There is large-scale adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) among businesses in the Middle East, with nearly two in every three companies considering it inevitable and a similar number actively investing in Generative AI. All this and more has been revealed in a new IDC eBook, sponsored by Lenovo, titled CIO PlayBook 2024: It’s all About Smarter AI.
According to this report, 66 percent of the respondents from the Middle East said that AI was now considered part of the hygiene factor, while 30 percent saw it as a game changer, and 64 percent had made investments in GenAI. 65 percent of Middle Eastern respondents also wanted to build custom AI systems. However, 58 percent of the respondents from this region also found it moderately to extremely difficult to recruit for AI related positions.
The IDC research, commissioned by Lenovo, surveyed 50 IT and business decision-makers (ITBDMs) from select organisations across the Middle East, taking in different industry verticals in each territory.
“Middle Eastern survey respondents are more likely than any others to see improved customer experience as a business priority. Additionally, they are more likely than almost all others to focus on digital business innovation, digital transformation, and cyber-resiliency as investment priorities,” said the report.
“AI is at the front lines of technological growth today and becoming a reality across all verticals. Being a cornerstone of digital transformation, adoption of AI is becoming the standard, evident by the high adoption rate in the region,” said Alaa Bawab, General Manager, Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG), Middle East and Africa, adding, “While it does come with its challenges, it is vital that CIOs should further not only the adoption rate of AI, but also encourage learnings of AI capabilities withing themselves and company-wide.”
AI is seen as a key contributor to achieving business goals like improving customer experience, driving digital business innovation and cost optimisation by businesses in the Middle East. They are looking at GenAI for gathering business intelligence via pattern recognition, improving customer interaction management. The report also found that better cyber resiliency to address ransomware and malware attacks is the topmost investment priority, followed by modernising infrastructure for Middle Eastern businesses.
