To seize the opportunity of artificial intelligence, a golden one for corporate IT, businesses must possess the right infrastructure, governance, and culture. Benjamin Jolivet, Country Manager of Nutanix Italy, emphasized this in a recent statement on the topic.
As he observed, generative AI will enhance the technologies used in businesses. For technology-focused top managers, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity, as they are tasked with driving AI adoption throughout the company. A Vanson Bourne study commissioned by Nutanix found that 90% of companies have made AI a priority. To achieve this, technology-focused top managers must assess and implement AI where it will make a difference in core business activities and where it could potentially transform the entire organization.
What should managers focus on? First of all, infrastructures, as Benjamin Jolivet emphasized: “Only companies with adequate technological infrastructure will benefit from these opportunities. According to the Nutanix study, many companies have yet to define the most suitable technological environment to manage the various parts of an AI process and workload. Part of this challenge lies in deciding which AI applications are most suitable for their business and industry. This is understandable, as the pace of development is rapid, with GPT-5 already on the horizon”.
AI will also trigger a process of infrastructure renewal. In order to derive value from AI, companies will need an interconnected data environment. It is no surprise that more than half of technology-focused top managers say they need to improve data transfer capabilities between multi-cloud environments, data centers, and edge computing.
Benjamin Jolivet underscored this perspective by adding that, as companies increasingly implement AI on virtual machines (63%) and container environments (62%), there is a growing need for ongoing infrastructure modernization. Nutanix’s study indicates that 85% of companies plan to intensify this modernization process over the next one to three years. Furthermore, 84% intend to expand their data engineering and data science teams to support AI initiatives.
Additionally, governance concerns loom large, with 90% of technology-focused top managers expressing worries about data security, governance, and quality. They recognize that without robust data governance, companies risk missing out on AI opportunities. Looking ahead, technology-focused top managers prioritize addressing data modeling and security governance challenges, with over half (51%) planning to incorporate data protection and disaster recovery into their AI governance plans.
In navigating these challenges, many of them are turning to pre-built Large Language Models (LLMs) to accelerate AI solution deployment and maximize existing resources. Ultimately, while technology may present relatively straightforward solutions, the cultural shift required to fully embrace AI remains a significant hurdle for businesses and their leaders.