Risks and reward
With widespread AI adoption driving rapid change in the way businesses operate and invest, we also explored the biggest tech threats facing companies.
At a time when deepfake imagery, chatbot hacks and robocalls are dominating the media agenda, nearly one third (28%) of executives cited cyber security as their top concern. Generative AI is substantially behind at just 14%, followed by sustainability on 8%. Other areas cited of key importance were improving remote working and using big data to cut costs.
When asked what their biggest talent pain points were, cyber security once again topped the list at 39%, followed by software development on 22%, cloud architecture at 20%, data analytics on 19% and AI on just 19%.
Despite being listed behind several other talent pain points, AI topped the list when it came to posing a direct threat to the organisation, with 49% agreeing. The highest proportion was in the US with 57% agreeing, compared with 49% in the UK, 43% in Germany and only 35% in the Netherlands.
Breaking down the data by job title, it became clear that CEOs were more likely than anyone else to see generative AI as a threat to their business. Our research also showed that larger organisations saw gen AI as a bigger threat, perhaps demonstrating that smaller companies remain blissfully ignorant to the very real threats facing them in the future.
Cyber was first place when it comes to 2024 investment priorities, with 30% of respondents saying it was the most important consideration for extra funding. It’s reassuring that organisations recognise the ever-increasing threat posed by cyber attacks and are committed to bolstering their cyber security. This was followed by generative AI (19%) and software development at 14%.
