New research has revealed that only half (53%) of projects yield measurable benefits.

A report from Ardoq badges companies’ efforts as ‘trial and error,’ highlighting that three in five (61%) of CIOs say their investments are driven by the fear of missing out.

Others (79%) consider emerging technology investments to be imperative, expressing concern that they might fall behind if they fail to jump on the bandwagon.

Businesses aren’t investing effectively

Among the 700 CIOs and IT leaders in large enterprises with more than 2,000 employees, four in five (82%) agreed that it’s easy to ‘AI wash’ a product to make it more appealing with new capabilities, without necessarily creating any tangible business benefits for the extra spend.

Two-thirds (65%) also considered artificial intelligence investments to be high-risk, indicating a sense of uncertainty around their expectations when it comes to ROI.

Ardoq CEO Erik Bakstad commented: “In today’s fast-paced digital era, those that can adopt new technologies quickly and fuse them into the fabric of their business can unlock huge rewards.”

Bakstad also highlighted the careful thought that should go into AI spend: “Organizations must be prepared to navigate the risks, or could find their technology investments falling short of expectations.”

According to the study, the average enterprise spends $43.4 million on emerging technologies every year, however the lack of a robust ROI predicting system sees some of the money being wasted.

This sentiment is quantified in the two-thirds (64%) of CIOs who say that they’ve been burned in the past with investments that failed to deliver.

Bakstad added: “By harnessing data to inform decision-making at every turn, organizations can navigate the complexities of emerging technology adoption with confidence.”

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