Surge in IT Spending: AI Gold Rush Fuels Budget Increases
84% of CEOs surveyed think “AI will be as significant to businesses as the Internet".
Published: Nov 27, 2024
Key Takeaways:
- CEOs and CIOs are increasingly optimistic about AI’s potential
- Many CEOs are predicting returns as soon as 2025.
- AI adoption is enhancing the perception of IT departments
CEOs are optimistic about the impact of AI and are increasing budgets for IT departments. Research from Salesforce finds that 84% think “AI will be as significant to businesses as the internet,”. The research also found that CIOs are having to serve as Chief AI Officers, with Deloitte research showing 63% of CIOs reporting directly to CEOs in 2024, a 10% increase from 2023.
According to a recent survey by 1E and YouGov, which polled 500 US-based IT decision-makers (ITDMs), 59% of ITDMs agree that AI has elevated their department’s status, and 88% report professional benefits from AI involvement. The survey suggests that AI is boosting the status, influence, and pay of IT departments and decision-makers. With CEOs and CIOs being increasingly optimistic about AI’s potential, with many predicting a return on investment as soon as next year.
IT departments are playing an important role in AI adoption, with 95% of ITDMs engaging in strategic AI activities like consulting on AI strategy and advising executives. IT hasn’t always been recognized as driving business growth and cost savings, but more of a cost center. However, as AI adoption starts to take pace, it is enhancing the standing of IT departments and aligning them closer to organizations’ key business goals.
AI is finding its way beyond the IT department for coding and threat detection duties to include:
- Customer service
- HR
- Sales
- Accounting
- Operations
- Marketing
- and more…
AI brings benefits and challenges for IT Professionals
There are also benefits for individuals. IT Professionals involved in AI adoption are seeing professional advantages, including raises, promotions, expanded teams, and higher job satisfaction.
But if you’re an IT Pro, what are the skills that are most valuable for AI adoption? If you’re looking to capitalize on AI, then look to develop skills in the following areas:
- Data Analysis and Management
- Machine Learning and Deep Learning
- Programming
- Statistical Analysis
- Domain Expertise
- Ethics and Compliance
As IT budgets are predicted to increase in 2025 due to AI adoption, there’s opportunity to reskill as some roles are likely to see big changes as AI disrupts the landscape. IT Pros in development and security are likely to see some of the biggest shifts as it becomes easier and faster to analyze large datasets and solve problems using snippets of code that are automatically generated by systems like GitHub Copilot.