It looks as if Al adoption is being driven by people like you and me, who can see unambiguous benefits on offer, and are driving initiatives to bring Al technologies and tools into business applications.

This is not just a case of IT departments trying out the latest new thing - the understanding of what Al can contribute goes right across functional departments, including sales and marketing, finance, production and supply chain management. With Al already in use at approximately half of all the companies surveyed and that number set to rise to 70% within two years, this is clearly a highly significant trend.

But there is something missing. The fact that only 25% of the companies interviewed see Al as strategically important and just 11% have an Al strategy in place today - despite the involvement of board-level executives in two-thirds of the companies surveyed - suggests that the big picture is being submerged in a drive to deliver important but potentially limited optimization benefits.

There is a risk that the lack of a strategic approach to Al - which includes dealing with the internal cultural and process bottlenecks identified as an obstacle to Al adoption raised by over half the respondents - means that companies will miss out on opportunities to deploy game-changing apps which radically improve the customer experience. These are the strategic advantages on offer from Al and which will drive new, potentially disruptive business opportunities.

Fujitsu believes that now is the time for senior management to take ownership of Al strategy, to look into the longer term and to reach out for the high-level gains that will differentiate your organization in the future.

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