AQlik®, data integration specialist, analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), announced results of its research with 4.200 C-Level executives and AI decision-makers, revealing what is hindering technological progress worldwide and how to overcome these barriers
The lack of skills in AI, governance and regulatory issues, and insufficient resources are hindering the success of AI implementation, causing many projects to remain stalled in the planning phases. Ready-to-use solutions are the preferred way for companies in Brazil and globally to start working with AI solutions and achieve a return on investment in the technology
AI projects are stalled in planning or being discarded
The importance of AI in achieving organizational success is not underestimated, with Qlik's research discovering that 88% of global senior decision-makers feel that AI is absolutely essential or very important for achieving success – including the achievement of strategic objectives and the increase in profits. Among the executives in Brazil, 94% have the same vision
Despite this recognition, few AI projects move from the planning phase to completion or implementation, with many being discarded. In fact, 20% of global companies and 11% of Brazilian companies have between 50 and more than 100 AI projects in the scoping or planning stage, that are not yet projects in execution. Among global companies, 20% also had up to 50 projects that progressed to planning or beyond, but had to be paused or completely canceled. Among the companies in Brazil, the value drops to 17%, but it is still significant
Advancing more AI projects from planning to successful implementation will be vital for businesses to see a return on the investment made in technology and better serve their customers in the face of competition. Given the effort to realize AI projects, many AI decision-makers (74% globally and 85% in Brazil) are seeing the value in "ready-to-use" solutions as a good foundation for improving AI development
Regulatory challenges, lack of skills, data governance, budget and trust are to blame
There are multiple factors slowing down or completely blocking these AI projects. In Brazil, the main one involves regulatory challenges, remembered by 24% of the local executives interviewed in the survey. Worldwide, this factor was mentioned by 20%
Among other highlights are the challenges related to the lack of skills to develop AI (23% globally and 21% in Brazil) and to implement AI after development (22% in the world and in Brazil), data governance challenges (23% globally and 22% in Brazil), budget constraints (21% worldwide and 24% in Brazil) and lack of reliable data for AI to function (21% globally and 22% in Brazil).
Although there is a huge level of understanding about the need for AI, with almost all interviewees (95% worldwide and in Brazil) saying they know that AI resources could be used in their businesses, the lack of confidence coming from other parts of the business seems to be hindering the progress of some companies
Among global AI decision-makers, 37% (25% in Brazil) say that their senior managers do not trust AI. Still, 42% of them feel that lower-level employees also do not trust technology. In Brazil, this value rises to 46%. While 21% of executives worldwide believe that their customers also do not trust AI, in Brazil the number rises to 24%
Worryingly, 61% still say that this lack of confidence is significantly reducing investment in AI in their businesses. In Brazil, 49% of the executives surveyed share this opinion
A better exchange of knowledge between a company and its customers can help increase this trust and subsequent investments, since 74% of global leaders seek to promote the benefits of technology more within their organizations and for their clients. This index rises to 88% in Brazil, highlighting the priority of promoting the benefits of technology
Building trust is essential for advancing the implementation of AI
Providing AI training to improve workforce skills is another way to build trust and ensure that AI projects move beyond planning and are successfully implemented
Globally, 65% of AI decision-makers believe that their country has the potential to lead the world in AI skills in the next five years. To achieve this, 76% believe that their sectors need to be better at nurturing and qualifying teams for AI, 75% believe that their governments need to provide more funding and training in AI. In Brazil, the outlook is more optimistic, with 71% of executives indicating that the country has the potential to lead the world in AI skills in the next five years. Furthermore, 94% support the need for more qualification in the sectors and 87% highlight the importance of greater government support in the country
We realize that the Brazilian market has great potential to adopt Artificial Intelligence, but the challenges for its implementation are still significant. With the increasing pressure for higher financial margins, local companies seek technological solutions that provide benefits without compromising security or business stability. Without proper implementation, with quality data, insured and governed, companies run great risks of not capturing the financial gains that AI can provide, affirms Olimpio Pereira, Country Manager of Qlik Brazil
Business leaders know the value of AI, but they face a series of barriers that prevent them from moving from proof of concept to an implementation of the technology that creates value. The first step in creating an AI strategy is to identify a clear use case, with defined goals and success metrics, and use this to distinguish the skills, the resources and data needed to provide support at scale.By doing this, you start to build trust and gain management's support to help you succeed, claims James Fisher, Strategy Director of Qlik
Learn more about how Qlik is supporting customers in launching their AI solutions, including the use of Qlik Answers, the self-service solution with the power of GenAI, accessinghttps://www.qlik.com/us/products/qlik-answers.
