- 83% of IT decision-makers across Canada reported progress on their AI
strategies in 2024
- More than half of Canadian respondents (56%) plan to
increase AI investment in 2025
- Despite limited return on investment (ROI) so far, Canadian
organizations are betting on AI in the long term,
prioritizing innovation and productivity gains over traditional
financial savings
MARKHAM,
ON and TORONTO, Jan. 15,
2025 /CNW/ -- New study, commissioned by IBM (NYSE:
IBM) found that Canadian companies surveyed are investing in AI for
the long term, with a growing interest in using open-source tools
to drive ROI and innovation going forward.
The study of more than 2,400 IT decision makers (ITDMs),
conducted by Morning Consult and developed in collaboration with
Lopez Research, revealed that 83% of Canadian respondents report
making progress in executing their 2024 AI strategy, with 42%
already seeing positive ROI from their AI investments. The data
reveals that Canadian businesses are using a combination of buying
or leasing AI tools from vendors (65%), using an open-source
ecosystem (57%) as compared to in-house development (42%).
"This is a crucial year to pivot on AI adoption in Canadian
organizations and our success hinges on strategic investments
across models, platforms and supporting our people," said
Deb Pimentel, President, IBM
Canada and General Manager, IBM Technology Canada. "This study
underscores the importance of open-source platforms, high-quality
data, and a well-defined AI strategy to enhance productivity. We're
committed to partnering with clients and partners to accelerate
their AI strategies."
More than half (56%) of Canadian respondents indicate they will
increase their AI investments in 2025, while planning to leverage
open-source ecosystems (41%), hire specialized talent (41%),
evaluate models (43%) and use cloud managed services (49%) to
optimize AI implementation.
"As organizations begin to implement AI at scale, many are
placing greater stock in success metrics such as productivity
gains, in part because traditional hard-dollar ROI have yet to show
up on the balance sheets," said Maribel
Lopez of Lopez Research. "Yet, they continue to rapidly
advance their AI strategies, with no sign of slowing down.
Companies seem to now recognize the value of defining specific use
cases and optimizing AI projects. They are leveraging hybrid
cloud strategies and open source to drive AI
innovation and deliver financial returns."
Key Canadian findings include:
Companies are betting on AI for the long
term
- 83% of Canadian ITDMs surveyed reported that their company has
made progress in executing its AI strategy.
- 42% Canada respondents
reported positive ROI from AI investments compared to the global
average of 47%.
- ROI is not necessarily the primary driver of AI investments at
Canadian organizations and the lack of short-term ROI is not
discouraging companies. 39% of Canada respondents reported that AI investment
was equally innovation-driven and ROI-driven, with only 7%
reporting their strategy was exclusively ROI-driven.
- 25% of Canadian respondents identified 'more rapid innovation'
as the most important metric, followed by 'productivity time
savings' and 'faster software development' with 21% each. While
monetary savings (16%) and short time to trouble shoot issues (17%)
are considered less important ROI measurements.
- In Canada, companies are
planning to use more cloud managed services (49%), evaluating
models (43%) and using more open source (41%) and hiring
specialized talent (41%).
Organizations remain committed to expanding their AI
investment, with open-source emerging as a key priority for
2025
- 2025 will kick off with at least half of of AI pilots fully
launched for organizations in Canada. 31% Canadian ITDMs responded 41 to60%
of their AI pilots would have fully launched by the end of
2024.
- 46% Canadian ITDMs indicated their organizations started
between 11 and 20 AI pilots in 2024 compared to 51% globally
- Open source is becoming a key priority in Canada , with close to 47% of Canadian ITDMs
stating that 25 to 49% of their company's current AI solutions or
platforms are based on open-source.
Data quality and integration are the most common obstacles
for organizations implementing AI.
- 'Data quality and availability' is identified as the most
common obstacles for Canadian organizations (49%) moving from AI
pilots to full launch. This is followed by scalability issues (47%)
and integration with existing systems (44%).
- Additionally, when implementing AI, the biggest challenges for
Canadian organization are technology integration (27%), lack of AI
expertise (27%) and lack of AI governance (25%).
To view the full study, visit:
https://newsroom.ibm.com/image/IBM_ROI_of_AI_Report-December_2024.pdf
Study Methodology
Morning Consult conducted a survey from October 30 to November 13, 2024, among a total
sample of 2,413 IT Decision Makers (ITDMs) in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, Spain, India,
Singapore, Indonesia, and South
Korea. The interviews were conducted online, and the data is
unweighted. Respondents are employed at companies with 101
employees or more, serving in director-level or higher roles within
a technology role, with decision-making authority over at least one
of the following: management of business consultants/consulting
services, purchasing for IT products, or purchasing for business
consulting services.
About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid
cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more
than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data,
streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the
competitive edge in their industries. More than 4,000 government
and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as
financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's
hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital
transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's
breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing,
industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and
flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's
long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility,
inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more
information.
Media Contact:
Ruhee Dhar
External Relations Lead
IBM Canada
ruhee@ibm.com
SOURCE IBM Canada