THE Philippines will be a laggard in the technology race if local organizations cannot step up their deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies.
To exacerbate the situation, only 17 percent of the local organizations are fully prepared to deploy and leverage artificial AI-powered technologies, according to Cisco’s inaugural AI Readiness Index released last week. While 87 percent of respondents believe AI will have a significant impact on their business operations, it also raises new issues around data privacy and security. The Index findings show that companies experience the most challenges when it comes to leveraging AI alongside their data. In fact, 77 percent of respondents admit that this is due to data existing in silos across their organizations.
The Index, which surveyed over 8,000 global companies, was developed in response to the accelerating adoption of AI, a generational shift that is impacting almost every area of business and daily life. The report highlights companies’ preparedness to utilize and deploy AI, showcasing critical gaps across key business pillars and infrastructures that pose serious risks for the near future.
The new research finds that while AI adoption has been slowly progressing for decades, the advancements in Generative AI, coupled with public availability in the past year, are driving greater attention to the challenges, changes and new possibilities posed by the technology.
Nevertheless, there is also positive news on the study. According to the Index, companies in the Philippines are taking many proactive measures to prepare for an AI-centric future. When it comes to building AI strategies, 94 percent of organizations already have a robust AI strategy in place or are in the process of developing one. More than two thirds (77 percent) of organizations are classified as either Pacesetters or Chasers (fully/partially prepared), with 4 percent falling into the category of Laggards (not prepared).
This indicates a significant level of focus by C-Suite executives and IT leadership. The study this could be driven by the fact that a majority of respondents (98 percent) said the urgency to deploy AI technologies in their organization has increased in the past six months, with IT infrastructure and cybersecurity reported as the top priority areas for AI deployments.
“Today, with the availability of more computing power, the abundance of data, and with the maturity of large language models, AI has crossed the threshold of technological and economic viability to unlock new opportunities to create value for businesses and industries,” said Zaza Soriano-Nicart, managing director, Cisco Philippines.
“As companies in the Philippines rush to deploy AI solutions, they must assess where investments are needed across different pillars of readiness like infrastructure and data to deliver on their business outcomes. They also have to pay attention to how AI is being used to ensure a good return on investment, with security and responsibility in mind,” Nicart added.