One way to judge the state of artificial intelligence is by how technology providers see the opportunity and the challenges it presents. A new survey says they rate AI a high priority, but worry about cybersecurity and retaining talent—and about winning over skeptical customers.
In the survey of 1,400 technology providers and resellers, 75% called AI very important (51%) or business critical (24%), according to TD Synnex, the information technology distributor that released the study, its fourth annual Direction of Technology report.
The biggest obstacles to selling their AI technology? The businesses and other enterprises they sell to are not ready to adopt AI or are skeptical that it will provide better outcomes. And better results is what customers are always looking for, not the latest gadget, says Angelo de Bari, sales director at smeup, an Italy-based IT consulting firm, who is quoted in the TD Synnex report.
“The customer always buys an outcome,” de Bari says. “The customer does not purchase technology for its own sake. The customer buys a project and outcomes they aim to achieve.”
Beyond customer skepticism, other factors holding AI back include difficulty finding talent and with integrating new AI technology with existing IT infrastructure.
AI and cybersecurity
Tech execs are also aware that AI can be used by bad actors, and 49.2% listed AI-driven cyberattacks as among their top concerns. The flip side of that concern is that view AI-powered cybersecurity as the most significant driver of AI adoption today, followed by automation and decision-making and analytics.
Beyond technology challenges, the IT execs also have concerns about the macroeconomic environment. Both globally and in North America, respondents to this year’s survey were less confident that their companies will grow in 2025 than they were last year.
Among North Americans surveyed, 70.8% said they expected revenue growth this year compared to 74% last year, while 10.9% expect revenue will decline versus only 4% last year. The report’s authors attributed that slightly less optimistic outlook to “a highly competitive market.”
