In a business landscape where productivity and revenue growth stand at the forefront of organisational priorities, the role of generative AI (GenAI) is taking centre stage. International Data Corporation (IDC) foresees a major paradigm shift taking place, with 35% of enterprises worldwide using GenAI to co-develop digital products and services by 2025, potentially doubling their revenue growth compared to their competitors.
And, as this adoption accelerates, IDC predicts that the implementation of skills development powered by GenAI and automation will enable organizations to drive $1-trillion in productivity gains worldwide by 2026.
The pivotal question arises: what will customers prioritise as they build their GenAI road maps? The responses to a recent global C-suite survey carried out by IDC suggest that much of the focus over the next 18 to 24 months will be on driving productivity improvements, especially in relation to the sales, IT, and finance functions.
Indeed, more than 50% of the respondents emphasised that productivity gains are the most important business outcome they are targeting for the next 18 months.
In 2024, GenAI tools will enable senior leaders to double the productive use of unstructured data by uncovering untapped insights and knowledge.
But Jyoti Lalchandani, IDC’s group vice president and regional managing director for the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa (META), expects priorities to evolve as organisations broaden their sights beyond productivity.
“For most organisations, it is easy to develop hundreds of productivity use cases around GenAI, but many are already questioning whether they are over-pivoting on cost reduction and not focusing enough on how GenAI can help them to grow their revenues,” says Lalchandani.
“We expect the emphasis on productivity gains to give way to revenue growth outcomes in the next three to five years, with sales, IT, finance, operations, and supply chain functions all reporting revenue growth expectations from GenAI. Providers must track this shift carefully with their core buyers to ensure that their GenAI solution offerings continue to align with the evolving business goals of their customers.”