The study "From Pilots to Reusable Platforms: A Blueprint for Scaling Enterprise AI" is conducted based on a survey of 397 business and technology leaders in four major economic regions in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Japan, combined with in-depth interviews with senior leaders in many fields such as finance, manufacturing, automobiles, healthcare, energy and sports.
AI is still in the early stages of transformation
Survey data from the report shows that AI is being heavily invested in by businesses to solve operational efficiency problems. Businesses that have deployed AI recognize clear benefits such as making faster and more consistent decisions, and improving operational efficiency.
However, AI is still mainly used to optimize existing processes instead of redesigning the business model. Only 34% of businesses said they are prioritizing transitioning to an AI-first operating model, reflecting a significant gap between AI application and comprehensive transformation based on AI.
The biggest challenge lies in the business platform, not AI technology
One of the most notable findings of the study is that the biggest barrier to AI today no longer lies in the AI models themselves but in the foundation of businesses.
When businesses seek to expand AI throughout the organization, limitations in data, systems and management models become the main bottleneck. 41% of surveyed leaders said the biggest difficulty is integrating AI with existing systems and processes, 38% of businesses believe that expanding AI from pilot projects into a common platform for businesses is a major challenge.
Although more than half of businesses have spent at least 5% of their information technology budget on AI, only 26% self-assess that they have reached a high level of maturity in AI operation.
In the opposite direction, expectations for AI Agents are increasing rapidly. Currently, AI Agents take on an average of 17% of the core processes of the business; this rate is forecast to increase to 26% in the next 12 months and 39% in the next two years.
Businesses prioritize comprehensive companions
According to research, when AI enters the large-scale deployment phase, the criteria for partner selection also change significantly. Instead of just looking for technology providers, businesses prioritize partners who can accompany throughout the AI life cycle, from strategic consulting, design, integration, management to operation and system optimization.
The three most important criteria in partner selection are the ability to deploy and operate AI on a business scale; AI management and security capacity and the ability to integrate AI with existing information technology systems.
The report also pointed out that the next stage of AI is no longer a test for individual application cases but to build a reusable and scalable AI platform across the business. To realize this goal, businesses need a synchronous approach, combining technology infrastructure, data, management, security and a unified operating model.
This is also the reason Forrester believes that the competitive advantage in the AI era will belong to organizations capable of operating AI in a systematic way, with the support of partners capable of supporting the entire AI life cycle according to the build-operate-optimize model, helping to shorten deployment time, reduce risks and deploy AI initiatives on a business scale to create long-term growth capacity.
