In this digital age, technology doesn’t just power business—it is the business. The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) over the last 12 months has further solidified this statement—if your company hasn’t built or planned to build AI tools, or doesn’t have AI applications integrated into systems and processes, then you’re behind, right?
This will undoubtedly impact the way executive leaders choose to allocate their information technology budgets for years to come. 70% of executives reported that they plan to increase AI resourcing in 2024, which leads me to wonder…will organizations have the budgets to sustain this?
The fact of the matter is that the correlation between IT investment and increased productivity in the workplace is deteriorating. In other words, companies are not seeing the ROI they’re expecting if any at all. In 2024, it’s time we challenge executive leaders to set a higher bar for their technology, specifically their AI technology, and demand more from their tech investments.
AI’s impact on IT spend: past, present and future
AI first emerged in the public consciousness in 2023, but it’s not necessarily a “new” technology. Organizations have been investing in predictive and interpretive AI for years the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has been training computers to mimic basic human reasoning since the 1960s. At this point, companies were cautious with the amount of money they dedicated to AI spend, as they were just beginning to recognize the potential for AI-powered solutions to streamline processes, enhance efficiency, and unlock new avenues for growth.
Arguably one of the more prominent milestones that landed AI-powered tools on enterprise radars was the announcement of the GPT-3.5 series from OpenAI in late 2022, triggering a surge of investment in GenAI. Fast forward to the present, and AI’s influence on IT spending has become more pronounced and pervasive than ever before, and I don’t believe this will change any time soon. Recent research indicates that organizations will allocate over 40% of their core IT spending to AI-related initiatives by 2025, leading to a double-digit increase in the rate of product and process innovations.
But, despite substantial investments, companies continue to encounter challenges when integrating AI solutions into their security programs. Certain factors, namely lack of team bandwidth for training, data quality issues, and concerns of algorithmic biases, have been known to impede the seamless deployment and adoption of AI solutions within an enterprise’s security stack. Additionally, CISOs, already operating on limited budgets, are struggling to garner measurable profit and/or productivity enhancements from their AI tools. This proves especially problematic when demonstrating ROI to a board of executives who are all asking about the organization’s cyber risk.
If we want to bridge this gap, executive leaders will have to align their AI investments with strategic objectives, operational imperatives, and stakeholder expectations. In other words, the key to gaining maximum value out of your investment is making your AI technology work for YOU.
Maximize investment value: Making AI work for YOU
As organizations continue to spend more money on AI initiatives, it becomes increasingly critical that they maximize the value of their investments. One way to do this is by using AI technology to help address competing priorities, such as:
- Bolstering cybersecurity efforts: If cybercriminals can use AI, so can we, the good guys, right? Year after year, we’re seeing continued attacks against smaller, less prepared organizations, as well as an uptick in criminals targeting industries with the potential to disrupt our daily lives—this is where AI-driven cybersecurity efforts can help us play catch up. AI-powered solutions can enable organizations to proactively detect, analyze, and mitigate risks in real time, enhancing resilience against evolving threats and attacks.
- Optimizing business operations: AI can also be used to optimize business operations and drive operational efficiency across diverse domains. From supply chain management and inventory optimization to customer service automation and predictive maintenance, AI-powered solutions can enable organizations to streamline processes, reduce costs, and enhance service delivery.
- Up-leveling employee expertise: With ongoing talent shortages and a high turnover of security professionals who take knowledge with them, getting teams trained can take up significant time and budget. Luckily, AI can help cut down proficiency training in a particular skill set, like engineering training for cybersecurity, from 3 years to a mere 6 months.
By using their AI investments to enhance and streamline these various organizational priorities, companies will ultimately be able to reduce costs and resources spent elsewhere.
Mastering the art of doing more with less
2023 was a year of distractions, and in the face of increasing cyber threats, overall IT spending is slowing down. Now, the million-dollar question is “How can companies continue to do more with less?”
From a cybersecurity standpoint, there’s a lot of “high stakes” activity on the horizon for the remainder of 2024. As we gear up for a prominent election year, rising geopolitical tensions will undoubtedly drive the rate of nation-state cyberattacks, posing significant threats to the integrity of our country’s critical systems and infrastructure. And, when national security may be on the line, talent, and resource gaps are not an option.
Fortunately, amidst the complexities and challenges, AI holds the power to close these gaps without increasing bandwidth or costs. The transformative potential of AI extends far beyond its technical capabilities; it offers a means to fortify cybersecurity defenses, optimize business operations, empower employee expertise, and more. By harnessing AI-driven solutions to address these critical areas, we can not only mitigate risks but also drive efficiency, agility, and innovation across the board. In essence, the key lies in making AI work for you—tailoring its applications to suit unique requirements and challenges.
