Deloitte AI Institute: Becoming an AI-fueled Organisation
Deloitte AI Institute has published its fourth edition of the "State of AI in the Enterprise" survey, which explores transformations happening inside organisations that are using AI to drive value.
Conducted between March and May 2021, the report finds that AI-fueled organisations leverage data as an asset to deploy and scale AI systematically across all types of core business processes in a human-centered way.
"By embracing AI strategically and challenging orthodoxies, organisations can define a roadmap for adoption, quality delivery and scale to create or unlock value faster than ever before," Irfan Saif, Deloitte AI co-leader, and principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP.
2,875 executives were surveyed from 11 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and the findings aim to help companies overcome challenges to becoming an AI-fueled organisation, no matter what stage of AI transformation they are in, and especially to help those who are earlier in their transformation.
Differences in AI maturity
Deloitte grouped organisations into four profiles based on how many types of AI applications they have deployed full-scale and the number of outcomes achieved to a high degree.
28% of survey respondents are "Transformers," who report high outcomes and a high number of AI deployments. This group has identified and largely adopted leading practices associated with the strongest AI outcomes. 26% are "Pathseekers," reporting high outcomes, but a low number of deployments. Pathseekers have adopted capabilities and behaviors that are leading to success, but on fewer initiatives and they have not scaled to the same degree as Transformers.
"Underachievers" were 17% of respondents, reporting low outcomes and a high number of deployments. While these organisations have a significant amount of AI deployment activity, they haven't adopted enough leading practices to help them effectively achieve meaningful outcomes. "Starters",29% of survey respondents, reported low outcomes and a low number of deployments. These organisations have gotten a late start in building AI capabilities and are the least likely to demonstrate leading practice behaviours.
According to the report, transformers were three times more likely to have an enterprise-wide strategy in place, and twice as likely as Starters to report a differentiated AI approach.
Changing management and ecosystems
The report found that organisations that invest in change management to a high degree are 1.6 times more likely to report that AI initiatives exceed expectations and over 1.5 times more likely to achieve their desired goals. However, most organisations underinvest this area. Only 37% of survey respondents reported significant investment in change management, incentives, or training activities to help their people integrate new technology into their work, often resulting in a slower, less successful transformation.
83%) of the highest achieving organisations (Transformers and Pathfinders) create a diverse ecosystem of partnerships to execute their AI strategy. Organisations with diverse ecosystems are significantly more likely to have a transformative vision for AI, enterprise-wide AI strategies, and use AI as a strategic differentiator.
"The risks associated with AI remain top of mind for executives. We found that high-achieving organisations report being more prepared to manage risks associated with AI and confident that they can deploy AI initiatives in a trustworthy way," said Beena Ammanath, executive director of the Deloitte AI Institute, Deloitte Consulting LLP.
