BizTechReports

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the enterprise technology landscape, industry leaders are rethinking modernization strategies to balance agility, security, and compliance. That was the key takeaway from a recent CIO Magazine roundtable, co-hosted by Skyla Loomis, Vice President of IBM Z Software, and John Currie, Partner, Mainframe Application Modernization at IBM. Executives from a wide range of industries- including financial services, insurance, retail, and higher education- gathered to discuss the evolving role of AI in modernizing legacy IT environments, with a particular focus on mainframes, cloud adoption, and AI governance.

Mid-market executives must shift their focus from technology adoption and workforce changes to reengineering core business processes as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes industries at an unprecedented pace, according to Alex Castro, CEO of 11:59 (https://www.1159.ai/).? Speaking in a recent BizTechReports vidcast, Castro emphasized that while AI tools and talent are essential, they are secondary to the fundamental restructuring of operational workflows.?

AI remains a top priority for business leaders worldwide in 2025, with a strong focus on reaping tangible results from their AI initiatives. This year, one in three companies globally is planning to allocate over $25 million to AI. For the second year, Boston Consulting Group (BCG)’s AI Radar global survey has captured the mood of business executives when it comes to AI. The findings, released today, reveal both optimism and significant challenges in realizing AI’s full potential. In the latest edition of the AI Radar report, Closing the AI Impact Gap, BCG surveyed 1,803 C-level executives across 19 markets and 12 industries.

By 2028, 10% of sellers will save enough time with AI to seek “overemployment”, covertly working multiple jobs, according to Gartner, Inc. The implementation and use of AI in sales will result in more sellers looking to engage in additional work outside their primary employment due to freed capacity from AI automation. Gartner’s survey of 3,496 global employees. 41% of sellers surveyed at least somewhat agree that new technology has freed up their capacity by automating manual and repetitive tasks.

As cyber threats become more sophisticated and persistent, organisations across East Africa are rising to the challenge. The latest Digital Trust Insights (DTI) Survey for the East Africa region, titled “Strengthening Cyber Defences: The Road to Resilience in East Africa” reveals a significant shift in priorities, with 74% of businesses in the region placing cyber risks at the top of their agenda—well above global averages. It’s clear that cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue; it’s a critical business imperative.

The pressure is on for companies to turn AI investment into impact, according to PwC’s 2024 Global Investor Survey, released today. 73% of investors say companies should deploy AI solutions at scale, as overwhelmingly 66% expect the companies they invest in to deliver productivity increases from AI over the next 12 months, with 63% expecting revenue increases and 62% expecting it to increase profitability. The survey, which captures the views of 345 investors and analysts across 24 countries and territories, finds that investors see technological change as the most significant driver of change for the businesses they invest in (71%), ahead of government regulation (64%), changes in customer preference (61%), and supply chain instability (60%).

By 2027, 40% of power and utilities will deploy AI-driven operators in control rooms, reducing human error risks, but increasing cyber-physical system security vulnerabilities, according to Gartner, Inc. The 2025 Gartner CIO and Technology Executive Survey indicated that 94% of power and utility chief information officers (CIOs) plan to increase their AI investments in 2025, with an average spending increase of 38.3%.

IDC predicts that by 2027, 50% of IT buyers in Asia/Pacific will only work with vendors that meet social, environmental, and governance-related responsible AI criteria in accordance with sustainable procurement requirements. This shift in tech-buyer mindset will emerge from organizations moving from the initial "scramble" of GenAI experimentation, currently at a 62% success rate, to a full-scale integration of AI across enterprises. This "AI pivot" emphasizes the critical shift from prolonged AI experimentation to the strategic integration of AI across all business operations. This transition involves recognizing AI as a core component of the enterprise, establishing robust governance frameworks, and fostering collaboration between business and IT teams to drive sustainable growth.

Artificial intelligence in all its forms, including GenAI, natural language processing, agents and agentic devices, will revolutionize enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and the ways individuals and enterprises work with the software by 2027, a new research report from leading global technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) says. The ISG Buyers Guides for Enterprise Resource Planning, produced by ISG Software Research, say current technology trends will revolutionize ERP systems by making complex processes faster and easier to execute and condensing highly repetitive accounting and other tasks through automation. Almost all providers of ERP software will incorporate AI by 2027 to reduce workloads and speed processes and reduce errors, the reports say. “ERP systems, which have served as the central nervous system of enterprises for decades, are in the midst of a technology revolution,” said Robert Kugel, executive director, Business Research, ISG Software Research. “AI-powered change is already underway in the form of anomaly detection to flag potential errors and technology that makes processes faster and easier to execute. The use of AI in ERP platforms will boost productivity and enable enterprises to attract and retain the best talent.” https://lnkd.in/e7gqtkth

New research from leading global technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) says enterprises will increase the use of AI in their revenue performance management (RPM) platforms over the next two years to expedite time-to-value and deploy more effective revenue performance plans. The ISG Buyers Guides for Revenue Performance Management, produced by ISG Software Research, say initiatives that apply AI, including generative AI and machine learning (ML), to historic data can create new insights for both management and revenue-focused professionals.