Enterprise cloud data management leader Informatica has unveiled the results of its annual survey, CDO Insights 2024: Charting a Course to AI Readiness. The investigation centred on the views of global data leaders, among whom Chief Data Officers, with 600 respondents providing their insights into generative AI readiness, and highlighting key technical and organisational challenges to the approach's implementation. The survey also analysed top strategies and priorities concerning data and data management for 2024.

Data leaders in the Asia Pacific region, including jurisdictions such as Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore, are set to incorporate generative AI into their commercial operations over the next 24 months. Unsurprisingly, generative AI implementation is dominating bandwidth in data leaders' strategies, but successful implementation requires investments in holistic, integrated data management capabilities to realise the potential offered by generative AI. Chief Product Officer at Informatica, Jitesh Ghai, identifies these capabilities as critical for unlocking the potential of generative AI and "empowering enterprises to take full control of their ever-expanding data estates."

The research also revealed that 64% of Korea and 75% of India have already assimilated generative AI in their commercial practices, with an anticipated generative AI rollout in Australia (53%) and Singapore (63%) occurring within the next one to 24 months. However, many respondents from the Asia Pacific region have encountered challenges when adopting generative AI and have highlighted issues such as AI ethics (42%) and data privacy & protection (42%). In Australia, the most significant stumbling block is avoiding data bias that can negatively impact AI models. Data fragmentation and complexity are further hindrances, with 56% of Asia-Pacific data leaders experiencing difficulty in balancing over 1,000 data sources in their companies.

Consequently, 78% of data leaders anticipate the number of data sources will increase in 2024, making data readiness top of mind when considering AI and data strategy ROI. In Australia, data leaders identified the inability to justify ROI and lack of control over budget for their data management strategies as significant barriers. The need to investment in data management capabilities to support generative AI is therefore of paramount importance. Data leaders have prioritised improvements in data governance over data and processes (40%), data privacy and protection (45%), data quality and observability (42%), and data integration and engineering (40%) as the top strategies for 2024.

Ghai highlights that the adoption of generative AI is inextricably linked with robust data management strategies, a fact which is being increasingly prioritised by data leaders globally. However, while generative AI presents significant opportunities, its complexity promises challenges for enterprises and data leaders, from managing disparate and evolving data ecosystems to numerous organisational and data barriers to implementation. The report summarises that data leaders must recognise that AI and data management are mutual drivers of success and that maximising their potential heralds transformative change for the future of their organisations.