The news comes after a year of significant AI advancements that saw the technology rapidly deployed in applications across both the B2B and B2C sectors.
“Tech leaders globally are expediting AI’s integration into their organisations, and it is increasingly becoming a critical capability to enable intelligent and autonomous systems that power a modern business. Those who fail to maximise its use could fall behind,” said Kaladhar Voruganti, senior technologist at Equinix.
“Successful development of accurate AI models depends upon secure and high-speed access to both internal and external data sources that can be spread across multiple clouds and data brokers."
According to the findings AI uptake is on the rise across all industry sectors, with 85% of the 2,900 IT leaders polled globally aiming to benefit from the advantages of AI and already using or planning to use it across multiple business functions.
Geographically, organisations across EMEA are most likely to be using AI, or planning to do so, with 82% in IT operations, 79% in cybersecurity and 75% in customer experience.
At the same time, IT leaders in EMEA also had the most uncertainty about the ability of their infrastructure to accommodate the needs of AI with 49% indicating so, compared to 44% in Asia-Pacific and 32% in the Americas.
"The recent survey emphasises the need for improved infrastructure and skills related to AI, particularly in the EMEA region. It is concerning that IT leaders in this region express discomfort with their infrastructure and team's ability in accommodating AI,” added Bruce Owen, managing director at Equinix UK.
“The survey reveals additional challenges faced by the tech sector as a whole in the EMEA region with 44% of IT leaders fearing the speed at which the tech industry is transforming and 39% of them believing that one of the most significant skills challenge is the lack of available talent. These findings highlight the pressing need for developing and retaining skilled professionals in the industry.”
In addition, the survey revealed the need for greater education and collaboration to enable IT teams to maximise the deployment of its infrastructure, with AI and machine learning expertise being sought by 37% of those growing their IT teams.
