Swiss companies continue to invest in AI - despite disappointing many
One in three large Swiss companies consider themselves to be well or very well prepared for the use of AI applications. According to a Cisco study, this puts them in the European midfield. While they are investing more in AI, the majority of those surveyed are disappointed with the results of the initiatives.
Only one in three Swiss companies (34%) say they are well or very well prepared for the introduction of AI applications. Nevertheless, this is slightly more than last year, when the proportion was 24%. The latest figures come from the "AI Readiness Index" from network equipment provider Cisco. It surveyed a total of 7,985 IT managers in 30 markets whose organizations have at least 500 employees, as detailed in a press release. The Swiss figures are based on the responses of around 300 respondents.
In the survey, Cisco classifies companies into four categories: "Pacesetters", "Chasers", "Followers" and "Laggards". The view reduced to the highest readiness level is disappointing for Switzerland: just 8% (1 percentage point more than last year) consider themselves fully prepared to use AI productively, as Cisco summarizes.
A country comparison also shows that local companies can still make up ground: With the 34% mentioned at the beginning, Switzerland is in the middle of the European field, writes Cisco.
Switzerland is strong in AI strategy and AI talent
"Swiss companies are gaining ground in AI, which is important news," Christopher Tighe, Head of Switzerland at Cisco, is quoted as saying in the press release. "However, Swiss companies are not yet where they need to be to leverage the potential of AI. Especially in the area of IT infrastructure, there is a need to catch up in order to make data centers fit for AI requirements. The good news is that Switzerland is globally competitive when it comes to AI talent, and we need to take advantage of this."
In fact, 72% of respondents rated their company in the top two performance levels in terms of AI strategy. This puts them on a par with British companies and only just behind German (77 percent) and American (79 percent) companies, according to Cisco. In terms of AI talent, 52% of respondents in Switzerland see their company in the top two performance levels. This is the best rating in Europe, Cisco praises.
In terms of infrastructure, however, only 35% of the Swiss companies surveyed consider themselves to be well or very well prepared for AI. According to Cisco, this is slightly better than the European average (33%), but is topped by US companies, for example, with 56%.
Cisco describes the findings on AI culture as "expandable": 26% of Swiss companies consider themselves to be in the top two readiness levels. By comparison, the figures for the UK and Germany are 40 and 41 percent respectively, and in the USA they are as high as 47 percent.
60 percent do not see expectations fulfilled
Just over half (51%) of respondents said that management was putting pressure on them to introduce AI quickly. Investors also put pressure on 37 percent of respondents, while middle management played a role for 33 percent.
In terms of investment, the Cisco survey shows that almost half (48%) of companies in Germany invest between 10% and 30% of their IT budget in AI projects. 5 percent of respondents are currently allocating as much as 40 percent of their budget to AI; and 29 percent stated that they intend to do so in the next five years.
At the same time, it is noticeable that the projects currently underway are by no means only triggering leaps of joy: Over 60 percent of respondents report that their AI initiatives have so far not brought any significant progress or results in the automation, optimization and support of processes, Cisco summarizes. Expectations have therefore not been met. (René Jaun/yzu/swi)
