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From Experimentation to Execution: How Generative AI is Transforming Business Priorities

Matt Cloke
Endava

Generative AI represents more than just a technological advancement; it's a transformative shift in how businesses operate. Companies are beginning to tap into its ability to enhance processes, innovate products and improve customer experiences. According to Next Steps in the Era of Digital Business, a new IDC InfoBrief sponsored by Endava, 60% of CEOs globally highlight deploying AI, including generative AI, as their top modernization priority to support digital business ambitions over the next two years. And businesses are shifting from merely experimenting with technology to implementing it strategically.

But IDC found that only 17% of companies have successfully transitioned from testing generative AI to deploying it in live environments. The InfoBrief points to talent shortages and outdated infrastructure as significant challenges for organizations looking to scale their digital capabilities.

And the stakes are high. As a key enabler for innovation, companies that delay AI adoption risk slower time-to-market and reduced operational efficiency. With 38% of organizations making significant investments in generative AI, the race to harness its potential is only intensifying.

Image
Endava

Infrastructure and Strategy: Laying the Foundation for Success

Thriving in an AI-driven world requires more than simply adopting new technology — it demands robust infrastructure and thoughtful planning. The InfoBrief shows that organizations that achieve this level of implementation often attribute their success to high-quality data access and strong partnerships with vendors specializing in AI. On the other hand, nearly one in three organizations cite inadequate infrastructure performance as a barrier to achieving AI project success.

Modernizing legacy systems is critical for businesses looking to thrive in an AI-driven world. Outdated infrastructure often leads to overspending and limits the ability to scale new initiatives. By addressing technical debt, companies can free up resources to focus on strategic priorities, like leveraging AI to enhance operations or create personalized customer experiences.

Upgrading core systems ensures that infrastructure can handle the demands of generative AI, which 84% of organizations recognize as a major new workload. Without modernization, companies risk performance issues that can derail AI projects. A balanced approach is key — ensuring that new capabilities integrate seamlessly with existing operations.

Success in modernization often comes from partnering with external IT service providers who bring the expertise needed to manage complex transitions. These collaborations can streamline the process, reduce costs, and deliver reliable results, positioning businesses to innovate and compete more effectively.

The Human Factor: Bridging the Skills Gap

While AI technology itself is powerful, its success depends on the people behind it. A third of CEOs noted that attracting and retaining skilled talent is crucial to achieving their business goals. Unfortunately, many organizations lack the in-house expertise needed to fully leverage AI.

The report suggests that partnerships with external IT service providers can help bridge this gap. These providers bring the expertise required to implement AI projects effectively. In fact, 47% of companies that successfully deployed generative AI credit their partnerships with strategic vendors for their achievements. As ecosystems grow more complex, the ability to collaborate with skilled and flexible partners will be a defining factor for success.

Moving Forward with Confidence

As we enter the era of "AI everywhere," organizations must take proactive steps to adapt. Embracing change, modernizing infrastructure and ensuring access to high-quality data are pivotal steps to thrive in this evolving landscape. Equally, building strong partnerships and maintaining a clear focus on long-term goals will empower businesses to navigate this transformation with confidence.

Digital transformation is far from a one-time effort, and in fact, 48% of companies globally now consider themselves digital businesses. Those that seize AI's potential while addressing fundamental challenges will position themselves for sustainable growth in a technology-driven future. Agility and a steadfast commitment to innovation will distinguish leaders in this new phase of the digital era.

Success in this AI-driven world requires organizations to embrace the opportunities that come with change. Modernizing infrastructure to meet dynamic business needs and securing high-quality data to fuel AI-powered projects are essential. By partnering with skilled experts who bring fresh insights and proven expertise, businesses can gain a decisive edge — confidently overcoming challenges and staying ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Matt Cloke is Chief Technology Officer at Endava

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From Experimentation to Execution: How Generative AI is Transforming Business Priorities

Matt Cloke
Endava

Generative AI represents more than just a technological advancement; it's a transformative shift in how businesses operate. Companies are beginning to tap into its ability to enhance processes, innovate products and improve customer experiences. According to Next Steps in the Era of Digital Business, a new IDC InfoBrief sponsored by Endava, 60% of CEOs globally highlight deploying AI, including generative AI, as their top modernization priority to support digital business ambitions over the next two years. And businesses are shifting from merely experimenting with technology to implementing it strategically.

But IDC found that only 17% of companies have successfully transitioned from testing generative AI to deploying it in live environments. The InfoBrief points to talent shortages and outdated infrastructure as significant challenges for organizations looking to scale their digital capabilities.

And the stakes are high. As a key enabler for innovation, companies that delay AI adoption risk slower time-to-market and reduced operational efficiency. With 38% of organizations making significant investments in generative AI, the race to harness its potential is only intensifying.

Image
Endava

Infrastructure and Strategy: Laying the Foundation for Success

Thriving in an AI-driven world requires more than simply adopting new technology — it demands robust infrastructure and thoughtful planning. The InfoBrief shows that organizations that achieve this level of implementation often attribute their success to high-quality data access and strong partnerships with vendors specializing in AI. On the other hand, nearly one in three organizations cite inadequate infrastructure performance as a barrier to achieving AI project success.

Modernizing legacy systems is critical for businesses looking to thrive in an AI-driven world. Outdated infrastructure often leads to overspending and limits the ability to scale new initiatives. By addressing technical debt, companies can free up resources to focus on strategic priorities, like leveraging AI to enhance operations or create personalized customer experiences.

Upgrading core systems ensures that infrastructure can handle the demands of generative AI, which 84% of organizations recognize as a major new workload. Without modernization, companies risk performance issues that can derail AI projects. A balanced approach is key — ensuring that new capabilities integrate seamlessly with existing operations.

Success in modernization often comes from partnering with external IT service providers who bring the expertise needed to manage complex transitions. These collaborations can streamline the process, reduce costs, and deliver reliable results, positioning businesses to innovate and compete more effectively.

The Human Factor: Bridging the Skills Gap

While AI technology itself is powerful, its success depends on the people behind it. A third of CEOs noted that attracting and retaining skilled talent is crucial to achieving their business goals. Unfortunately, many organizations lack the in-house expertise needed to fully leverage AI.

The report suggests that partnerships with external IT service providers can help bridge this gap. These providers bring the expertise required to implement AI projects effectively. In fact, 47% of companies that successfully deployed generative AI credit their partnerships with strategic vendors for their achievements. As ecosystems grow more complex, the ability to collaborate with skilled and flexible partners will be a defining factor for success.

Moving Forward with Confidence

As we enter the era of "AI everywhere," organizations must take proactive steps to adapt. Embracing change, modernizing infrastructure and ensuring access to high-quality data are pivotal steps to thrive in this evolving landscape. Equally, building strong partnerships and maintaining a clear focus on long-term goals will empower businesses to navigate this transformation with confidence.

Digital transformation is far from a one-time effort, and in fact, 48% of companies globally now consider themselves digital businesses. Those that seize AI's potential while addressing fundamental challenges will position themselves for sustainable growth in a technology-driven future. Agility and a steadfast commitment to innovation will distinguish leaders in this new phase of the digital era.

Success in this AI-driven world requires organizations to embrace the opportunities that come with change. Modernizing infrastructure to meet dynamic business needs and securing high-quality data to fuel AI-powered projects are essential. By partnering with skilled experts who bring fresh insights and proven expertise, businesses can gain a decisive edge — confidently overcoming challenges and staying ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Matt Cloke is Chief Technology Officer at Endava

Hot Topics

The Latest

AI is the catalyst for significant investment in data teams as enterprises require higher-quality data to power their AI applications, according to the State of Analytics Engineering Report from dbt Labs ...

Misaligned architecture can lead to business consequences, with 93% of respondents reporting negative outcomes such as service disruptions, high operational costs and security challenges ...

A Gartner analyst recently suggested that GenAI tools could create 25% time savings for network operational teams. Where might these time savings come from? How are GenAI tools helping NetOps teams today, and what other tasks might they take on in the future as models continue improving? In general, these savings come from automating or streamlining manual NetOps tasks ...

IT and line-of-business teams are increasingly aligned in their efforts to close the data gap and drive greater collaboration to alleviate IT bottlenecks and offload growing demands on IT teams, according to The 2025 Automation Benchmark Report: Insights from IT Leaders on Enterprise Automation & the Future of AI-Driven Businesses from Jitterbit ...

A large majority (86%) of data management and AI decision makers cite protecting data privacy as a top concern, with 76% of respondents citing ROI on data privacy and AI initiatives across their organization, according to a new Harris Poll from Collibra ...

According to Gartner, Inc. the following six trends will shape the future of cloud over the next four years, ultimately resulting in new ways of working that are digital in nature and transformative in impact ...

2020 was the equivalent of a wedding with a top-shelf open bar. As businesses scrambled to adjust to remote work, digital transformation accelerated at breakneck speed. New software categories emerged overnight. Tech stacks ballooned with all sorts of SaaS apps solving ALL the problems — often with little oversight or long-term integration planning, and yes frequently a lot of duplicated functionality ... But now the music's faded. The lights are on. Everyone from the CIO to the CFO is checking the bill. Welcome to the Great SaaS Hangover ...

Regardless of OpenShift being a scalable and flexible software, it can be a pain to monitor since complete visibility into the underlying operations is not guaranteed ... To effectively monitor an OpenShift environment, IT administrators should focus on these five key elements and their associated metrics ...

An overwhelming majority of IT leaders (95%) believe the upcoming wave of AI-powered digital transformation is set to be the most impactful and intensive seen thus far, according to The Science of Productivity: AI, Adoption, And Employee Experience, a new report from Nexthink ...

Overall outage frequency and the general level of reported severity continue to decline, according to the Outage Analysis 2025 from Uptime Institute. However, cyber security incidents are on the rise and often have severe, lasting impacts ...