Business AI spend set to continue rising – but are companies ready for the new tech?

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The prevalence of artificial intelligence has become a driving factor behind businesses’ IT modernization strategies, but the continued spend on the technology is potentially bypassing some potential issues, new research has cliamed.

A Couchbase study of 500 senior IT decision-makers found investment in IT modernization is set to see a 27% increase in 2024, with technologies such as generative AI playing a crucial role.

However, the outlook isn’t entirely positive, with many enterprises expressing concern over their readiness to adopt the game-changing technology.

Are companies spending on AI too early?

The report found that three in five (59%) were concerned about their ability to manage data as per the demands of generative AI, however currently, fewer than one in five (18%) report having a comprehensive data strategy tailored for this purpose.

A similar number (60%) noted their concern about their organization’s compute power and data center infrastructure capacities.

Matt McDonough, SVP of Product and Partners at Couchbase, emphasized the critical role of data architecture in the wider rollout of AI tools:

“Enterprises must be certain that their data architecture can cope with GenAI’s demands, as without high-speed access to accurate, tightly managed data it can easily guide individuals and organizations down the wrong path.”

The enterprises surveyed by Couchbase anticipated spending an average of $35.5 million on IT modernization in 2024, with one-third of the budget being designated to artificial intelligence. The average figure for generative AI specifically stood at $6.7 million, representing around 19% of their entire budgets.

McDonough summarized: “Investing in the right data management and infrastructure architecture will help unlock GenAI’s transformative potential.”

As enterprises face increasing pressure to explore new and emerging AI technologies, Couchbase’s survey serves as a harsh wakeup call, highlighting the importance of a solid data foundation.