76% of IT leaders believe their organizations
have yet to achieve AI maturity, highlighting a significant gap in
meeting AI goals
HERNDON,
Va., Jan. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ePlus inc.
(NASDAQ: PLUS – news) today revealed the launch of its
inaugural AI Readiness survey, which reveals critical insights into
the current state of AI adoption and the universal challenges faced
by organizations across sectors. The survey, which polled 200 IT
professionals during The 2024 AI Summit New York, highlights the
ongoing correlation between AI investments and overall return on
investment, with a focus on the key obstacles companies continue to
face.
Notable Gap between AI Curious and AI Mature
Remains
While the focus on AI is very high,
most respondents reveal they're still in the early stages of
their AI journey, with 42% identifying themselves as "AI curious"
and 28% noting they are "AI ready." What's more, only 24% of tech
leaders consider themselves to be AI mature.
"While a large majority of leaders are eager to explore AI's
potential, there is still a clear maturation gap when it comes to
implementation," said Mark Marron,
CEO and president of ePlus. "In 2025, all eyes will be on how
leaders balance the ROI of AI investment with the challenges that
are hindering full adoption."
According to the survey, skills gaps (41.8%), cost (38.8%), and
security (35.8%) emerged as the top challenges regarding AI
adoption, further underscoring the need for targeted strategies to
address these barriers.
GenAI Introduces Unprecedented Opportunity, But Not Without
Its Challenges
An impressive 74.8% of respondents are
planning to implement GenAI in the next 12 months, highlighting the
technology's clear impact and perceived value. However, despite the
enthusiasm for GenAI, regulation concerns continue to push to the
forefront, with the majority of organizations (78.2%) noting they
are only somewhat (46%) to moderately (32.2%) confident in their
ability to regulate access to and governance of GenAI applications.
Ultimately, balancing innovation with thorough adoption and
governance strategies will be key to the successful implementation
of GenAI initiatives in the coming years.
Governance and Data Management Inch to Top of the AI
Agenda
The survey results validated that AI deployment
requires a new level of governance and controls, especially when it
comes to data. Top data concerns from participants included data
quality (61%), data security (54.5%), and data governance (52%),
highlighting the critical need for a solid data management
strategy.
"To effectively prepare for AI initiatives, it's important for
companies to identify the data in-scope for each specific AI
objective and then identify where that data lives, break down data
silos, and enforce data tagging and governance," noted Justin Mescher, vice president of AI, Cloud, and
Data Center Solutions at ePlus. "This alignment will pave the way
for successful and secure AI initiatives and drive meaningful
business outcomes."
How ePlus Empowers Organizations on Their AI
Journey
ePlus is committed to supporting organizations in
navigating challenges and opportunities throughout their AI
journey. Whether they are considering the possibilities of AI, have
established data and AI strategies, or seek to transform their AI
capabilities, ePlus can help them explore, adopt, and optimize AI
technologies. This includes the recent launch of the ePlus Secure
GenAI Accelerator. The offering provides organizations a private
GenAI chatbot experience that is built to test their specific use
cases, use metrics to identify key insights, and make informed
decisions to facilitate adopting GenAI quickly and securely.
For deeper insights into the survey results, review the full
report here. For more information on ePlus' AI capabilities,
including its AI Ignite portfolio of solutions and services, please
visit www.eplus.com/AI.
Methodology
ePlus surveyed 200 IT professionals live
from the 2024 AI Summit New York, held December 11-12, where respondents were asked a
set of questions on the challenges and opportunities surrounding AI
within their organization.
About ePlus inc.
ePlus is a customer-first,
services-led, and results-driven industry leader offering
transformative technology solutions and services to provide the
best customer outcomes. Offering a full portfolio of solutions,
including artificial intelligence, security, cloud and data center,
networking and collaboration, as well as managed, consultative and
professional services, ePlus works closely with organizations
across many industries to successfully navigate business
challenges. With a long list of industry-leading partners and more
than 2,300 employees, our expertise has been honed over more than
three decades, giving us specialized yet broad levels of experience
and knowledge. ePlus is headquartered in Virginia, with locations in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia‐Pacific. For more
information, visit www.eplus.com, call 888-482-1122, or email
info@eplus.com. Connect with ePlus on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and
Instagram.
ePlus®, Where Technology Means More®, and ePlus products
referenced herein are either registered trademarks or trademarks of
ePlus inc. in the United States
and/or other countries. The names of other companies, products, and
services mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective
owners.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains
information about management's view of ePlus' future expectations,
plans and prospects that are not historical facts and may be deemed
to be "forward-looking statements." Actual and anticipated future
results may vary materially due to certain risks and uncertainties.
Certain risks and uncertainties that may affect such
"forward-looking statements" are detailed in our reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially under the
heading "Risk Factors". All information set forth in this press
release is current as of the date of this release and ePlus
expressly disclaims any duty or obligation to update this
information, except as may be required by law.
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SOURCE EPLUS INC.
