expereo, found most organizations are pinning their hopes on AI to drive business growth, with 88% of tech leaders believing the technology will help them meet business priorities within the next 12 months.

Yet despite this optimism, many tech leaders are aiming to temper expectations and prevent botched implementation projects. More than one-quarter (26%) of respondents said expectations within their organization of what AI can do are “growing faster than their ability to meet them”.

This hesitancy among tech leaders is due to a confluence of implementation challenges - and chief among these was a lack of appropriate infrastructure.

Nearly half (47%) of respondents said their networking and IT infrastructure isn’t ready to support new technologies such as AI. A further 49% warned network performance is limiting - or outright preventing - them from supporting large AI projects.

Notably, concerns over governance and ethics remain a key hurdle for many businesses, and a challenge that makes tech leaders extremely wary. Nearly half (41%) cited these challenges as a leading obstacle to implementing AI in their organization.

Partner capabilities were also identified as a key impediment, according to the study.

Nearly one-third (29%) of tech leaders said current external technology partners lack the capabilities to support AI implementation initiatives in their organization. This lack of partner expertise has a domino effect on adoption projects, with in-house talent unable to rely on external support.

Rash adoption projects cause long-term issues

Expero chief executive Ben Elms warned that many organizations have come to view AI as a “quick fix” and fail to understand the scale and scope of integration projects.

“Setting realistic goals and aligning expectations will be critical to ensuring that AI delivers long-term value, rather than being viewed as a quick fix,” he said.

“While the potential of AI is immense, its successful integration requires careful planning.”

This isn’t the first study to highlight the challenges faced by CIOs since the advent of generative AI. With enterprises globally scrambling to adopt the technology, tech leaders have been placed under immense pressure to deliver projects in often unrealistic timelines.

Moreover, many have grown frustrated at the sharp pivots many organizations have made to tap into the technology, which has left gaps in other areas of technology spending.

A 2024 study from Lenovo, for example, found nearly half of CIOs (48%) said digital transformation efforts were being deprioritized as boards looked to ramp up AI investment.

More than one-third (38%) of CIOs surveyed by Lenovo said increased AI investments had prompted their firm to reallocate spending from critical areas of the business, including sustainability efforts and broader IT modernization plans.

Nearly half (41%) said “AI exploration and adoption is pulling resources and attention away from other key IT areas”.

Alternative research shows that many CIOs have bought into the hype, however, and have displayed the same rash approach to AI adoption.

Analysis from Ardoq last year showed that six-in-ten CIOs experienced ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) with regard to AI, and this prompted a sharp pivot to invest in the technology despite issues surrounding return on investment at the time.

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