Skip to content

Posts tagged ‘digital transformation’

Oct 19

Gartner’s 13 ways GenAI is improving B2B Sales is the roadmap every business needs

Gartner's 13 ways GenAI is improving B2B Sales is the roadmap every business needs

Generative AI (GenAI) ‘s potential for streamlining the most time-consuming processes in B2B sales is just getting started. As businesses increasingly rely on AI to enhance efficiency, automate routine tasks, and personalize customer engagement, GenAI is set to become a critical differentiator in the race for B2B sales and market leadership.

  • B2B sales organizations using GenAI-embedded sales technologies will reduce the time they spend prospecting and preparing for customer meetings by over 50% within two years.
  • Conversational interfaces based on GenAI will gain momentum and further revolutionize B2B selling. In 2028, they will be the driving force behind up to 60% of B2B sales interactions, up from less than 5% in 2023.
  • Centralized GenAI operations teams are also on the way, championed by Chief Revenue Officers (CROs). These teams will focus on integrating AI-driven strategies into sales and revenue operations. 35% of CROs will have GenAI operations teams online and incorporated into their companies’ strategic planning process by 2025.

The goal: find the most likely wins for GenAI in B2B Sales

Gartner’s recent report, 13 Generative AI Use Cases for B2B Sales, provides an analysis of where GenAI is helping improve B2B sales now and in the future.

“Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is reshaping the sales technology landscape, offering innovative solutions in areas such as prospecting, sales analytics, forecasting, and sales enablement. Tools infused with GenAI capabilities are embedded in use cases across the sales function, supporting key priorities such as revenue growth, GTM, cost optimization, and risk mitigation,” write the authors of Gartner’s study.

In defining and ranking the most valuable use cases of GenAI in B2B sales, Gartner examined where the technology is being most effectively applied to improve sales operations, increase seller productivity, and fuel future transformation.

The following multidimensional grid defines the use cases by value and feasibility.

Source: Generative AI Use Cases for B2B Sales, Gartner, Inc.

Gartner evaluated each use case for GenAI in B2B sales by scoring them on two key factors: business value and feasibility. The figure below shows the breakout of value and feasibility factors Gartner has used as a framework to rank the 13 use cases: “While we’ve defined the dimensions of value and feasibility according to our research criteria, companies are encouraged to customize these parameters to align with their own business needs,” the report states.

Source: Gartner, Inc. (2024) Generative AI Use Cases for B2B Sales

Mapping GenAI Use Cases Across Business Functions

Gartner also provides a GenAI use-case pipeline as part of their analysis to graphically explain how the 13 AI-driven strategies or use cases are distributed across business functions, including marketing, sales, and customer success.

The goal is to help organizations identify and take action on the use cases that will deliver the most significant potential impact. Gartner advises that use cases that span multiple stages of the pipeline typically deliver greater overall business value, making them strategic targets for investment. Additionally, the pipeline acts as a guide to identifying the relevant stakeholders within the organization, enabling more focused discussions and alignment on AI implementation priorities.

Source: Gartner, Generative AI Use Cases for B2B Sales.

GenAI is redefining the future of B2B Sales

Within the next three years, GenAI will emerge as one of the main factors that differentiate the most efficient and financially successful B2B sales organizations. With CROs creating operations teams to scale AI improvements across every phase of the sales process and sales teams using AI to automate reporting and manually-intensive tasks, GenAI is supposed to revamp the time-consuming work that gets in the way of selling.

Gartner’s analysis highlights that AI-driven strategies will soon dominate, with significant gains in efficiency and customer engagement. The message is clear: for sales organizations looking to stay ahead, embracing GenAI is not optional—it’s essential. Those who act now will position themselves as leaders in the evolving world of B2B sales, while those who hesitate risk being left behind.

 

Sep 17

Top Seven Takeaways from Gartner’s 2024 CIO GenAI Survey

Top Seven Takeaways from Gartner's 2024 CIO GenAI Survey

For 87% of CIOs, generative AI (GenAI) represents more than a technological advancement—it’s a career-defining opportunity.

Gartner’s 2024 CIO Generative AI Survey finds that GenAI is gaining momentum with CIOs, with 95% believing in the technology’s significant potential to improve their organizations. A significant obstacle: a gap between CIOs and their C-suite peers — tempers their optimism.

While CIOs recognize AI’s potential to unleash productivity gains and improve customer experiences, only a fraction of the C-suite sees it as an urgent priority. Closing that gap underscores CIOs’ essential role in championing GenAI by committing to excel at learning every aspect of the new technology and how it can deliver long-term value to their organizations.

The top seven takeaways from Gartner’s survey provide CIOs with a roadmap on how to take a practical, pragmatic approach to bridge the gaps across the C-suite and help their organizations get results from their GenAI strategies.

Strategic Insights from Gartner’s 2024 CIO GenAI Survey

Gartner’s latest CIO survey on GenAI provides insights into how IT leaders can capitalize on the technology’s significant impact, from career growth and expertise development to helping CIOs achieve more support across the C-suite. Each takeaway focuses on how CIOs can leverage AI to drive success for themselves and their organizations.

Here are the survey’s seven most insightful takeaways:

  • More CIOs are starting to view GenAI as a career-enhancing opportunity. Eighty-seven percent of CIOs see GenAI as a pivotal career advancement opportunity, with 44% of those proficient in AI strongly affirming this view. GenAI’s rapid adoption in organizations is proving itself a technology capable of delivering productivity gains and is increasingly becoming a skill and expertise essential for career advancement. For CIOs leading AI initiatives, it’s not just about technology—it’s about positioning themselves as visionary leaders qualified to step into more senior positions. To maximize this opportunity, CIOs need to prioritize the development of AI strategies that demonstrate clear, measurable business outcomes. Continuous learning and certification programs are given to any IT professional, especially CIOs, who want to maintain a competitive edge and have their careers capitalize on GenAI’s growth trajectory.

Source: Key findings from the 2024 Gartner CIO generative AI survey (ID G00820936). Gartner, Inc.

  • CIOs are more focused than ever on increasing their acumen about GenAI. CIOs are rapidly becoming the in-house experts on AI, with 52% now rating themselves as proficient or advanced, up from 38% nine months ago. This growing expertise is crucial, as 67% of CIOs are tasked with leading AI initiatives, often sharing this responsibility with other C-suite members. Gartner recommends that CIOs deepen their AI knowledge further and foster a culture of AI literacy across their teams to capitalize on this trend. Providing targeted training for IT and business leaders to ensure that AI strategies are fully integrated into broader business goals is quickly becoming table stakes.

Source: Key findings from the 2024 Gartner CIO generative AI survey (ID G00820936). Gartner, Inc.

  • Disconnect between CIO optimism and C-suite prioritization. Despite 95% of CIOs believing in the potential for GenAI to deliver value, the survey reveals a disconnect with the C-suite—only 21% of CIOs who consider themselves highly knowledgeable about AI believe their C-suite sees it as a high priority. This gap suggests a need for more effective communication and strategic alignment. CIOs need to focus on translating AI’s potential into language that resonates with the C-suite. Regular briefings and ROI-focused presentations can help bridge this gap and elevate AI as a top priority for all executive leaders.

Source: Key findings from the 2024 Gartner CIO generative AI survey (ID G00820936). Gartner, Inc.

  • CIOs are leading the charge in AI implementations. CIOs are increasingly in charge of GenAI initiatives, with 48% of CIOs responding to the survey indicating that they are the main executives responsible for these initiatives. Another 28% are part of the team responsible for developing AI strategy. This central role places CIOs at the forefront of digital transformation, requiring them to be strategic leaders and hands-on practitioners. CIOs need to establish clear governance frameworks and metrics for AI initiatives to ensure success and alignment with broader organizational goals. Additionally, partnering with other C-suite members, such as the CFO and CMO, can help secure the necessary resources and support for AI projects.


Source: Key findings from the 2024 Gartner CIO generative AI survey (ID G00820936). Gartner, Inc.

  • Focus on productivity gains. GenAI is proving effective in streamlining operations and improving efficiencies organization-wide, with 74% of CIOs citing productivity as its top business value. AI also improves customer experience (49%) and helps streamline digital transformation (31%). These priorities demonstrate AI’s multifaceted role in modern businesses. Gartner recommends that CIOs integrate AI into crucial or core organizational areas, ensuring that AI initiatives align with organizational objectives and are designed to deliver measurable, scalable outcomes.


Source: Key findings from the 2024 Gartner CIO generative AI survey (ID G00820936). Gartner, Inc.

  • Concerns over AI hallucinations. Although GenAI holds great potential, there are significant risks. According to 59% of CIOs, the biggest worry is “hallucinations” or misleading or incorrect outputs. In close succession, 44% and 48% of CIOs express concern about privacy violations and false information spread by malicious attackers. These dangers highlight the importance of solid governance, ongoing oversight, and continued investments in cybersecurity. According to Gartner, CIOs need to prioritize creating AI ethics guidelines and investing in auditing tools. Gartner also notes that reducing these risks will require cultivating a culture of accountability and transparency.


Source: Key findings from the 2024 Gartner CIO generative AI survey (ID G00820936). Gartner, Inc.

  • C-Suite engagement in AI is growing but still lags. The survey shows that while C-suite engagement with AI is growing, 42% of CIOs note increased investment in understanding AI, and 53% still consider their peers novices, highlighting a critical need for further education and alignment. CIOs need to take the lead and champion targeted AI education and strategy sessions to close this gap, ensuring AI initiatives are fully supported and integrated into the organization’s strategic goals.

Conclusion

In Gartner’s 2024 CIO Generative AI Survey, GenAI is more than a technological advancement—it’s a strategic imperative for CIOs seeking business transformation and career advancement. GenAI is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of modern enterprise strategy, with 87% of CIOs seeing it as a career-enhancing tool and 95% as a business value driver.

With only 21% of CIOs seeing AI as a high priority for their executive peers, the journey is difficult. 74% of CIOs are focused on productivity gains, but the C-suite is cautious. CIOs must gain AI expertise and lead the way in aligning AI initiatives with organizational goals to mitigate risks like AI hallucinations through robust governance. CIOs can use GenAI to achieve business success and career growth by strategically navigating these dynamics to cement their role as digital visionaries.

Bibliography:

Struckman, C. (2024). Key findings from the 2024 Gartner CIO generative AI survey (ID G00820936). Gartner, Inc. https://www.gartner.com/document/820936  (Client access required).

May 19

1 Comment

Gartner’s 2024 CEO Survey Reveals AI as Top Strategic Priority

Gartner's 2024 CEO Survey Reveals AI as Top Strategic Priority

75% of CEOs used ChatGPT in the first half of 2023, with 44% incorporating it into their jobs.

Gartner’s 2024 CEO survey finds that CEOs are on board with AI to a much greater extent than previously believed. 87% of CEOs agree that AI’s benefits to their business outweigh its risks. “Digitalization, in general, and AI, in particular, will be core innovative elements in revised business strategies, as will environmental-sustainability-based growth ideas,” writes Gartner in the report.

CEOs experimenting with synthetic video

Almost a third of CEOs have considered making and using a synthetic video of themselves. Gartner notes that Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of the European utility services company Veolia, has posted an AI-augmented video of herself on LinkedIn and X appearing to speak in multiple languages.

Driving AI adoption

CEOs who adopt new technologies immediately drive their adoption enterprise-wide because everyone immediately sees those technologies as critical to their jobs. Seasoned CEOs know the quickest way to get a new enterprise app’s adoption rate to go up is to use it themselves and demonstrate their mastery quickly. What’s happening with AI’s adoption is faster than many CEOs expected.

Key takeaways from Gartner’s 2024 CEO survey include the following:

  • Growth dominates CEO agendas, reaching a new record in Gartner’s annual survey. “CEOs’ top business priority of growth is up 25% and is at the highest level since 2014,’ writes Financial considerations increased by 25%, cost management by 11%, and customer priorities grew by 22%. The survey points towards CEOs being more focused on profitability and margins, two signs of internal process gains to reduce operating costs and improve efficiency. The survey results point to more CEOs looking at how to get greater returns from the most expensive assets their businesses operate.
75% of CEOs used ChatGPT in the first half of 2023, with 44% incorporating it into their jobs.Gartner's 2024 CEO survey finds that CEOs are on board with AI to a much greater extent than previously believed. 87% of CEOs agree that the benefits of AI to their business outweigh its risks. "Digitalization, in general, and AI, in particular, will be core innovative elements in revised business strategies, as will environmental-sustainability-based growth ideas," writes Gartner in the report. CEOs experimenting with synthetic video Almost a third of CEOs have considered making and using a synthetic video of themselves. Gartner notes that Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of the European utility services company Veolia, has posted an AI-augmented video of herself on LinkedIn and X appearing to speak in multiple languages. Driving AI adoption CEOs who adopt new technologies immediately drive their adoption enterprise-wide because everyone immediately sees those technologies as critical to their jobs. Seasoned CEOs know the quickest way to get a new enterprise app's adoption rate to go up is to use it themselves and demonstrate their mastery quickly. What's happening with AI's adoption is faster than many CEOs expected. Key takeaways from Gartner's 2024 CEO survey include the following: • Growth dominates CEO agendas, reaching a new record in Gartner's annual survey. "CEOs' top business priority of growth is up 25% and is at the highest level since 2014,' writes Gartner. Financial considerations increased by 25%, cost management by 11%, and customer priorities grew by 22%. The survey points towards CEOs being more focused on profitability and margins, two signs of internal process gains to reduce operating costs and improve efficiency. The survey results point to more CEOs looking at how to get greater returns from the most expensive assets their businesses operate. Ceo growth 1 • CEOs mentioning AI as one of their top two technology priorities jumped from 4% in 2023 to 24% in 2024. Technology innovation also increased from 7% to 11%, and the use of digital transformation for growth increased from 9% to 11%. It's interesting to see how CEOs are focusing on how to improve, integrate, and modernize their strategic use of technology. That category jumps from 1% in 2023 to 5% in 2024. "AI is explicitly mentioned a lot more in 2024 than it was in the 2023 survey. At the same time, mentions of "digitalization" have declined significantly, and so have mentions of e-commerce and omnichannel," writes Gartner. CEO two top strategic business priorities 2 • 34% of CEOs say that the next business transformation their enterprises will pursue after digital is AI. CEO's intentions to pursue AI as their next business transformation are nearly four times greater than their interest in operations efficiency and agility. Sustainability and ESG are a distant third priority. Just 5% of CEOs say customer experience/centricity will be a priority. the theme of the next transformation after digital • 59% say AI is the technology that will most impact their industry. AI has a four-year track record of being the top category, starting in 2020, with the percentage of CEOs mentioning it ranging between 18% to 29%. Gartner mentions in the survey results that in 15 years of asking this question and comparable ones to it, there's never been a category that emerges as dominant as AI has. In the past, CEOs believed cloud and big data technologies would be the most impactful. Previous technologies have had nowhere near the extent of impact that AI does today. "Eighty-six percent of CEOs expect AI will help maintain or grow their revenue in 2024-2025, and when asked exactly how that would happen, the top answer category was an improvement to customer experience and relationships," writes Gartner. Use AI to Help Maintain or Grow Company Revenue

Source: Gartner 2024 CEO Survey — The Year of Strategy Relaunches

  • CEOs mentioning AI as one of their top two technology priorities jumped from 4% in 2023 to 24% in 2024. Technology innovation also increased from 7% to 11%, and the use of digital transformation for growth increased from 9% to 11%. It’s interesting to see how CEOs are focusing on how to improve, integrate, and modernize their strategic use of technology. That category jumps from 1% in 2023 to 5% in 2024. “AI is explicitly mentioned a lot more in 2024 than it was in the 2023 survey. At the same time, mentions of “digitalization” have declined significantly, as have mentions of e-commerce and omnichannel,” writes Gartner.
Gartner's 2024 CEO Survey Reveals AI as Top Strategic Priority

Source: Gartner 2024 CEO Survey — The Year of Strategy Relaunches

  • 34% of CEOs say that the next business transformation their enterprises will pursue after digital is AI. CEO’s intentions to pursue AI as their next business transformation are nearly four times greater than their interest in operations efficiency and agility. Sustainability and ESG are a distant third priority. Just 5% of CEOs say customer experience/centricity will be a priority.
Gartner's 2024 CEO Survey Reveals AI as Top Strategic Priority

Source: Gartner 2024 CEO Survey — The Year of Strategy Relaunches

  • 59% say AI is the technology that will most impact their industry. AI has a four-year track record of being the top category, starting in 2020, with the percentage of CEOs mentioning it ranging between 18% to 29%. Gartner mentions in the survey results that in 15 years of asking this question and comparable ones to it, there’s never been a category that emerges as dominant as AI has. In the past, CEOs believed cloud and big data technologies would be the most impactful. Previous technologies have had nowhere near the extent of impact that AI does today. “Eighty-six percent of CEOs expect AI will help maintain or grow their revenue in 2024-2025, and when asked exactly how that would happen, the top answer category was an improvement to customer experience and relationships,” writes Gartner.
Gartner's 2024 CEO Survey Reveals AI as Top Strategic Priority

Source: Gartner 2024 CEO Survey — The Year of Strategy Relaunches

Jul 7

Customer Experiences Define Success In A Digital-First World

Customer Experiences Define Success In A Digital-First World

  • 91% of enterprises have adopted or have plans to adopt a digital-first strategy. Of these enterprises, 48% already have a digital-first approach in place.
  • Creating better customer experiences (67%), improving process efficiency through automation (53%), and driving new revenue (48%) are the top three digital business strategies enterprises are investing in today.
  • 35% of enterprises have experienced revenue growth due to digital business initiatives over the past 12 months.
  • 5G, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning are the top technologies being researched by enterprises who are defining digital business strategies.
  • Enterprises are planning to spend $15.3M on digital initiatives over the next 12 months. 59% will be allocated to technology, and 41% will be dedicated to people and skills.

These and many other fascinating insights are from the second annual IDG Digital Business study, The State of Digital Business Transformation 2019. You can download a summary of the slides here (7 pp., PDF, opt-in). The survey’s methodology is based on 702 interviews across nine industries with technology, financial services, and business services (consulting, legal and real estate) comprising 43% of all respondents. IDG relied on CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World visitors as their primary respondent base. For additional details regarding the methodology, please see page 2 of the study.

The study’s primary goal was to gain a better understanding of where organizations are in their approaches to becoming digital-first businesses. The study captures the strategies and technologies businesses are adopting to ensure digitally-driven growth with customer experience improvements being proven as a growth catalyst. Key insights from the survey include the following:

  • 52% of enterprises define digital business as meeting customer experience expectations, jumping to 65% for financial services enterprises. Customer expectations rule all other categories of how an enterprise defines a digital business. 49% define digital business as enabling worker productivity with mobile apps, data access, and AI-assisted automation. The following graphic compares how enterprises define their digital business. Please click on the graphic to expand for easier reading.

Customer Experiences Define Success In A Digital-First World

  • Mobile devices and apps are enterprises’ platform of choice for launching digital-first strategies in 2019. Mobile apps and the platforms supporting them provide the needed scale, speed-to-market, and performance gains through application-level improvements that all businesses need to gain initial adoption and growth with their digital-first strategies. IDG found that private cloud and business process management are the second- and third-most used technologies to drive digital-first initiatives. Enterprises also have a considerable lead when it comes to mobile app availability: 74% have mobile apps today compared to 51% of SMBs.

  • Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are the leading three initiatives enterprises have in pilot today as part of their digital-first initiatives. 21% of all organizations surveyed are in one or more IoT pilots, and 20% of organizations are piloting AI and machine learning projects today. Nearly a third of all organizations (29%) have multi-cloud configurations in production today, and 25% have software-defined Wide Area Networks (WANs).

  • 57% of enterprises (companies with over 1K employees) say improving new product and service offerings by digitally enabling operations is the single greatest source of revenue growth. Digitally enabling or streamlining new product and development processes and the systems supporting them also improve the ability to innovate and size new opportunities (49%). It makes sense that once the new product development process is more digitally enabled, an organization will be able to more efficiently launch new capabilities (47% in enterprises) and improve sales capacity including upsell and cross-sell (41% overall).

  • Creating better customer experiences (67%), improving process efficiency through automation (53%), and driving new revenue (48%) are the top three digital business strategies enterprises are investing in today. Business Management, including General Managers with P&L responsibility, are placing a high priority on creating a better customer experience, far above all else. They’re the revenue drivers of businesses adopting a digital-first strategy today as well, over 10% higher than IT Management and 12% higher than IT executives.

  • In the most successful digital-first businesses, the CIO the most visible, vocal, and successful in leading change management initiatives. Six of the nine core dimensions of a successful digital enablement strategy are dominated by CIOs. Technology Needs Assessment (48%), IT Skills Assessment (48%) and Change Management (33%) are the three areas CIOs are making the greatest contribution to digital-first strategies on the part of their businesses. It’s important to note that CIOs are far and away, the champion and leader of data management strategies as well.

  • Enterprises are placing a high priority on data security and protection as part of the digital-first initiatives, with 27% having cybersecurity systems in place. It’s encouraging to see business and IT leaders making data and system security their highest priority, getting results quickly in this area. Technology needs assessment, and IT skills assessment (both 24%) are also areas where enterprises are making strong progress. As the CIO owns these areas and is also the person most likely to be owning change management, it’s understandable how advanced digital-first businesses are on these two dimensions. The following graphic compares the progress enterprises are making in becoming a digitally-driven business.