More than half (54%) of surveyed organisations across the globe say artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) are the main drivers for increasing their investment in cloud.
This is according to a survey by technology services and consulting company Wipro, which highlights the evolving dynamics of cloud and AI adoption across industries.
The “Pulse of Cloud,” survey conducted by the Wipro FullStride Cloud unit, is a quarterly survey series that delves into the current state of cloud adoption and digital transformation strategies. Each edition features insights on business technology topics that matter most to global enterprise executives.
The findings are drawn from a survey of over 500 business leaders worldwide, across sectors, to offer a detailed look at the latest trends and how companies are navigating the dynamic landscape of cloud computing and AI.
Furthermore, as organisations prepare for an AI-driven future, they are boosting investment in cloud, with more than half of respondents indicating they are increasing budgets for hybrid (54%) and public (56%) cloud.
While 55% say their cloud adoption is outstripping AI adoption, more than one-third (35%) say they are advancing in tandem with both technologies.
“Our survey findings confirm that cloud continues to be the primary transformational platform for the enterprise, empowering organisations to innovate and stay competitive,” says Jo Debecker, managing partner and global head of Wipro FullStride Cloud.
“The importance of an effective cloud strategy is only amplified with the increasing focus on AI. The cloud’s scalability and processing power are critical in holding and managing the huge volumes of reference data required by AI. As such, cloud investment decisions are increasingly being driven by the need to support AI.”
The launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT language model-based chatbot in 2022 brought to public attention the power of GenAI technology, with new use cases emerging daily.
The Wipro report also reveals the growing focus on cloud cost management, with 54% of organisations leveraging utilisation analysis and automation tools for cost management, and 59% now using a unified cloud management strategy.
“As enterprises rethink their infrastructure to reap the benefits of AI, they are also seeing increased value in adopting a cloud economics approach. Our survey shows that as data migration and the adoption of AI-related applications increasingly drive cloud investment, unified cost management strategies are also growing in importance,” notes Debecker.
According to a study by IBM South Africa, more South African organisations are embracing GenAI in their enterprise strategies, to drive significant results and achieve sustainable impacts on their bottom line.
Over 50% of surveyed CEOs across SA are now hiring for GenAI roles that did not exist last year, it says.
Meanwhile, another recently released study, titled: “How work preferences are shifting in the age of GenAI“ − published by Boston Consulting Group, The Network, The Stepstone Group and CareerJunction – states South African workers are demonstrating a remarkable willingness to adopt GenAI.
The study found South African workers primarily use GenAI for learning and research (47%), writing tasks (44%) and administrative duties (40%). In their personal lives, they leverage the technology for skills development (60%), accessing general knowledge (50%) and supporting career advancement (49%).
Share