Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly critical factor in shaping cloud strategies for firms across the UK, new research has claimed, with almost all (98%) UK IT managers saying they will prioritize cloud investment in 2025.
A report by Red Hat found nine in 10 (88%) identified artificial intelligence as a key driver for increased cloud investments, however ongoing battles are likely to lead to a cautious approach.
Four in five (81%) highlighted the AI skills gap as a key concern for the coming year, including data science, large language models and generative AI, with three-quarters concerned about a lack of cybersecurity skills.
Cloud investment driven by AI
UK businesses also see enterprise open source solutions as a major advantage for AI, with more than half (53%) pointing at accelerated innovation as the top benefit, followed by cost efficiency (50%) and transparency (43%).
However as companies across the globe continue to address skills shortages, half of the more than 600 IT managers surveyed confirmed that they would be taking a balanced approach, focusing on new technologies and existing systems in equal measure.
Red Hat found cloud strategy priorities include centralizing cloud management (80%), security, compliance and sovereignty regulatory requirements (78%), preparing for AI adoption (77%) and evolving in line with business objectives (76%).
Despite best efforts to drive cloud investments, businesses are being held back by silos, with an overwhelming majority (96%) agreeing that siloed teams pose challenges when adopting cloud technologies.
“With the increasing prominence of AI in cloud strategies, we see from this survey that both IT managers and CTOs care about transparency when it comes to AI models: we believe that an open source approach can bring the transparency, modifiability and explainability needed for enterprise-ready generative AI," said Hans Roth, Senior Vice President & General Manager of EMEA at Red Hat.
Looking ahead, the research reveals that obstacles including data privacy and security, energy consumption and sustainability, infrastructure and AI model transparency must be addressed in order for CTOs to advance their generative AI initiatives, pushing cloud investments continually upwards.
With trailing twelve-month revenues reaching $283 billion halfway through 2024 and an annualized run rate of $300 billion, the cloud market continues to grow in double figure rates.
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