Mature AI adopters see higher ROI as firms invest USD $5.4m yearly
Research from Foundry, released by OpenText, reveals significant differences in satisfaction with return on AI investment (ROAI) between mature and new adopters among enterprises.
The survey, which included 515 chief information officers (CIOs) and senior IT leaders worldwide, found that nearly 70% of mature AI adopters expressed satisfaction with their ROAI. In contrast, only 42% of organisations that recently adopted AI reported such satisfaction.
Investment patterns
Enterprises in North America, which represented a significant portion of the respondent base, are committing substantial resources to AI. On average, these organisations are investing USD $5.4 million each year into generative AI tools, supporting infrastructure, and talent development. The survey covered a range of sectors, including financial services, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, and retail, with respondent companies averaging annual revenues of USD $5.4 billion.
Challenges for CIOs
CIOs across the surveyed industries identified notable information management challenges affecting their ability to scale AI. Security and compliance risk emerged as chief concerns, cited by 44% of respondents. Data silos were reported as the next most significant issue, with 42% identifying them as a barrier.
An ongoing struggle for effective information governance was also exposed, with less than half of organisations rating their governance processes as working "very well." This persistent lack of governance was identified as a major hurdle to effective AI scalability and return on investment.
One CIO from the financial services sector described this tension, stating,
Our business wants more AI and our security and IT are panicking because nobody knows how to secure it and run it in a well-governed way.
Another respondent, a Vice President in the healthcare sector, commented,
AI success depends on better metadata management, stronger governance, and classification.
Maturity and measurement
The research indicates that advanced AI adopters tend to measure ROAI by the impact on problem-solving and risk reduction, while those newer to AI often focus on gains in efficiency. Experience with AI also appears to drive higher overall investment, which in turn influences satisfaction and the nature of results achieved.
There was strong agreement among both new and mature adopters about the criteria for selecting partners in AI programmes. In both groups, deep expertise in secure information management was ranked as the most important factor, by 50% of new adopters and 49% of mature adopters.
Savinay Berry, Chief Product Officer and Chief Technology Officer at OpenText, commented on the findings, stating,
AI's value does not appear overnight. Real returns come when enterprises move beyond surface-level automation to solve real problems. That takes secure, well-governed information. Without that foundation, ROAI is almost impossible to achieve. We give organizations that foundation by simplifying information complexity, strengthening governance, and ensuring information is ready for AI.
Findings on enterprise readiness
The importance of information readiness was a theme present in responses regardless of organisational AI maturity. Security and compliance risks remain the leading information management challenges. Less than half of the organisations surveyed felt that their information governance was highly effective, indicating a widespread barrier to scaling AI initiatives.
Interest in multi-agent AI capabilities was particularly prominent among mature adopters, who identified such tools as critical in addressing complex business issues.
The survey's methodology involved participants from across North America, Asia Pacific, and Europe, ensuring a broad cross-section of industry perspectives. Findings suggest that enterprises seeking improved ROI from AI should focus on strengthening their information management and governance foundations in addition to investing in advanced AI solutions.
