(Finance) – According to recent research conducted by SAP Insights, medium-sized Italian companies are putting thegenerative artificial intelligence (Gen AI). The study, titled “Mid Market and Business Priorities“, he involved over 12,000 companies globally, including more than 330 in Italyrevealing that 58% of Italian medium-sized companies (with a number of employees between 250 and 1,500) places a high priority on the adoption of Gen AI. This percentage rises to 91% if we also consider those companies that assign a moderate priority to this technology.
Medium-sized Italian companies see investments in innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, as an essential strategy to become resilient organizations, especially in times of economic uncertainty like the current ones. In fact, 36% of the sample interviewed believed that investing in technology is the best way to address economic challengeswhile 34% underline the importance of innovation in business models to ensure sustainable growth.
Carla Masperi, CEO of SAP Italiasaid: “Having the right technological platform is a fundamental element for building the success of the company. Business AI is the greatest technological opportunity of the twenty-first century for Italian companies, and the advantages of SAP Business AI, a relevant, reliable and responsible technology, they are easily accessible to organizations of all sizes. It’s not just about generating images or videos, it’s about automating processes, increasing productivity and providing quick and accurate insights.”
The study highlights how over half of Italian medium-sized companies consider artificial intelligence crucial to innovate business models and create new sources of income (51%). AI, according to businesses, will have a significant impact on key sectors such as supply chain management and logistics (50%), data security and privacy (50%), employee training and skill development (47%), and on the decision-making process, making business processes more agile and adaptive (46%).
Artificial intelligence, however, is not just seen as a future promise. Many medium-sized Italian companies are already implementing it today in various areas: 43% use it to create marketing content and detect fraud, while 42% use it to interact with customers and suppliersdevelop forecasts, plan investments and automate hiring processes. Another 41% use AI to monitor regulatory compliance.
Carla Masperi also underlined how artificial intelligence already exists widely spread in the corporate worldbut that it is generative AI that represents the new frontier of innovation and growth for businesses. Currently, over 27,000 customers are already using SAP Business AIand the Joule generative AI co-pilot is expected to be used for 80% of the most common SAP tasks by the end of the year.
Despite the numerous advantages, some challenges remain. Among the main difficulties cited by Italian companies is the poor integration between systems, which compromises the quality of decision-making processes (38%), and the lack of quality data (37%). Change management and plan implementation also represent an obstacle for 35% of companies, as do difficulties related to procurement and supply chain (34%) and resistance to change from employees and managers (29%). ).
Finally, businesses see data as a key challenge to AI adoption. The main risks identified are the possibility of acting on incorrect data (35%), the lack of transparency in results (33%) and the management of privacy (32%).
Carla Masperi concluded: “La Data quality is key to getting better results from AI. Collaborating with a technological partner like SAP, which integrates AI into critical business processes, will allow Italian companies to transform the potential of Business AI into concrete advantages and future growth.”
The SAP Insights study collected data from 12,003 respondents in 20 countries and 28 different sectors, focusing on organizations with between 250 and 1,500 employees and senior management roles, and was conducted via online interviews between March and April 2024.