A Lenovo study shows that CIOs don’t always get their companies to adopt AI. The time required to implement and deploy the technology appears to be the biggest obstacle.

Lenovo publishes the results of a global survey of 750 CIOs. It will come as no surprise that AI is the common thread throughout the study. CIOs are already ready to accelerate their organization’s AI journey. 51 percent see AI/ML as the top priority, with only cybersecurity considered equally important. Eighty percent believe AI will have a major impact on the business.

Business does not always seem to share this enthusiasm. Although 96 percent of CIOs expect to invest more in AI integration, many find it difficult to demonstrate the value of the technology. A majority describe their organization as “not ready” to implement AI at scale.

“Today’s CIOs are working in a tornado of innovation. After years of IT expanding into non-traditional roles, we are now seeing AI push CIOs back into their core role,” said Ken Wong, president of Lenovo’s Solutions and Services business.

patience is a virtue

Lenovo’s study shows that AI is an investment that only pays off later. 39 percent of CIOs say they are already benefiting from investments in AI, while 19 percent expect to do so within a year. 42 percent only expect a positive ROI for AI in the next two years.

When it comes to potential barriers to AI adoption, security comes up again and again, and Lenovo’s survey is no exception. 37 percent of CIOs cite security as an obstacle, and the time to implementation is the same. Third is the potential bias in results, which is closely linked to safety.

You can read the full research here.