UAE Companies Double Down on AI, but Gaps Persist: Report
Notably, 88% of them reported tangible productivity and financial returns from initial AI investments.
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Ninety-two percent of UAE companies view AI as a key part of their business strategy, according to a recent Dell Technologies report based on a survey of 2,850 business and IT decision-makers, including 50 in the UAE.
Notably, 88% reported tangible productivity and financial returns from their initial AI investments.
“Organizations are moving beyond piloting AI and are instead beginning to embed it at the core of their strategies. This transition underscores the transformative potential of AI, but achieving its full impact will require addressing critical challenges, from workforce upskilling to secure and collaborative implementation,” said Walid Yehia, Managing Director, South Gulf, Dell Technologies.
With the UAE driving AI adoption, 64% of organizations noted prioritizing “data readiness for AI” as a top IT initiative, and 74% plan to consume AI through software and deploy it locally to address data sovereignty and compliance concerns. Meanwhile, 92% acknowledge AI’s critical role in optimizing resource use and improving sustainability.
However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Despite promising indicators, 78% struggle to fully integrate AI into their end-to-end operations, while 30% remain stuck in the early-to-mid stages of their AI adoption journey.
Data security concerns, lack of executive/senior management buy-in, and integration with existing systems/infrastructure continue to be critical hindrances in large-scale implementation.
Progress is mostly held back by a lack of skills, security issues, and infrastructure that is not ready for AI.
All UAE respondents believe that their teams lack the necessary skills to fully leverage AI, a stark increase in concerns compared to previous years. Increasing security risks have pressured businesses to innovate, with 72% expressing concerns about exposing sensitive corporate data and intellectual property to third-party AI tools, a significant rise from 64% last year.
Eighty percent find striking a balance between innovation and mitigating cybersecurity risks a key challenge.
Lastly, a notable number of respondents reported that their current IT environments are inadequate to support AI workloads. Inadequacy persists in the form of increased processing power, the implementation of AI-optimized hardware, and enhanced data security.
