Businesses are struggling to harness the full power of AI

A new report jointly created by MIT Technology Review Insights and data company Snowflake has confirmed that many businesses are simply failing to harness the power of artificial intelligence.

As many as four in five (78%) organizations are unable to fully capitalize on their AI investments according to the study, largely due to inadequate data management.

Data governance, security and privacy concerns emerged as the top challenge (59%), followed closely by data quality and timeliness (53%) and the costs associated with AI resources (48%), highlighting the need for a simpler and clearer foundation.

Data is preventing companies from realizing AI’s benefits

It’s clear that there are challenges between initial investments and tangible rewards, but companies still appear to be optimistic. Nearly three-quarters (72%) agree that AI would boost efficiency and productivity, with around half believing it will enhance market competitiveness (55%). However almost all (95%) reported facing hurdles when implementing AI.

While more than half (53%) of business leaders describing themselves as ‘somewhat ready’ for artificial intelligence and everything that it entails, only one in five (22%) state that they are ‘very ready,’ signifying that they have fewer challenges related to accessing scalable computing power, data silos and integration issues, and data governance.

Speaking about the “big ambitions” that companies have surrounding GenAI, Snowflake Head of AI Baris Gultekin said: “A strong data foundation is at the core of generative AI capabilities, and business leaders need to move quickly to deal with concerns such as data security and cost, and establish the foundation they need to deliver on the promise of AI.”

Moving forward, the report calls for modern cloud data platforms that allow companies to better manage and access vast amounts of unstructured data.