Study also reveals that, although 94% of companies in Brazil know that AI is fundamental to success, factors such as lack of confidence and skills and data governance and regulatory challenges are hindering AI projects
THE Qlik®, a global leader in data integration, analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), today announced the results of its survey of 4,200 C-level executives and AI decision-makers, revealing what is hindering the advancement of AI technology around the world and how to overcome these barriers.
AI skills shortages, governance and regulatory issues, and insufficient resources are hindering successful AI implementations, leaving many projects stuck in the planning stages. Off-the-shelf solutions are the preferred way for Brazilian and global companies to get started with AI solutions and see a return on their investment in the technology.
AI projects are stuck in planning or being scrapped
The importance of AI in achieving organizational success is not understated, with Qlik’s research finding that 881% of global senior decision-makers feel AI is either absolutely essential or very important to achieving success – including achieving strategic goals and increasing profits. Among executives in Brazil, 941% hold the same view.
Despite this recognition, few AI projects move from the planning stage to completion or implementation, with many being scrapped. In fact, 20% of global companies and 11% of Brazilian companies have between 50 and more than 100 AI projects in the scoping or planning stage, which are not yet ongoing projects. Among global companies, 20% also had up to 50 projects that advanced to or beyond planning but had to be paused or canceled altogether. Among companies in Brazil, the number drops to 17%, but it is still significant.
Moving more AI projects from planning to successful implementation will be vital for businesses to see a return on their investment in the technology and better serve their customers compared to the competition. Given the push to bring AI projects to fruition, many AI decision-makers (74% globally and 85% in Brazil) are seeing the value in “off-the-shelf” solutions as a good foundation for improving AI development.
Regulatory challenges, skills shortages, data governance, budget and trust are to blame
There are multiple factors slowing down or completely blocking these AI projects. In Brazil, the main one involves regulatory challenges, mentioned by 24% of the local executives interviewed in the survey. Globally, this factor was mentioned by 20%.
Other highlights include challenges related to the lack of skills to develop AI (23% globally and 21% in Brazil) and to implement AI after development (22% worldwide and in Brazil), data governance challenges (23% globally and 22% in Brazil), budget constraints (21% worldwide and 24% in Brazil), and lack of reliable data for AI to work (21% globally and 22% in Brazil).
While there is a huge level of understanding about the need for AI, with almost all respondents (95% globally and in Brazil) saying they know AI capabilities could be used in their business, a lack of trust from other parts of the business appears to be holding some companies back.
Among global AI decision-makers, 37% (25% in Brazil) say their senior managers do not trust AI. Furthermore, 42% of them feel that lower-level employees do not trust the technology either. In Brazil, this figure rises to 46%. While 21% of executives worldwide believe their customers also do not trust AI, in Brazil the number rises to 24%.
Worryingly, 61% still say this lack of trust is significantly reducing AI investment in their businesses. In Brazil, 49% of the executives surveyed share this view.
Better knowledge exchange between a company and its customers can help increase this trust and subsequent investment, as 74% of global leaders seek to promote the benefits of technology more within their organizations and to their customers. This figure rises to 88% in Brazil, highlighting the priority in promoting the benefits of technology.
Building trust is paramount to advancing AI implementation
Providing AI training to upskill the workforce is another way to build trust and ensure that AI projects move beyond planning and are successfully implemented.
Globally, 65% of AI decision-makers believe their country has the potential to lead the world in AI skills over the next five years. To achieve this, 76% believe their industries need to do a better job of nurturing and upskilling AI workforces, and 75% believe their governments need to provide more AI funding and training. In Brazil, the view is more optimistic, with 71% of executives indicating that the country has the potential to lead the world in AI skills over the next five years. Additionally, 94% advocate for more upskilling across industries, and 87% highlight the importance of greater government support in the country.
“We realize that the Brazilian market has great potential to adopt Artificial Intelligence, but the challenges for its implementation are still significant. With the growing pressure to increase financial margins, local companies are looking for technological solutions that offer benefits without compromising the security or stability of the business. Without proper implementation, with quality, secure and governed data, companies run a great risk of not capturing the financial gains that AI can provide,” says Olimpio Pereira, Country Manager of Qlik Brazil.
“Business leaders know the value of AI, but face a number of barriers that prevent them from moving from proof of concept to a value-creating implementation of the technology. The first step to creating an AI strategy is to identify a clear use case, with defined goals and success metrics, and use this to identify the skills, resources and data needed to support it at scale. By doing this, you begin to build trust and gain buy-in from management to help you succeed,” said James Fisher, Chief Strategy Officer at Qlik.
Learn more about how Qlik is supporting customers to launch their AI solutions, including using Qlik Answers, the self-service solution powered by GenAI, by visiting: https://www.qlik.com/us/products/qlik-answers.
Regarding the Qlik
THE Qlik Qlik transforms complex data landscapes into actionable insights, driving strategic business outcomes. Serving more than 40,000 global customers, the Qlik portfolio provides advanced enterprise-grade AI/ML, data integration, and analytics. Qlik’s practical and scalable AI/ML tools drive faster, better decisions. Qlik is the leader in data integration and governance, offering end-to-end solutions that work with diverse data sources. Qlik’s intuitive analytics uncover hidden patterns, empowering teams to tackle complex challenges and seize new opportunities. Qlik is a strategic partner, and its expertise and technology-agnostic platform make its customers more competitive. For more information, visit www.qlik.com/pt-br.
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