Over 70% Companies Prioritising AI Over All Other Digital Investments: Accenture Study

A new study by Accenture has revealed that nearly three-fourths (73 per cent) of companies are prioritising artificial intelligence (AI) over all other digital investments and with the immediate focus on improving operational resilience in an unprecedented environment.

The report found 90 per cent of business leaders are applying AI to tackle aspects of operational resilience, which spans data-driven capabilities, such as finance (89 per cent) and supply chain (88 per cent), to experimentation with generative AI.

In a statement, Yusuf Tayob, group chief executive of Accenture Operations said, “All CEOs are under pressure to digitise faster, put more resilience in the business, and find new pathways to growth.”

The findings assessed organisations across six measures of operational maturity, including AI, data, processes, talent, collaboration and stakeholder experiences.

While just 9 per cent companies achieved maturity on all fronts, those that did averaged 1.4 times higher operating margins over peers, while driving 42 per cent faster innovation, 34 per cent better sustainability and 30 per cent higher satisfaction scores.

“The right investments in technology while advancing talent, data and processes is what drives a new performance frontier,” Tayob added.

With a talent strategy that mirrors data and digital maturity, enterprises averaged nearly three-times higher productivity when prioritising training and specialised skills to address talent needs. This was further echoed by investments being made in new ways of working (cited by 94 per cent) and the 90 per cent of (COO, CIO, CHRO) respondents who plan to increase specialised and technical talent over the next three years.