A survey conducted by Microsoft among thousands of business leaders shows that there is also great interest in generative AI in small and medium-sized businesses. At the same time, a lack of knowledge or resources stands in their way.

In the State of mind for small businessReport listens to Microsoft on what’s on the minds of smaller businesses today. The software giant surveyed a thousand CEOs of organizations with a maximum of 24 employees on current topics such as AI and inflation. Although this is a purely American study, the conclusions of the study will also sound familiar to SMEs in the Benelux countries.

AI: want but not able yet

It will come as no surprise that artificial intelligence is the common thread of the study. Microsoft is going all-in on AI, and recently dedicated its Work Trend Index almost entirely to the impact of AI on our working lives. Medium-sized companies are also looking at the technology with interest. 47 percent of those surveyed can have a positive impact on streamlining business processes or improving services. For business leaders who see themselves as experts, this proportion is as high as 88 percent.

However, practice does not always follow theory. A lack of knowledge about AI prevents SMEs from implementing the technology. Only 10 percent of business leaders know how to use AI in everyday processes.

In fact, two in three say they know next to nothing about the technology, although a majority (80%) are quite willing to update. 47 percent, on the other hand, are so overwhelmed by day-to-day administration in the company that they no longer have time for it.

Inflation is just around the corner

If the knowledge gap isn’t an obstacle, then inflation is. After all, 65 percent of the participants see inflation as the greatest threat to the company. Inflation also saves money on IT. 49 percent fear a higher risk of data breaches because less or no more investment is made in security.

In Belgium, too, IT projects are put on hold due to inflation or accelerated in the hope of savings. This emerges from a survey of Belgian IT companies conducted by Beltug. Sharp, on the other hand, concludes that Belgian SMEs are willing to invest in IT but do not always know exactly where to invest. You can read more about this research here.