Tech investments often driven by fear of missing out
New research shows that 61 percent of CIOs say their investments are often driven by the fear of missing out. What's more, 79 percent say they have to take risks on emerging technologies or they will 'go the way of the dinosaurs'.
The study, from SaaS company Ardoq, of 700 CIOs and other senior IT leaders in enterprises of more than 2,000 employees, finds 91 percent of CIOs say that if successful, emerging technology research can put them at the forefront of their market -- but 99 percent say the success rate tends to be much lower than for established technologies.
AI is seen as particularly risky with 65 percent feeling that it's the most high-risk technology they've ever invested in, and saying there is a 'moral pressure' on them to get it right (81 percent). However, 82 percent of IT leaders say it’s easy to 'AI wash' products by implementing new capabilities, without necessarily creating any tangible business benefits.
"In today's fast-paced digital era, those that can adopt new technologies quickly and fuse them into the fabric of their business can unlock huge rewards," says Erik Bakstad, CEO and co-founder of Ardoq, "We have seen this time and again, but it is not since the internet emerged that a technology has promised such potential as that posed by AI today. However, investing in emerging technologies like AI is not for the faint of heart. Organizations must be prepared to navigate the risks, or could find their technology investments falling short of expectations."
The research finds that the average enterprise spends $43.4 million annually on emerging technology projects. Yet, despite these huge sums, 69 percent of CIOs say predicting the ROI on such investments is little more than a 'finger in the air' exercise.
Only 32 percent of organizations look for a tangible ROI from an emerging technology adoption project within the first 12 months, while 26 percent of CIOs expect to see an ROI within five to ten years. In addition 64 percent of CIOs say they've been burned in the past by investing in technologies that failed to deliver and made the business more cautious about future investments.
You can read more and get the full report on the Ardoq blog.
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