Swiss companies: Everyone wants AI, only a few are prepared

The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 triggered an unprecedented boom in artificial intelligence (AI). Since then, an international race has begun between companies to see who can be the first to make profitable use of AI opportunities. In the meantime, there are already clear differences in AI readiness. Cisco has therefore created a new index that evaluates more than 8,000 companies in 30 countries based on their AI requirements. It examines the categories of strategy, infrastructure, data management, governance, specialist staff and corporate culture of companies with regard to AI.

Across all countries, almost all respondents (97 %) say that the urgency for the use of AI technologies in their company has increased in the last six months. Here, IT infrastructure and cyber security are named as the areas with the highest priority. Too little speed would have a direct negative impact: 61 % believe that they only have a maximum of one year to implement an AI strategy, otherwise their business will be significantly impacted. Globally, 84 % believe that AI will have a significant impact on their business operations. However, 81 % see major challenges in using AI with their siloed data.

"Using AI for business has quickly become a top priority for companies, regardless of size or industry. The pressure, but also the enthusiasm, is palpable," says Christopher Tighe, Managing Director of Cisco Switzerland. "At the same time, AI readiness is not a one-dimensional issue. The IT infrastructure, including networks, computing resources and cyber security, must be considered in conjunction with strategy, data governance and corporate culture so that teams can make the most of the opportunities offered by AI."

Switzerland and "AI readiness"

In Switzerland, only 7 % of companies belong to the group of pacesetters that are considered fully prepared for AI. In this country, over 200 companies were surveyed on their "AI readiness". The global figure is 14 %, and 8 % across Europe. In Sweden, the leader in Europe, 22 % of companies are considered to be pacemakers in terms of AI readiness.

The introduction of AI has been progressing slowly for decades. The new study shows: However, advances in generative AI and its public availability since last year are leading to more attention being paid to the challenges and opportunities presented by the technology. While 76 % of respondents in Switzerland believe that AI will have a significant impact on their business operations, it also raises new questions about data privacy and security. The results of the index show that companies face the greatest challenges in using AI together with their own data. 92 % of Swiss companies state that this is because their data exists in silos. In a European comparison, Swiss companies still have some catching up to do in the categories of data and governance.

"In addition to the ability to integrate data, the infrastructure used determines a company's AI capabilities to a large extent. For a highly scaled use of artificial intelligence, many Swiss companies still need to make adjustments," explains Christopher Tighe. Almost two thirds of Swiss companies say that their infrastructure is only scalable to a limited extent. There is also still a need for clarification on the topic of security. Nevertheless, a quarter of companies are aware of threats to their cyber security in connection with AI and machine learning and assign them a high priority.

"There is positive news," adds Christopher Tighe. "The index shows that companies in Switzerland are taking many proactive measures to prepare for an AI-centric future. Perhaps not as early adopters, but with a very strategic, well thought-out and long-term view." For example, 92 % of companies already have a solid AI strategy or are in the process of developing one. 71 % of companies are classified as either pacesetters or followers (fully/partially prepared) in the strategy category, with only 3 % falling into the category of laggards (not prepared). This puts Switzerland above the European average. This could be due to the fact that 97 % of respondents stated that the urgency of using AI technologies in their company has increased in the last six months. There is a high level of awareness of AI, particularly at board, management and executive level. The areas of IT infrastructure and cyber security also have the highest priority for the use of AI in Switzerland.

Further results:

• Infrastructure: Networks are currently not ready for AI workloads. 95 % of companies worldwide believe that AI will increase the workload on their infrastructure, but only 23 % of companies in Switzerland have suitable flexible networks. 71 % cannot handle new AI processes with their current IT infrastructure due to limited or no scalability. In order to meet the increased performance and computing requirements, more than 85 % of companies in Switzerland require additional graphics processing units (GPUs) in the data center.
• Data: Although data forms the basis for all AI activities, this category has the most laggards worldwide (17 %) and in Switzerland (22%).
• Talents: 90 % of the companies surveyed in Switzerland are already investing in further training for their employees. In 39% of the companies, their knowledge of AI is at a medium level at most.
• Governance: The introduction of AI guidelines is only slowly gaining momentum. 67 % of companies in Switzerland do not yet have comprehensive AI governance. To build trust in the technology and minimize risks, organizations should address this. This includes data protection and data sovereignty, as well as understanding and complying with global regulations, but also the concepts of bias, fairness and transparency in relation to both data and algorithms.
• Corporate culture: This area has the lowest number of pacemakers (5 %). Although 83 % of companies in Switzerland have plans for change management for the comprehensive introduction of AI. However, 74 % of these plans are currently still in the development phase.

Source: www.cisco.com