INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY: AI

New Dell Technologies research shows that AI is now a key strategic priority for South African businesses, but skills, infrastructure and security challenges continue to hinder large-scale adoption.

The findings of the study reinforced the main theme of the forum, which focused on empowering South African organisations to harness AI for real-world impact by shifting from theoretical discussions to actionable strategies.

The global study, which surveyed 2,850 business and IT decision-makers, of which 50 were from South Africa, found that 92 % of South African companies now view it as a‘ key part’ of their business strategy. Additionally, 32 % of South African organisations report seeing tangible productivity and financial returns from initial AI investments.

Why it matters

Despite these promising indicators, 94 % of businesses in South Africa struggle to fully integrate AI into every aspect of their operations, while 42 % are still in the early-to-mid stages of their AI adoption journey. Challenges such as data security concerns, lack of executive or senior management buy-in, and integration with existing systems and infrastructure continue to hinder large-scale implementation.

Barriers to AI implementation

While interest in AI continues to grow, progress is hindered by three persistent challenges:

1. Skills gap: Alarmingly, 100 % of South African companies surveyed believe their teams lack the necessary skills to fully leverage AI. This marks a sharp increase in concerns compared to previous years, especially surrounding the safe implementation of GenAI, an area where 72 % of South African organisations report insufficient knowledge.

2. Security concerns: The pressure to innovate is often tempered by increasing worries about security risks. Seventy-six percent of South African companies expressed fears about exposing sensitive corporate data and intellectual property to third-party AI tools, a significant rise from 64 % last year. Additionally, 62 % of the organisations highlight that it is a challenge to find a balance between innovation and mitigating cybersecurity risks.

3. Infrastructure readiness: Many companies find their current IT environments inadequate for the demands of AI workloads. Challenges include increasing processing power( e. g. CPUs / GPUs), implementing AI-optimised hardware and enhancing data security. Without addressing these issues, AI integration efforts will continue to face delays.

Aligning AI innovation with sustainability goals

The research highlights that while South African companies are making strides toward AI adoption, scaling AI effectively across an enterprise requires a holistic approach. Building infrastructure that supports AI, fostering new skillsets and prioritising secure and ethical practices are key.

An encouraging trend revealed in the report is the increasing link between AI and sustainability goals. Businesses are exploring AI’ s potential to optimise energy efficiency – such as smarter data centre management, minimising idle workloads and moving inferencing tasks to edge computing environments. From advanced cooling solutions to energy-aware AI architectures, Dell Technologies is helping organisations reduce their environmental impact with AI infrastructure that balances performance with energy efficiency. p www. intelligentcio. com INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA

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