Australian business leaders see AI potential despite barriers

A new survey by global cloud enterprise software company, IFS, has revealed that an overwhelming majority of Australian business leaders expect to see major benefits from AI, making the need for further infrastructural progress and development of AI skills more evident. Nevertheless, the research also suggests that the actualisation of AI's potential may still be held back by issues such as lack of appropriate technology, processes, skills, and planning.

The study, titled 'Industrial AI: The New Frontier for Productivity, Innovation and Competition', surveyed IFS' business clientele on their sentiments towards AI. It discovered that almost half (48%) of the Australian business leaders surveyed predict AI to significantly influence the connection with the end consumer experience, the largest proportion in all countries surveyed. Additionally, 44% of Australian respondents reported that their executives anticipate AI to instigate enhanced data accessibility, a proportion higher than any other market studied.

However, despite the general optimism about AI's impact, expectation often falls short of reality. Approximately 84% of executives anticipate significant organisational benefits from AI, specifically in sectors like product & service innovation, improved internal & external data availability, and cost reductions & margin gains. Yet, as the study found, around 82% of these senior decision-makers are aware of the immense pressure to adopt AI quickly, and a lack of preparedness could cause AI projects to stall in the pilot stage.

Christian Pedersen, Chief Product Officer, IFS, stated, "AI is poised to become the most transformational enterprise tool ever seen, but our research reveals that there are still fundamental misunderstandings about how to harness its power within an industrial setting... We built IFS.ai specifically with these challenges in mind. AI value simply will not be found in a single AI capability but instead by delivering AI across all products and business processes."

The study found 1 in 5 respondents in the research phase and another 5% still lacking a coordinated approach with nothing in motion. Despite these initial challenges, optimism remains, with respondents believing that significant difference from AI integration could be seen in 1-2 years (47%) or even within a year (24%).

The benefits of AI application could be broad-reaching, affecting everything from smart production and service delivery, to innovation, growth & business model decision making, employee empowerment, and customer experience. However, to experience these benefits, enterprises need to leverage their data. This belief is shared by 86% of respondents, who state that real-time data is crucial for successful AI applications. Still, only 23% have completed building a data foundation capable of supporting business decision making and real-time response to changes.

According to Pedersen, "The lack of maturity at the data foundation layer needs to be addressed as part of an overall AI strategy, otherwise AI simply will never be the magic bullet that can turbocharge the enterprise… Now is the time to step back, take stock, and build a true Industrial AI plan and turn the hype into reality."