While many companies are deploying artificial intelligence to improve their IT and business operations, new research by Equinix shows that a significant percentage of organizations have the right IT infrastructure and internal It has been shown that it does not have expertise in
Today, 85% of global IT leaders are already using AI or planning to use it. However, according to Equinix’s 2023 Global Technology Trends Survey, 42% question whether their existing IT infrastructure can meet the demands of AI, and 41% question their IT team’s ability to meet the increasing use of AI. Not satisfied.
The annual report, released today, surveyed 2,900 IT decision makers around the world this spring on technology trends, sustainability, IT adoption plans and the top threats to business success.
IT leaders in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are the most uncertain about the AI readiness of their infrastructure, with 49% wondering if their infrastructure can handle AI workloads. increase. This was followed by IT leaders from Asia Pacific (44%) and IT leaders from the Americas (32%). In the US alone, 36% of the 100 US IT leaders surveyed by Equinix feel their existing infrastructure and their IT teams are not ready for AI.
How to prepare your infrastructure for AI
AI readiness research highlights the need for businesses to upgrade or modernize their IT infrastructure through on-premises data centers or colocation facilities and cloud services. This includes ensuring that not only the data center infrastructure but also the network infrastructure can handle AI workloads, said Karadhar Volganti, senior technologist at Equinix.
“When you’re developing AI, often all the data doesn’t fit within the four walls,” Volganti said. Data center knowledge in an interview. “They have to go to the cloud or to a data broker. They have to go to an external data source, and they have to get that data securely and fast to where the AI computation is happening. So from a networking perspective, they’re going to: Rethink how we build AI infrastructure.”
The AI Readiness Study shows that enterprise IT organizations are looking to hire outside expertise or hire current employees to develop the skills needed to build the infrastructure and deploy AI applications. The need for training is also highlighted. In fact, according to an Equinix survey of IT leaders worldwide, 37% of companies growing their IT teams are looking for AI and ML expertise.
In the United States, survey respondents said the top two reasons for using or planning to use AI were improving IT operations (85% of respondents) and cybersecurity (78% of respondents). It is said that The top five AI use cases are customer experience (76%), marketing (73%), and research and development (72%).
Companies Adopt Digital Twin Technology
An Equinix survey found that 9 in 10 global IT leaders have implemented or plan to begin using digital twin technology. A digital twin is a virtual or digital representation of a physical asset, object, or manufacturing process that provides an organization with data insight into its operations.
Among those who have adopted this technology, the top benefits were increased productivity (54% of respondents), reduced costs (45%) and increased customer satisfaction (41%).
Employment of increasing IT personnel
Most of the world’s IT decision makers say they have plans to expand their IT teams despite the economic uncertainty. In fact, an Equinix survey found that 57% said they added to their IT staff in the past two years, and 66% plan to increase their IT staff in the next 12 months.
Here are the top five jobs and skills where new talent is being added:
- IT engineer
- cloud computing
- AI/machine learning
- data protection
- data analysis
However, companies argue that recruiting and retaining talent is a challenge. When asked what the biggest skills challenge facing the tech industry is, 45% of IT leaders worldwide cited the speed of change in the tech industry, followed by talent retention (36%) and talent availability. (also 36%).
Compliance with sustainability and environmental regulations
Nearly half (47%) of global IT decision makers expressed confidence in their companies’ ability to meet customer demand for sustainable practices. A further 42% said they were confident but needed more effort. The survey found that 10% said they were under pressure to become more sustainable, but only 2% said they lacked confidence in their sustainability efforts and risked losing their business. .
A majority of global IT leaders say meeting new or upcoming environmental regulations is a challenge. In fact, 64% say carbon pricing or other environmental pricing is difficult. About the same number (63%) said new restrictions on their activities and additional non-reporting obligations were a challenge, and 62% said new reporting obligations were a challenge.
Equinix reports that half (51%) use automated tools, 45% join industry associations to promote sustainable projects, and 41% outsource or hire outside consultants to manage environmental regulations. are hiring.
Threats to business success and top priorities
Global IT leaders say cyberattacks (72%), security breaches and data breaches (71%), and IT talent shortages (67%) are the top threats to business success.
Finally, when asked what their priorities are, their top four areas of focus are improving cybersecurity, improving the customer experience, complying with data protection regulations, and future-proofing their business. was found in the survey.
