Dive Brief:
- IT vendors are eager to help enterprises bridge AI readiness gaps as CIOs grapple with talent and infrastructure challenges, an S&P Global report published this month found.
- Most vendors are factoring enterprise AI support into their business plan, the survey of 500 vendors found. Just 2% of respondents said they aren’t prioritizing services that support the development and execution of customers’ AI initiatives.
- Less than one-third of IT decision-makers are confident their business’ existing infrastructure can support growing AI workloads, S&P Global found in a prior survey of 700 IT leaders. Technology decision-makers are also concerned their workforce lacks the skills needed for successful implementation, the market research firm said.
Dive Insight:
Technology vendors are already reaping the rewards of their quick shift to embed generative AI in tools and services. From startups like OpenAI to cloud hyperscalers and SaaS providers, executives underline how enterprise enthusiasm for AI is driving growth each quarter.
But as organizations continue to grapple with adoption roadblocks and scaling challenges, tech vendors are mobilizing to help customers generate value from costly AI investments.
“The implications for cloud platform vendors and IT service providers are pretty clear,” Liam Eagle, research director and head of several reports at 451 Research, a part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in the report. “We see these businesses moving quickly to transform their portfolios to address not only the need for specialized resources but also the growing need for, and lack of, the expertise required to make these big AI initiatives happen.”
The enterprisewide focus on AI is expected to heavily impact talent trends in the year ahead as companies look to targeted upskilling initiatives to get the workforce up-to-speed. Vendors, such as AWS, Google and Microsoft, continue to expand their free training offerings to meet demand.