FEATURE accessible, consistently defined and suitable for autonomous systems.
For organisations with fragmented applications and legacy infrastructure, this creates an important architectural challenge.
AI agents need reliable access to enterprise information and clearly defined permissions to perform tasks safely.
Without trusted data and integration capabilities, organisations risk scaling inconsistent decisions, operational errors and security vulnerabilities.
The report also highlights the importance of focusing on business functions that offer the greatest potential returns.
Across industries, approximately 68 % of AI value is generated within core business units, compared with 21 % from enabling functions and 11 % from technology and IT.
This suggests that AI transformation should not remain confined to the technology department.
Instead, CIOs must work with business leaders to identify high-value workflows and redesign them from beginning to end.
The next phase for African enterprises
BCG ' s research provides a clear message for organisations navigating the next stage of AI adoption: technological capability alone does not guarantee competitive advantage.
The strongest performers combine strategic direction, enterprise-wide execution, workforce transformation, governance and rigorous financial measurement.
For African CIOs, the immediate priority is to move beyond fragmented experimentation and establish a coherent approach to scaling AI.
This means concentrating investment on a manageable portfolio of high-value opportunities, developing reliable data foundations, strengthening governance and ensuring that every major initiative has measurable business objectives.
It also requires recognising that AI transformation is fundamentally an organisational undertaking rather than a conventional technology deployment.
The emergence of agentic AI will make these choices increasingly important as intelligent systems assume greater responsibility for enterprise processes.
BCG ' s findings demonstrate that the commercial benefits of AI are becoming more widely accessible, but organisations that fail to develop the necessary operating models and controls risk falling behind.
For African enterprises, the opportunity is not simply to adopt AI faster. It is to apply it more strategically, building the capabilities to turn technological innovation into sustained productivity, stronger competitiveness and measurable business growth. •
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INTELLIGENT CIO AFRICA www. intelligentcio. com