Rackspace Technology has released research showing a skills gap in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) solutions. The vast majority of Middle East IT leaders state that their organisations plan to construct AI/ML solutions from the bottom up, with only 9% opting for off-the-shelf solutions.
According to the AI/ML Annual Research Report 2022, Middle Eastern IT leaders are actively looking for experts with AI and ML expertise because of the trend towards AI/ML maturity.
More than a quarter of organisations (13%) believe that a lack of expertise has made it difficult to capitalise on the results of AI and ML projects. IT executives want more training for team members in AI and ML programming and software design (44%), ML (40%), data quality analysis (46%), and data governance and security knowledge (46%). (44%).
The majority of IT leaders (68%) believe that AI AI and ML are now part of their current business strategy, with the majority of businesses (71%) reporting significant advantages from AI and ML to their operations. Those who have used it report a good impact on revenue (77%), the capacity to cut expenditures (68%), brand reputation (73%), and brand awareness (73%). (74 percent ).
Organisations are now moving into a stage where they are optimising and scaling their AI and ML models with (35%) or moving from proof of concepts and pilots to formalise the solution in production (27%). To further realise the technology’s potential, IT leaders are investing a greater proportion of their IT budgets in AI and ML programs. 90% of Middle East organisations are dedicating more than 6% of their annual IT budget to these initiatives in 2022 – a 32 percentage point increase on those that committed that proportion of their budget in 2021.
“Many organisations are moving into the next stage of maturity for their AI and ML implementations to drive real return on investment, and we are seeing this reflected in the more prominent role AI plays in business and IT strategies. But this shift means that the use of AI is no longer a competitive advantage. The lack of investment in AI has become a significant competitive disadvantage,” said Simon Bennett, CTO, EMEA at Rackspace Technology
“To help increase the understanding of AI and ML, many leaders are investing in internal upskilling programmes. But, companies should not only look at what dedicated skills they can hire into their organisation which can be both expensive and hard to source, but consider where trusted partners can offer expertise and experience to kick start initiatives which will grow in frequency and importance,” Bennett added.
