GenAI triggers wave of modernization for applications and infrastructures

The spread and implementation of applications based on generative AI is increasing rapidly. While the majority of companies are already implementing a GenAI strategy, the goals they are pursuing differ significantly according to the ECI report. Companies want to use generative AI for more productivity, automation and innovation, but face major hurdles in the areas of data security, compliance and IT infrastructure modernization. In addition, 90 percent of respondents expect costs to rise due to the implementation of GenAI-supported and modern applications. At the same time, 70 percent of companies expect to achieve a positive return on investment from their GenAI projects in the next two to three years.

"Many organizations are reaching a tipping point in their GenAI implementations and deployments," said Lee Caswell, SVP, Product and Solutions Marketing at Nutanix. "This year's report brings to light details that are also being brought to us in customer conversations. These include challenges such as scaling GenAI workloads from development to production, but also new requirements that GenAI creates in terms of data governance, protection and transparency, as well as integration into existing IT infrastructures. In order for GenAI projects to be successfully amortized and profitable, companies should take a holistic approach to modernizing applications and infrastructures. They should also focus on containerization."

The key findings of the study include:

The containerization of applications is becoming the new infrastructure standard

Around 90 percent of companies report that at least some of their applications are now containerized. The rapidly increasing spread of new workloads such as GenAI-supported applications will further accelerate this development. 94 percent of respondents agree with the statement that their organizations are benefiting from the adoption of cloud-native applications and containers. Accordingly, this approach should be seen as the gold standard to enable seamless and secure access to data in hybrid and multicloud environments.

Distribution and implementation of GenAI applications continues to grow rapidly

More than 80 percent of the companies surveyed have already developed and adopted a GenAI strategy or are already implementing it. In contrast, only two percent have not yet started to plan a GenAI strategy at all. However, the associated objectives differ significantly. Most companies are convinced that GenAI solutions will help them to increase productivity and efficiency and raise the level of automation. The focus of the GenAI projects currently being implemented is on customer support and experience. However, companies want to prioritize GenAI applications in cybersecurity and data protection workloads in the near future.

The spread of GenAI challenges established standards for data security and protection

95% of respondents agree with the statement that GenAI will change the priorities of their companies and put security and data protection high on the agenda. In fact, more than 90 percent of companies cite data protection as a priority when implementing GenAI solutions. They are aware that security and data protection are key factors for GenAI success. However, no less than 95 percent of respondents believe their organization could do more to ensure the security of their GenAI models and applications. Security and privacy remain a major challenge for organizations looking to justify the deployment of new GenAI-based solutions and ensure compliance with existing security standards, as well as meet new requirements for data governance, protection and transparency.

GenAI scaling requires infrastructure modernization

The operation of cloud-native applications in large companies and corporations requires an infrastructure that can meet essential requirements such as security, data integrity and resilience. The new GenAI applications are no exception to this rule. Almost all respondents (98 percent) see scaling GenAI workloads from development to production as a challenge. However, the biggest challenge in scaling GenAI workloads from development to production is integration into the existing IT infrastructure. Accordingly, investments in IT infrastructure are the first priority to support GenAI.

The spread of GenAI solutions requires changes in technology and personnel

For 52% of respondents, investment in IT training to support GenAI is essential. Similarly, 48 percent of respondents believe they need to hire new IT talent. There is no doubt that companies have an acute skills shortage and are competing for GenAI talent. However, the good news is that many teams are rising to the challenge and are looking to organically acquire and build the required AI knowledge and skills as part of normal work. According to this year's report, 53 percent of respondents believe GenAI offers them the opportunity to gradually develop into AI experts.

The study results and the complete seventh edition of the Enterprise Cloud Index are available on the Website available from Nutanix