AI might be the latest dream ticket for leaders, but technology leaders are best placed to highlight the issues with it, as found in any new technology. A new survey exposes those roadblocks to UK company plans, with a mix of poor infrastructure, resistance from employees, unreasonable demands standing in the way of AI nirvana.
Some 39% of UK technology leaders believe their board has unrealistic expectations or demands on how new technologies like artificial intelligence will impact business performance. That’s according to an IDC InfoBrief, commissioned by Expereo, listing roadblocks to global AI implementation, despite the technology’s critical value in fulfilling business priorities.
The research of 650 technology leaders in global organisations across Europe, the US and APAC reveals that 32% of UK technology leaders have been forced to reassess their technology infrastructure because of rising geopolitical risks, as 33% say geopolitical disruptions are currently impacting their organisation’s growth strategies.
Amid the volatile economic backdrop, it seems most organisations are placing their bets on AI to drive growth. The research shows that 88% of UK business leaders believe it will be important to fulfil business priorities in the next 12 months.
Get ready for an intelligent future, no matter what the risks or blockages
The IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Expereo, “Enterprise Horizons 2025: Technology Leaders Priorities: Achieving Digital Agility”, reveals that the technology has largely met or exceeded expectations to date, with only 14% of UK businesses saying AI has fallen short of expectations. UK tech leaders agree that AI will positively impact business, particularly customer-facing activities (64%) and costs (65%). However, unrealistic board expectations could throw organisations’ AI plans into chaos, as 26% of UK technology executives say expectations within their organisation of what AI can do are growing faster than their ability to meet them.
Ben Elms, CEO, Expereo, comments: “As global businesses embrace AI to transform employee and customer experience, 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. While the potential is immense, its successful integration requires careful planning. Technology leaders must recognise the need for robust networks and connectivity infrastructure to support AI at scale, while also ensuring consistent performance across these networks. We are at a pivotal moment where strategic investments in technology and IT infrastructure are necessary to meet both current and future demands.”
Check out CIO’s piece on “Customer-centric IT: Strategies for delivering winning customer experiences” for tips on AI transformation and leadership skills.
Stats behind AI obstacles
The research paints a positive picture for the promise of intelligent services, but only if businesses can overcome existing challenges. Almost half (47%) of UK organisations say their network/connectivity infrastructure is not ready to support new technology initiatives. A further 49% say their network performance is preventing or limiting their organisation’s networks from supporting large data/AI projects.
41% of UK businesses also say concerns over governance or ethics remain a significant obstacle to implementing AI initiatives in their organisation, followed by resistance from employees regarding their jobs (30%) and keeping up with the pace of change (32%). Meanwhile, 29% of UK businesses say that current external technology partners not having the right capabilities remains a significant obstacle to implementing it in their organisation. Despite these challenges, 76% of UK technology leaders believe the focus on intelligent services has raised their profile at the board level, up from 60% in 2024.
Whatever stands in the way, workers are gaining value from AI every day, and leadership needs to get ahead of the technology’s role in their business, before unintended consequences hit the company hard.