A recent survey of 600 IT leaders by Salesforce reveals a new mandate from their bosses: incorporate generative artificial intelligence (AI) into the technology stack -- and fast. 

But the response from IT professionals is "not so fast," highlighting concerns about resources, data security, and data quality. Nearly three in five IT professionals say business stakeholders hold unreasonable expectations on the speed and agility of new technology implementations.

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The IT leadership survey reveals almost nine in 10 IT professionals can't support the deluge of AI-related requests they receive at their organization. The survey also reveals the following gravitational pull of AI on IT:

• Nine in 10 IT professionals say generative AI has forced them to re-evaluate their technology strategy, shifting their team's mindset around how new technology is onboarded and used.
• 86% of IT professionals say their job has become more important since the introduction of generative AI.
• 68% of IT professionals say their leadership expects them to be experts in generative AI. 

Here are some key findings from the survey:

The pressure to implement generative AI quickly

• 87% of IT professionals believe generative AI has met or exceeded its hype.
• Generative AI is the #1 technology IT feels pressure to onboard quickly.
• C-suite executives are the#1 influencers demanding quick generative AI implementation, ahead of other stakeholders.
• Nearly 3 in 5 IT professionals say business stakeholders hold unreasonable expectations on the speed and agility of new technology implementations.
• 88% of IT professionals claim they can't support the deluge of AI-related requests they receive at their organization.
• Nine in 10 IT professionals say generative AI has shifted their team's mindset around how new technology is onboarded and used.

What's clear is there is a real and possibly widening disconnect between business leadership and IT priorities.

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The IT survey reveals that company leadership prioritizes speed over security and data quality. Here are the top five leadership priorities, according to IT:

1. Speed of implementation
2. Security
3. Data quality
4. Business value
5. Training new users quickly

And here are the top 5 IT priorities, according to IT:

1. Security
2. Data quality
3. Speed of implementation
4. Training new tech users quickly
5. Data infrastructure

As they juggle various priorities, nearly half (48%) of IT professionals agree that they struggle to find a balance between speed, business value, and security when implementing new technology:

All AI projects begin as data projects, so I believe data quality must be at the top -- or near the top -- for all AI projects. In addition, recent research also notes that 90% of IT leaders say it's tough to integrate AI with other systems. AI adoption has exploded and amplified the need for a coherent IT strategy.

But achieving that balance is easier said than done.

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Integration and data silos represent the biggest obstacles for IT organizations that want to implement AI successfully.

IT grapples with infrastructure headwinds

• Almost one-third of IT professionals (31%) lack the time to implement and train AI models and algorithms.
• 48% worry their organization's security infrastructure can't keep up with the demand for innovation.
• 45% worry their organizations' data management infrastructure can't keep up with the demand for innovation.

MuleSoft's ninth annual Connectivity Benchmark Report validates these survey findings:

• The new normal -- AI inflection point amplifies the need for a coherent IT strategy: Eighty-seven percent of IT leaders report that the nature of digital transformation is changing. AI further complexifies the tech landscape, with 991 apps in the average enterprise. IT budgets must increase to meet the surging demand.
• AI adoption explodes, integration and security concerns are the biggest barriers: The AI genie is out of the bottle, with over three-quarters of organizations reporting they use multiple AI models. As many as 90% say difficulty integrating AI with other systems is a barrier, followed by 79% reporting security concerns.
• IT leaders acknowledge that data silos and systems fragility are holding their companies back: As many as 98% of IT leaders report facing challenges regarding digital transformation. Key drivers are the persistence of data silos at 81%, and the fragility of tightly coupled and highly dependent systems at 72%.
• Automation is still a source of contention between IT and the business: Business users benefit greatly from the automation of their work (1.9 hours per employee per week) and demand more flexibility to automate. However, IT departments still need to figure out how to enable automation in a secure and governed way. Two-thirds (66%) of automation projects have IT as the sole gatekeeper.

Business success and growth depend on trust, data, AI, and automation. The importance of IT cannot be overstated. However, business leaders must be aligned on their AI implementation strategies and execution plans. And there are no shortcuts to success, meaning success factors like data quality cannot be overlooked or assigned a lower priority. Speed is important, unless you are driving your organization toward a cliff. As the great basketball coach John Wooden famously said: "Be quick but don't hurry."

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