Organizations Worldwide Brace for a Year of AI Transformation, Security Challenges, and Sustainability Imperatives

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 11 December 2024 - NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the intelligent data infrastructure company, released its second annual Data Complexity Report, which examines how global organizations are navigating the increasing complexity of managing their data for AI. This year's report provides a global view into how AI will impact organizations in 2025 and beyond, offering insights to help businesses leverage AI's potential while navigating the complexities and risks that accompany this transformative technology. "2025 is shaping up to be a defining year for AI, as organizations transition from experimentation to scaling their AI capabilities," said Gabie Boko, Chief Marketing Officer, NetApp. "This year's Data Complexity Report shows that businesses are making significant investments to drive innovation and efficiency, but these efforts will succeed only if global tech executives can address the mounting challenges of data complexity, security, and sustainability. Intelligent data infrastructure, with unified data storage at its core, will be key to unlocking AI's potential." AI Investment: Will AI Break the Bank? Two-thirds of companies worldwide report that their data is either fully or mostly optimized for AI. However, despite this progress, 2025 will still demand investment in AI and data management. In fact, 40% of global technology executives believe that unprecedented investment in AI and data management will be required for their companies in 2025. While companies have made strides in optimizing data for AI, achieving future breakthroughs will demand even greater commitment and resources. The study classified the surveyed markets into AI leading and AI lagging countries. The four APAC markets of India, Japan, Singapore and Australia & New Zealand (A/NZ) all fall into the leading bucket, with the overall proportion of APAC respondents saying that their business's data is fully or mostly optimized for AI averaging 73%, slightly above the global number. Data Silos: Will Your Data Impede AI Success? Data unification is emerging as a critical driver of AI success, with 79% of global tech executives recognizing the importance of unifying data to achieve optimal AI outcomes. Companies that prioritize unifying data are more likely to reach their AI goals in 2025, with only 23% of companies that prioritize unifying data saying they won't reach their goals, versus 30% of companies that don't prioritize unifying data. Investing in data management and infrastructure has become the top priority for organizations, with executives emphasizing it twice as much as other AI-related initiatives – a trend set to grow. Looking to the future, organizations that embrace data unification will be better positioned to fully harness the transformative power of AI, ensuring they stay ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape. In APAC, 85% of tech executives recognized the importance of unifying data to achieve optimal AI outcomes in 2025. Every country is increasing their data management or infrastructure investments except India, reflecting India's previous investments and lead in AI adoption. In India, 44% of tech executives see data management or infrastructure as their current top priority, with a lower 37% seeing it as a future top priority. In the other parts of APAC, tech executives in Japan (42%), Singapore (49%) and A/NZ (43%) see data management and infrastructure investments as their top future investment priority – which are higher than their current top priority. Data Security: Will Cyber Threats Scale Along with AI? Global tech executives are bracing for a significant rise in security threats alongside AI adoption, with 41% predicting a sharp increase in 2025. Data privacy and security concerns have remained top challenges globally year-over-year, with AI leading countries like India, Japan, Singapore and A/NZ and the United States (whom are farther ahead in their AI journey) facing nearly twice the number of security issues compared to AI-lagging countries like Germany, France and Spain. As much as 72% of APAC respondents said the rise in AI adoption has led to an increase in security challenges for their businesses. AI-driven security challenges are weighing heavily on the minds of global tech leaders, with 59% identifying these threats as a leading global stressor. Likewise in APAC, over half of the surveyed respondents (54%) have recognized AI-driven security challenges as their top stressor. This heightened focus reflects the growing complexity of cyber risks. Executives at the board and C-suite levels continue to prioritize cybersecurity and ransomware protection, with 38% ranking it as a top priority. However, there's a silver lining: the strategic measures organizations have implemented appear to be paying off. The focus on cybersecurity...