Couchbase：2025年数字现代化报告 Digital Modernization in 2025 Are Data Strategies Ready for the AI Age

couchbase

CIOSURVEY

DigitalModernizationin2025AreDataStrategiesReadyfortheAIAge?

ACouchbaseresearchreport:Investigatinghowdigitalmodernizationstrategiesareadaptingtotheriseofartificialintelligence

TableofContents

EXECUTIVESUMMARY3

PARTONE:THEDIGITALMODERNIZATIONLANDSCAPE4

PARTTWO:THEARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCEAGE7

PARTTHREE:PREPARINGFORTHEAGEOFAI10

PARTFOUR:THEDAWNOFADAPTIVEAPPLICATIONS15

CONCLUSION:HARNESSINGAI18

METHODOLOGY18

)

CIOSURVEY2

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

Asdigitalmodernizationcontinuesunabated,theriseofgenerativeAI(GenAI)is

creatingnewopportunitiesandchallengesforITteams.Alongsideextrademandsforresourcesandsecurityguardrails,AIisunlockingnewtypesofapplicationsthatcantransformtheend-userexperienceandhelpboostproductivityatatimewhenthedemandsonenterprisesareever-increasing.

Couchbase’sseventhannualsurveyofITdecisionmakersexploreshowITfunctions

arereactingtotherapidgrowthofGenAI,andAIingeneral.Hasitshiftedtheirinvestmentdecisions?Aretheyhavingtomakesacrificesinotherareastokeeppacewiththisnewtechnology?Aretheyconfidentthattheirinfrastructure,andparticularlytheirdataarchitecture,isfuture-proofedagainstrapidtechnologicalevolution?Andwhatpotentialdotheyseeinthenewintelligent,adaptive

applicationsthatAIenables?Weaskedenterpriseswith1,000+employeesfortheiranswers.

Lookingatdigitalmodernizationasawhole,thisisdefinitelyatimeofchange.Theaverageinvestmentindigitalmodernizationwas$28millionin2023.Yetthisissettoclimb–respondentsexpectinvestmenttosoarby27%to$35.5millionin2024.Andwhilefactorssuchasover-relianceonlegacytechnologies,oranunacceptableperceivedriskoffailure,arestillcausingprojectstofail,sufferdelaysorberejectedbeforetheybegin,thereisaclearunderstandingthatITneedstodomorewiththeresourcesatitsdisposal.Onaverage,enterprisesneedtoincreaseproductivitybymorethanone-thirdyear-on-yeartoremaincompetitive.

Atthesametime,GenAIisaclearpriorityforenterprises.98%ofrespondents

havespecificgoalstouseGenAIin2024,andAIwillaccountforalmostathirdofalldigitalmodernizationspendingin2023and2024–theequivalentof$21millionperenterprise.Whilemostenterpriseshavebeenabletobalancethebookswiththis

investment,26%havehadtodivertspendingfromareassuchasITsupportandsecuritytomeettheirAIgoals.

ThebiggestquestionformanyITdepartmentsiswhethertheycansupport

unconstrainedAIgrowth.Onaverage,respondentsbelievetheirITinfrastructureas-iswillbeincapableofsupportingGenAIapplicationsrunin-housewithin19

months.Becauseofthis,enterprisesarelookingatothermethodstoaccessthe

necessarycomputingpower.Forinstance,mostorganizationssayedgecomputingwillbe“critical”forenablingnewGenAIapplications,asitallowscomputingpowertobedeliveredmosteffectivelywhereit’sneeded.

Finally,thereisthequestionofwhattypesofapplicationsITteamscreateusing

GenAI.Withdevelopersconsistentlyunderpressuretocreatenew,improvedend-userexperiences,creatinggeneralistapplicationsthatactasa“jackofalltrades”butmasterofnoneisnotanattractiveoption.Instead,enterprisesareexploringadaptiveapplications–thatperformasingletaskbutcanuseAItoaddintelligencebasedonuserprofiles,enterprisedata,andreal-timeeventsandsituations.

CIOSURVEY3

PARTONE:THEDIGITALMODERNIZATIONLANDSCAPE

Onaverage,enterprisesspent$28milliononITmodernizationin2023–10%less

thantheypredictedtheywouldspendondigitaltransformationinlastyear’ssurvey.However,thelong-termoutlookispositive.Investmentispredictedtoriseby27%,to$35.5million,in2024–thesinglehighestyear-on-yearincreaserecorded(Figure1).

Figure1

$28M

averagespendonITmodernizationin2023

$35.5M

averagepredictedspend

onITmodernization

in2024

27%

year-on-yearriseinITmodernizationspend

Thispositivityextendstoorganizations’progresstowardmeetingtheirIT

modernizationgoals.Overall,fewerITdepartmentsarebehindintheirexpected

progressthaninlastyear’ssurvey,andmoreareaheadofprogressorhavealreadycompletedtheirgoals(Figure2).

Figure2:ChartofprogresstowardITmodernizationgoals

44%

organizationsbehindexpectedprogress–8%improvement

24%

organizationsaheadofexpectedprogress–9%improvement

Whiletherearepositivesigns,enterprisesarestillfacingchallenges.Every

singleenterprisehasbeenpreventedfrompursuinganewdigitalserviceor

otherITmodernizationprojectbecauseofissueswithtechnology,resourcesor

organizationalbuy-in.Similarly,everyenterprisehashadanactivedigitalprojectfail,sufferasignificantdelayorbescaledbackforsimilarissues–representingonaverage$4millioninwastedspending(Figure3).

Figure3

$4M

averagespendonfailed,delayedand/orscaledbackprojects

14.54%

proportionofITmodernizationbudgetspent

CIOSURVEY4

Therearemanysimilaritiesinissuesthatcauseprojectstofail,orpreventthem

frombeingstartedinthefirstplace.Forinstance,relianceonlegacytechnology

thatcannotmeetnewrequirementsisthemostcommonreasonforeitherblockinganewprojectorforanongoingprojectsuffering.Andperceptionthattheriskof

failureistoohighwilloftencauseorganizationstoturndownorabandonprojects.However,therearealsocontrasts:alackofbuy-inorsupportfromtheC-suiteis

morelikelytoderailanexistingproject,whereasalackofsupportacrossthewholeorganizationismorelikelytoblockaprojectfromeverhappening.Theinabilitytosecurebudgetsorcontrolspendingisagreaterissuewhenbeginningaproject,andalackofskillsisanissuewhenattemptingtodeliveradigitalproject(Figure4).

Figure4:Issuesaffectingdigitalprojects

Issuespreventingnewdigitalprojects

Issuesaffectingactivedigitalprojects

Relianceonalegacytechnologythatcouldnotmeetthenew

digitalrequirements

Perceptionthattheriskoffailurewasorhadbecometoohigh

Problemsaccessingor

managingtherequireddata

Inabilitytosecurethenecessarybudgetorstaywithinbudget

Lackofbuy-inorsupportfromacrosstheorganization

Lackofresources/funds

Inabilityofourdevelopmentteamtomeetthegoalssetforthem

Lackofknowledgeofavailabletechnologies

Thecomplexityofimplementingtechnologies

Lackofskillstodeliverthe

digitalproject

Lackofbuy-inorsupportfromtheC-suite

42%

39%

36%

33%

30%

28%

26%

23%

20%

17%

14%

Relianceonalegacytechnologythatcouldnotmeetthenew

digitalrequirements

Perceptionthattheriskof

failurewasorhadbecometoohigh

Inabilityofourdevelopmentteamtomeetthegoalssetforthem

Lackofresources/funds

Lackofknowledgeofavailabletechnologies

Lackofskillstodeliverthedigitalproject

Lackofbuy-inorsupportfromtheC-suite

Problemsaccessingor

managingtherequireddata

Lackofbuy-inorsupportfromacrosstheorganization

Thecomplexityof

implementingtechnologies

Inabilitytosecurethe

necessarybudgetorstay

withinbudget

41%

37%

35%

33%

30%

27%

24%

24%

19%

16%

14%

CIOSURVEY5

Figure5

Ultimately,inanincreasinglycompetitiveenvironment,

18

weeksaverage

delaysuffered

byenterprises

perhapsthemostseriousconsequencefor

enterprisesislosingtime.63%oforganizationshavesuffereddelayslongerthanthreemonthsbecauseofITmodernizationissues.Addressingissuesand

reducingthesedelaysshouldbeapriority(Figure5).

Thereisaclearincentivetoreducethesedelays.

Businessesasawhole,andITteamsinparticular,are

underpressuretoincreaseproductivityanddomorewithless.Thisisnotanisolated

issue:theconsensusisthattheproductivitycrisisisacrossentireindustries.Atthe

sametime,solvingtheissueseemsimpossibleformany–withtheinevitablepressureonITteamscontributingtoworsenedmentalhealth.Withenterprisesneedingto

increaseproductivitybymorethanathirdeachyearjusttoremaincompetitive,ITneedsanewanswer(Figure6).AndAImaybeabletoprovidethis.

Figure6:Theproductivitychallenge

33.37%

amountenterprisesneedto

increaseproductivityeachyear

toremaincompetitive

66%

ofITleadersare

concernedthat

increasedproductivity

demandswillhavea

detrimentaleffecton

teams’physicaland

mentalhealth

62%

ofenterprises’

industriesundergoing

productivitycrises,

withorganizationsand

employeesunableto

meetdemands

57%

ofITleaderssayit’simpossibletomeetproductivity

demandspurelythroughrecruitmentandtraining

59%

oforganizationsfeel

lessproductivethan

ever,evenwhendoing

thesameamount

ofwork

71%

ofITteamswhose

productivitywillbe

outstrippedby

businessexpectations

withinthreeyears

72%

ofITdepartments

areunderincreasing

pressuretodomore

withless

65%

ofbusinessesneed

todomorewith

lesstoremain

competitive

CIOSURVEY6

PARTTWO:THEARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCEAGE

AI’sabilitytosupportmoreaccurate,intelligentautomationisamajorattractionforenterpriseslookingtoaddresstheirproductivitycrises.However,itspotentialstretchesmuchfurtherthanthis,andorganizationsareinvestingappropriately.93%ofenterprisesareinvestinginGenAI,spendingonaverage10.55%oftheirITmodernizationbudgetsonthetechnology.Thissuggeststhatenterprisesarestillgettingtogripswiththetechnology,andweexpectthistoincreaseinthecomingyears.Overall,AIaccountsforalmostone-thirdofenterprises’ITmodernizationinvestmentsin2023and2024(Figure7).

Figure7

proportionofITmodernizationinvestmentinGenAI2023-24

10.55%

TotalGenAISpend

2023-2024

predictedGenAIspend2023-24

proportionofITmodernizationinvestmentinallAI2023-24

33.25%

TotalAISpend

2023-2024

predictedtotalAIspend2023-24

$21.1M

$6.7M

Perhapsunsurprisingly,thishasbeenreflectedinenterprises’changingprioritiesfordigitalprojects.Byfarthemostcommonchangeindigitalprojectsinthelast12monthsisbecomingmorefocusedontakingadvantageofbreakouttechnologies–suchasGenAI(Figure8).

Figure8:Mostcommonchangesindigitalprojects

Becomemorefocusedontakingadvantageofbreakouttechnologies(e.g.,generativeAI)

Becomemoreambitiousinscopeandbudget

Becomemorereactivetoexternalfactors(suchastheeconomy)

Becomemorecustomerexperiencefocused

Becomemoretargetedonspecificbusinessoutcomes

Becomebusiness-wideinitiatives

Becomemorecreativeinscope

54%

42%

41%

40%

37%

34%

26%

CIOSURVEY7

With47%ofITdecisionmakerssayingtheywillstruggletosecurecorporatefinanceorundergoasuccessfulIPO,and42%sayingtheywilllosevaluablestafftomore

innovativecompetitors,iftheydonotsuccessfullydigitallyinnovate–e.g.,bytakingadvantageofGenAI–itisagainunsurprisingthat98%ofrespondentshavespecificGenAIgoalsfor2024(Figure9).

Figure9:Consequencesoffailingtodigitallyinnovate

StruggletosecurecorporatefinanceorundergoasuccessfulIPO

Losevaluablestaffinotherareasofthebusinesstomoreinnovativecompetitors

LosevaluableITstafftomoreinnovativecompetitors

Becomelessrelevantinthemarket

Gooutofbusinessorbeabsorbedbyacompetitorinthenextthreeyears

Losemyjob

47%

42%

37%

32%

23%

10%

RespondentswerealsoclearonthepositivereasonstoinvestinGenAI.Productivitywasacleargoal–fromrapidlyprototypingandtestingnewideas,tocapitalizingonnewbusinesstrendsmorequickly,tomakingspecificemployeessuchasdevelopersmoreeffective(Figure10).

Figure10:TopreasonsforinvestinginGenAI

Rapidprototypingandtestingofnewideas–e.g.,forbusinessstrategy,marketingandsalesmaterials,productdesigns

Makingemployeesinotherbusinessunitsmoreefficientbyperformingmanualtasksforthem

Identifyingandcombatingrapidlyevolvingsecuritythreats

Identifyingnewbusinesstrendsandcapitalizingonthemquickly

IncreasingdeveloperproductivitythroughcodingassistancelikeCopilot

Improvingcustomerexperiencestomeetorexceedexpectations

Maintainingparitywithcompetitorswhohaveinvestedorare

investinginGenAI

40%

39%

38%

37%

35%

35%

33%

CIOSURVEY8

ThereisaclearincentiveforenterprisestoinvestinAI,andhaveseenthatAIis

alreadyresponsibleforalargeproportionofITmodernizationspending.However,overthenext12months,investmentseemssettogrowsteadilybutnotsignificantly.Atthesametime,investmentinthoseareasthatwillbecrucialtosupportingfurtherAIgrowth–suchasedgecomputing,ITinfrastructureanddatamanagement–issettogrowbysimilarproportions.Thissuggestsameasuredapproachbutalsoraisesthequestionofwhethereachoftheseinvestmentswillbeenough(Figure11).

Figure11:PlannedinvestmentinAIandrelatedtechnologiesoverthenext12months

+4.71%

ITInfrastructure

+4.25%

GenAIapplicationsdevelopedin-house

+3.5%

third-partyGenAI

applicationsfrom

vendorsor

serviceproviders

+4.70%

security

+4.19%

in-houseapplications

usingGenAIand/or

predictiveAIto

adaptandperform

aspecificfunction

moreeffectively

+3.49%

edgecomputing

+4.26%

datamanagement

+3.79%

otherAIapplications(e.g.,machinelearning)

+3.36%

recruitingandtrainingdevelopers

OnepotentialconcernwithAIisthatinrushingtoembracethenewtechnology,

enterpriseswillhavetoreduceinvestmentinothercriticalfunctions.ThegoodnewsisthatmostorganizationshavebeenabletobalancethebooksandmeetGenAI

goalswithoutreducinginvestmentelsewhere.However,26%ofenterpriseshavehadtodivertspendingfromotherareas–mostoftenITsupportandmaintenance,andsecurity.Withoutcarefulplanning,thiscreatestheriskthat,intheracetoadoptnewtechnology,enterprisescouldexposethemselvestoincreasedsecurityrisks,less

reliableITorinfrastructurethatdoesn’tmeettheorganization’sneeds(Figure12).

CIOSURVEY9

Figure12:Balancingthebooks?

26%

divertedplannedITspending

fromotherareastomeet

GenAIobjectives

12%

divertedspending

fromITsupport

andmaintenance

10%

divertedspendingfromsecurity

9%

divertedspendingfrominfrastructure

7%

divertedspendingfromotherbusinesssoftware

6%

divertedspendingfromnetworking

5%

divertedspendingfromrecruitmentandtraining

PARTTHREE:PREPARINGFORTHEAGEOFAI

TheracetounderstandanduseAIisnotlimitedtotheITdepartment.Across

thebusiness,employeesareusingGenAIapplicationsthatareeitherdevelopedin-houseorprovidedbyathird-partyvendororserviceprovider(Figure13).ThechallengewillbeensuringthatallpartsofthebusinesscanuseAIeffectively,

intelligentlyandsafely.

Figure13

35.84%

percentageofthe

averageenterprise

usingin-house

GenAIapplications

40.86%

percentageof

theaverageenterprise

usingthird-party

GenAIapplications

64%

ITdecisionmakers

whobelievethe

majorityof

organizationshave

rushedtoadopt

GenAIwithoutfully

understandingwhat

theyneedtodoto

useiteffectively

andsafely

CIOSURVEY10

OneriskofAIuseexpandingbeyondtheITteamisthatnon-specialistusersmaynotbepreparedforthechallengesAIcancreate.Evenlookingpurelywithinthe

ITteam,100%ofrespondentssaidtheirdevelopmentteamhadencountered

issueswhenusingGenAItoolstosupporttheirworkcreatingnewapplications

(Figure14).Foranexperienceduser,GenAIaccessingorsharingproprietarydata,orproducing“hallucinations”insteadofanaccurateconclusion,mightbeexpected,andsosomethingtheuserisalertfor.However,tosuccessfullyexpandAIacross

theorganization,enterpriseswillneedtoensuretheyareusingtherighttoolsandtechniquessuchasretrieval-augmentedgeneration(RAG)tominimizehallucinationsoraccessingsensitiveinformation.

Figure14:AIchallengesencounteredbydevelopmentteams

GenAIsharinganotherorganization'sIPorotherproprietaryinformationaspartofananswer

GenAIusingoraccessingproprietarydatafromyourorganization

AI“hallucinations”–i.e.,AIpresentingafalseconclusionasthetruth,thatdevelopersactedonbeforetheyrecognizeditassuch

AI“hallucinations”–i.e.,AIpresentingafalseconclusionasthetruth,thatdeveloperscouldidentifyandavoidactingon

GenAIoperatinginawaythatworkscontrarytoestablishedbestpractices

LosingtheefficiencybenefitsofGenAIthroughhavingtodouble-checkitsconclusions

43%

40%

37%

32%

28%

23%

ITdecisionmakersrecognizethattheyfacebothculturalandtechnicalchallengesinmakingsuretheirorganizationcanuseGenAIsafelyandeffectively(Figure15).Ontheculturalside,CIOsneedtosetrealisticgoalsandexpectationsofwhatthetechnologycando,toensureprojectshavethegreatestchanceofsuccessandbuy-in.Atthesametime,theyneedtobeabletoshareandaccessdataquicklyenoughtoensurepeakperformance–asanylapsewillmeanAIisnolonger“realtime,”

andsoincreasestheriskofhallucinationsor,atbest,providingoutdatedadvice.Asaresult,enterprisesneedtoensuretheyhavetherightarchitectureinplacetosupportGenAI;togetherwitheducationandtrainingforendusers,andcontrolstoensuredatacannotbelostormisused.

CIOSURVEY11

Figure15:Top9challengestoachievingeffective,safeuseofGenAI

1.Settingrealisticgoalsandexpectationsofwhatthetechnologycando2.Sharingandaccessingdataquicklyenoughtoensurepeakperformance3.PreventinginadvertentIPtheftorsecurityissues

4.MonitoringandmanagingGenAIapplicationuse

5.Ensuringaccesstocomputingandstorageresources

6.MaintainingandimprovingonGenAIcapabilitythroughinvestmentwithout

reducinginvestmentinotherareas

7.Effectivedatamanagement

8.Ensuringarchitectureishigh-performanceandflexibleenoughtosupportGenAI9.Trainingendusers

Onthetechnicalside,therightdatastrategyandtherightarchitecturewillbe

criticaltoenablingGenAI.Forinstance,withoutcompletecontroloverwheredataisstored,whohasaccessandhowitisused,enterprisescannotguaranteesafe

GenAI.Andwithouttheabilitytoaccess,shareandusedatawithminimallatency,organizationswillnotmeetGenAI’sperformancedemands.Atpresent,atleast54%ofenterprisesdonothavealltheelementsinplacetoensureanall-encompassingdatastrategythatisbuiltforGenAI(Figure16).

Figure16:TheessentialelementsofaGenAIdatastrategy

59%

ITdecisionmakersworriedtheirorganizations’abilitytomanagedatawillnotmeetGenAI

demandswithoutsignificantinvestment

Controloverwheredataisstored,whohasaccessandhowitisusedsodatacannotbeaccessedorusedinappropriately.

46%ofenterpriseshavecompletecontroloverdata

storage,accessandusage

Accessing,sharingandusingdatawithminimallatencyisessentialtoenablingGenAItooperateinrealtime.

41%ofenterpriseshavetheabilitytoaccess,shareandusedatawithminimallatency

Havingtoolstopreventthesharingofproprietarydataoutsidethe

organizationreducestheriskthatGenAIwillinadvertentlysharesensitivedataorIPs.

37%ofenterpriseshavetoolspreventingproprietarydatafrombeingsharedoutsidetheorganization

CIOSURVEY12

TopreventAIapplicationsfromaccessingandbecomingconfusedby

multipleversionsofdata–increasingtheriskofhallucinations–enterprisesshouldconsolidatetheirdatabasearchitecture.

31%ofenterpriseshaveconsolidateddatabase

architecturesoapplicationscannotaccessmultiple

versionsofdata

Developersshouldbegivenclear,thoroughbestpracticesthatallowthemtousedatasafelyandeffectively.

30%ofenterpriseshaveclearandthorough

bestpractices

Managingunstructureddataathighspeedusingahigh-performancedatabaseiskeytoenablingreal-timeGenAIthatisnotlimitedinhowitqueriesdata.

25%ofenterpriseshaveahigh-performancedatabasethatcanmanageunstructureddataathighspeed

GenAIwilloftenrequiredifferentlevelsofdataprocessing.Theabilitytoscalethistomeetimmediateneedswithoutattractingunnecessaryspendingisvitaltomaximizingperformancewhilecontrollingbudgets.

23%ofenterpriseshavetheabilitytoscaledata

processingtomeetimmediateneedswithout

unnecessaryspending

GenAIperformanceisgreatlyimprovedifanorganizationcanusehigh-dimensionalvectordata.

18%ofenterpriseshaveavectordatabasethatcanstore,manageandindexvectordataefficiently

GenAIreliesonanalyticalcapabilities.Thefasteritcananalyzedata,and

themoreitcananalyzeatonetime,theclosertorealtimeitwillbe,andthemoreaccurateitsconclusions.

17%ofenterpriseshavetheabilitytoperformreal-timeanalyticsonlargeamountsofdata

RespondentsalsorecognizethattofullymakeuseofGenAI,theywillneedto

meetitsconsiderabledemandsforcomputingpower.Ensuringthereissufficient

computingpoweranddatacenterinfrastructureinplacetosupportGenAIisa

concernforthemajorityofrespondents.Thisisnotonlyafinancialandperformanceissue.Asorganizationsbecomemoreawareofenvironmentalissues,thereisa

veryrealneedtominimizetheenergyandwaterinfrastructurepoweringGenAI.

CIOSURVEY13

Ultimately,reviewingtheirexistingarchitectureandensuringitismodernizedinordertomeetGenAI’sneedswillbeapriorityforenterprises.Otherwise,theywillfindtheirarchitectureisnotfitforpurposewithintwoyears(Figure17).

Figure17

60%

ITdecisionmakers

worriedabout

ensuringtheir

organization

hassufficient

computepower

anddatacenter

infrastructureto

supportGenAI

61%

ITdecisionmakers

whoseorganizations’

commitmenttoCSR

andenvironmental

initiativesmeanthey

cannotfullyadopt

GenAIunlessbased

onmoreefficient

infrastructure

19

monthstimeuntil

enterprisesbelieve

theirITarchitecture

willbeunableto

supportGenAI

Thisisnotinitselfnegativenews.Instead,themajorityofrespondentsdon’tonlyrecognizethechallengestheyface.Theyalsorecognizethesolutionstothese

challenges,andinseveralcasesarealreadytakingaction(Figure18).

Figure18:TakingactiononAI

OneofthegreatestassetswhencreatingnewGenAItoolsisGenAIitself.AI-poweredcodingtoolscanacceleratethedevelopmentprocess:guidingdevelopersthroughbestpracticesandhelpingtestanditeratecodeto

createworkingapplicationsmorequickly.

73%ofenterprisesareincreasinginvestmentinAItoolstohelpdevelopersworkmoreeffectivelyandcreatenewGenAIapplicationsfaster

AcrucialassetincreatingandsupportingGenAIapplicationsisthedatabase.Traditionally,enterpriseshaveusedmultipledatabasestoperformdifferentfunctions–withlegacydatabasesperforming

transactionalinquiriesoperatingalongnewerNoSQLdatabasessupportingmorecomplexapplications.Theconcernwithupdatingdatabasesto

supportGenAIisthatthiswouldneedtohappenacrossmultipledatabasesandbeprohibitivelyexpensive.However,moderndatabasesthatsupportmultipledataaccesspatternsincludingvectorsearchandhigh-speed

analysisaremorethancapableoffulfillingmultiplefunctionsatonce,fromtransactionalinquiriestocomplexGenAIcalculations.

66%ofenterpriseswanttoupdatedatabasestobettersupportin-houseGenAIapplicationsbutbelievethey

wouldneedtoinvestinmultipledatabasestogetallnecessarycapabilities

CIOSURVEY14

Accessingandsharingdataathighspeedandwithminimallatencydoes

notrelysolelyoncomputepower.Instead,enterprisescanarchitecttheirenvironmentstomaximizetheirpotential.Forinstance,edgecomputing

platformsnowhavethecomputepowertosupportGenAIapplications.

Performingmorecalculationsattheedgeinsteadofrelyingoncentral

serverswillgreatlyimprovespeed–aswellasreducethecostsandsecurityrisksoftransmittingdatabackandforth.

65%ofenterprisessayedgecomputingwillbecriticalforenablingnewAIapplications

PARTFOUR:THEDAWNOFADAPTIVEAPPLICATIONS

AnequallyimportantquestionforGenAIisnotonlyhowenterpriseswillenable

it,butwhattheywillcreate.Inthepopularimagination,it’seasytoseeGenAI

applicationsascompletelyopen-ended“jacksofalltrades”thatcanusetextor

otherinterfacestoofferanythingtheenduserwants.Thequestioniswhetherthisiswhatmanyuserstrulywantorneed.

Thereisnoargumentthatenterprisescannotstandstill.Failuretodeliverneworupdatedend-userexperienceswillresultindissatisfiedcustomersoremployees,andarealriskthattheenterprisewilllosebusinessorstafftotheircompetitors.

Inevitably,therewillcomeapointwhereanorganization’sexistingapplicationswillnotbefitforpurpose(Figure19).

Figure19

61%

enterprisesunder

pressuretocontinually

deliverimproved

experiencesforend

users

46%

enterpriseswho

willlosebusiness

tocompetitors

ifapplications

nolongermeet

expectations

18

monthstimeafter

whichenterprises’

customer-facing

applicationswillno

longermeetend-user

expectations

20

monthstimeafter

whichenterprises’

employee-facing

applicationswillno

longermeetend-user

expectations

41%

enterprisesfacinga

realriskofgoingout

ofbusinessinthree

yearsifapplications

nolongermeet

expectations

35%

enterpriseswho

willlosestaff

tocompetitors

ifapplications

nolongermeet

expectations

CIOSURVEY15

Tomeetexpectations,enterprisesneedtounderstandwhatmakesa“good”end-userexperience.However,oftenneitheratightlycontrolledapplicationthatonlypermitsalimitednumberoffunctionsnoracompletelyopenGenAI-powered

applicationwillmeetendusers’orbu