NetApp, the intelligent data infrastructure company, has today published new research shedding light on the state of AI adoption in the UK business landscape. NetApp found that just half (51%) of British organisations understand how AI can benefit their operations, with only 20% of UK businesses having a strong understanding of how they can harness AI technology. What’s more, spend on AI projects is set to increase in 2024 as leaders see it as crucial to their future business success. The findings also highlight that most IT leaders are adopting AI to remain competitive.
AI Confidence Is Fragmented
AI is increasingly understood as a key differentiator and accelerator for organisations of all sizes. In the UK, this is no different. Over two-thirds (67%) of leaders see AI as a strategically important part to their future operational success. Six in ten (59%) expect spend on AI projects to increase in 2024 compared to last year. In fact, a quarter (26%) are actively exploring the technology or plan to adopt AI for the first time this year.
This positivity around AI is not without its concerns, with fewer than three in ten (29%) businesses confident of investing into effective AI projects. Just a third (33%) of IT decision makers said that their business’s approach to AI is clear and strategic. While more (36%) have faith in their business and its AI implementation capabilities, and a fifth (19%) of UK IT leaders think that their company must first consolidate unstructured data. A further 15% view their business’s AI implementation as simply “jumping on a trend,” and only 17% of British businesses rate their ability to create innovative AI services or functions at speed.
Navigating AI Adoption
Despite a third (33%) of UK businesses already having adopted AI tools, concerns around ineffective delivery and implementation appear to be growing. The majority (30%) of UK businesses admit the primary motivation for AI adoption is to keep up with their competitors. A further 10% noted increasing pressures to expedite the implementation of AI, and 27% were unsure of how their businesses would benefit from AI.
Nearly half (42%) of SME leaders are unsure whether their current course of AI adoption will result in a return on investment. There are other concerns too. 20% of IT leaders worry they will risk losing customer trust by taking rushed and poorly executed AI services to market, or simply lack the budget required to succeed with AI. Interestingly, 14% of IT leaders under 35 think their company could fall behind in the innovation race by adopting the wrong technology.
AI Readiness Varies Across The UK
Of those planning to adopt AI, only 31% of British business leaders admit that their company’s IT function is well-prepared. IT leaders believe there is an inadequate understanding of AI at management level (22%) and that their organisation’s existing data infrastructure requires urgent investment (17%). What’s more, 23% are aware that they will struggle to implement AI in the next 12 months due to a lack of relevant skills. In Scotland, this figure rises to 36%. Interestingly, a quarter of British IT leaders either require education on AI (13%) or have no clue of the technology’s advantages (13%).
These are not the only factors hampering the UK’s progress with AI. Perhaps expectedly, most businesses in their first year of trading (29%) lack the foundational knowledge to truly benefit from using AI. This is the biggest worry for manufacturing and hospitality organisations, while a fifth (19%) of legal companies reported nervousness due to a lack of a long-term AI plan or a clear risk and benefit analysis. A quarter (24%) of businesses over 250 employees believe they are under-investing in the technology.
“The research findings truly highlight the challenges businesses face and a sense of anxiety about being left behind,” commented Piero Gallucci, Vice President & General Manager, UK & Ireland, “It’s clear many companies are running before they can walk in order to remain competitive. While our industry often boasts a fail-fast culture, businesses need to approach AI more strategically. Poor decisions made now could have lasting consequences to long term effectiveness.”
Kirsty Biddiscombe, UK Head for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Analytics at NetApp UK added: “Rather than focusing on the latest AI models, businesses should instead prioritise improvements to build an intelligent data infrastructure. AI is only as good as the data that fuels it, and building a solid pipeline to securely feed AI models with propriety enterprise data is the only sure way to gain a competitive edge.”
TechUK’s Sue Daley, Director for Tech and Innovation, said: “We are at a seminal moment in the UK’s AI journey, with the adoption of AI becoming a pivotal tool for businesses and their future success. However, as NetApp’s research indicates, there is a pressing need for a strategic approach to AI adoption and readiness, to best ensure long-term effectiveness and competitiveness. A one-size-fits-all approach to putting AI into action is not sufficient. Instead, a varied approach is required to ensure that organisations are well-prepared to maximise the benefits of AI adoption. Those that fail to do so may miss out.”
YouGov’s research commissioned by NetApp also found that 26% of organisations with a turnover of £10 million or more have already adopted “off the shelf” AI tools. A further 30% of these high revenue organisations are reportedly using third-party services. Four in ten (37%) of the organisations surveyed utilise third-party AI functionality, either with the data sets provided by these external applications or enriching it with their own data.
Overall, IT decision makers are torn when it comes to the best uses of AI. Opinions are spread broadly across computer vision, natural language processing, large language models, digital twins, and virtual reality simulations.
To learn more about how NetApp delivers a unified approach to infrastructure and data management that eliminates data silos, brings enhanced performance and trusted data protection to customers’ AI turnkey solutions, please visit Artificial Intelligence — Optimize your AI infrastructure | NetApp.