NetApp's 2024 Data Complexity Report: AI's Transformative Impact on Business and Data Management

NetApp Predicts AI Will Transform Business in New Data Complexity Report

AI's transformative potential hinges on secure, scalable, and sustainable data strategies," said Krish Vitaldevara, Senior Vice President and General Manager, NetApp. "The organizations leading in advanced analytics and AI are those that have unified and well-cataloged data, robust security for sensitive information, and a clear understanding of how data evolves. By tackling these challenges, they can drive innovation while ensuring resilience, responsibility, and timely insights in the new AI era." "We are at an exciting point in AI innovation, and it's encouraging to see APAC organizations leading the charge in data readiness for AI," said Dhruv Dhumatkar, Chief Technology Officer, NetApp Asia Pacific and Japan. "Data holds the key to AI's success. For organizations to capitalize on their lead, intelligent data management capabilities are essential to unify and make data a strategic asset for positive business outcomes."

NetApp's 2024 Data Complexity Report Reveals AI's Make or Break Year Ahead

NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the intelligent data infrastructure company, today released its second annual Data Complexity Report, which examines how global organisations are navigating the increasing complexity of managing their data for AI. This year's report provides a global view into how AI will impact organisations in 2025 and beyond, offering insights to help businesses leverage AI's potential while navigating the complexities and risks that accompany this transformative technology. "2025 is shaping up to be a defining year for AI, as organisations transition from experimentation to scaling their AI capabilities," said Gabie Boko, Chief Marketing Officer, NetApp. "This year's Data Complexity Report shows that businesses are making significant investments to drive innovation and efficiency, but these efforts will succeed only if global tech executives can address the mounting challenges of data complexity, security, and sustainability. Intelligent data infrastructure, with unified data storage at its core, will be key to unlocking AI's potential." AI Investment: Will AI Break the Bank? Two-thirds of companies worldwide report that their data is either fully or mostly optimised for AI -- meaning their data is accessible, accurate, and well-documented for AI-use cases. However, despite this progress, 2025 will still demand investment in AI and data management. In fact, 40% of global technology executives believe that unprecedented investment in AI and data management will be required for their companies in 2025. While companies have made strides in optimising data for AI, achieving future breakthroughs will demand even greater commitment and resources. Data Silos: Will Your Data Impede AI Success? Data unification is emerging as a critical driver of AI success, with 79% of global tech executives recognising the importance of unifying data to achieve optimal AI outcomes. Companies that have unified data storage have been able to remove data silos by connecting data regardless of type or location across hybrid multicloud environments so it is always accessible. Companies that prioritise unifying data are more likely to reach their AI goals in 2025, with only 23% of companies that prioritise unifying data saying they won't reach their goals, versus 30% of companies that don't prioritise unifying data. Investing in data management and infrastructure has become the top priority for organisations, with executives emphasising it twice as much as other AI-related initiatives - a trend set to grow. Looking to the future, organisations that embrace data unification will be better positioned to fully harness the transformative power of AI, ensuring they stay ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape. Data Security: Will Cyber Threats Scale Along with AI? Global tech executives are bracing for a significant rise in security threats alongside AI adoption, with 41% predicting a sharp increase in 2025. Data privacy and security concerns have remained top challenges globally year-over-year, with AI-leading countries like India, Japan and the United States (whom are farther ahead in their AI journey) nearly twice as likely to report an increase in the number of security issues compared to AI-lagging countries like Germany, France, and Spain. The rise of AI has increased the attack surface of many organisations, creating new challenges such as protecting AI-models themselves, defending data sets that are more exposed to attacks, and ensuring data is available and secure for use in AI applications. AI-driven security challenges are weighing heavily on the minds of global tech leaders, with 59% identifying these threats as a leading global stressor. This heightened focus reflects the growing complexity of cyber risks. Executives at the board and C-suite levels continue to prioritise cybersecurity and ransomware protection, with 38% ranking it as their top priority. However, there's a silver lining: the strategic measures organisations have implemented appear to be paying off. The focus on cybersecurity as a top priority has decreased by 17% since 2023 -- a promising sign that progress is being made in combating these ever-evolving threats. Data Sustainability: Is AI Putting the Planet at Risk? As AI adoption accelerates, 34% of global tech executives anticipate major shifts in corporate sustainability processes, and 33% expect new government energy policies and investments. AI-driven data growth and the infrastructure needed to turn data into business value uses a lot of energy, which runs counter to sustainability goals, with AI-leading countries experiencing a greater impact than AI-lagging countries. Carbon footprint reduction remains extremely or very important, especially in regions with high AI adoption, though its focus has declined year over year, from 84% of companies in 2023 to 72% in 2024. The challenge moving forward will be managing the environmental costs of AI while maximising its potential for innovation. This year's Data Complexity Report highlights a pivotal shift: businesses that invest in intelligent data infrastructure, prioritise security, and factor in sustainability are not only future-proofing their operations but also gaining a significant competitive advantage in the AI-driven landscape. "AI's transformative potential hinges on secure, scalable, and sustainable data strategies," said Krish Vitaldevara, Senior Vice President and General Manager, NetApp. "The organisations leading in advanced analytics and AI are those that have unified and well-cataloged data, robust security and compliance for sensitive information, and a clear understanding of how data evolves. By tackling these challenges, they can drive innovation while ensuring resilience, responsibility, and timely insights in the new AI era." To learn more, read the full report here: www.netapp.com/pdf.html?item=/media/120560-2024-data-complexity-survey-report.pdf Join NetApp and Steve McDowell of NAND Research for a LinkedIn Live event on Wednesday, December 11 at 11am ET: www.linkedin.com/events/the2024netappdatacomplexityrepo7271211960103317505/theater/ Methodology NetApp partnered with Wakefield Research to conduct a quantitative research study during November 2024, among 1,300+ IT executives in 9 markets: US, EMEA (UK, France, Germany, Spain) and APAC (Australia/New Zealand, Singapore, India and Japan). About NetApp NetApp is the intelligent data infrastructure company, combining unified data storage, integrated data services, and CloudOps solutions to turn a world of disruption into opportunity for every customer. NetApp creates silo-free infrastructure, harnessing observability and AI to enable the industry's best data management. As the only enterprise-grade storage service natively embedded in the world's biggest clouds, our data storage delivers seamless flexibility. In addition, our data services create a data advantage through superior cyber resilience, governance, and application agility. Our CloudOps solutions provide continuous optimisation of performance and efficiency through observability and AI. No matter the data type, workload, or environment, with NetApp you can transform your data infrastructure to realise your business possibilities. Learn more at www.netapp.com or follow us on X, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

India emerging as a key player in data management for AI, says NetApp Data Complexity Report

As global organisations gear up for an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered future, India is emerging as a key player in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, leveraging its early investments in data infrastructure to drive AI readiness, said data infrastructure company NetApp's second annual Data Complexity Report released on Wednesday. The report highlights the challenges and opportunities businesses face in navigating the complexities of data management for AI. It is based on insights from more than 1,300 IT executives in nine markets - the US, EMEA (France, Germany, Spain and the UK) and APAC (Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan and Singapore) - and sheds light on the critical investments and strategies required to scale up AI capabilities by 2025. Gabie Boko, chief marketing officer at NetApp, said "2025 is shaping up to be a defining year for AI, as organisations transition from experimentation to scaling their AI capabilities". While businesses are making significant investments to drive innovation and efficiency, she said, "These efforts will succeed only if global tech executives can address the mounting challenges of data complexity, security and sustainability. Intelligent data infrastructure, with unified data storage at its core, will be key to unlocking AI's potential." The report categorises APAC nations as "AI-leading" countries, with 73% of respondents stating that their data is fully or mostly optimised for AI, surpassing the global average. "We are at an exciting point in AI innovation, and it's encouraging to see APAC organisations leading the charge in data readiness for AI," said Dhruv Dhumatkar, chief technology officer, NetApp Asia Pacific and Japan. Among these nations, India stands out for its proactive approach, as per the report. Despite the growing demand for AI and data management investments worldwide, Indian executives' current focus on data management (44%) outweighs their priority for the future (37%). This reflects India's past investments and its leadership in AI adoption. Globally, 79% of technology leaders emphasised the importance of unifying data to achieve AI goals. This sentiment is even stronger in APAC, with 85% of executives recognising data unification as critical. The findings suggest that companies prioritising this strategy are more likely to meet their 2025 AI objectives. "Data holds the key to AI's success. For organisations to capitalise on their lead, intelligent data management capabilities are essential to unify and make data a strategic asset for positive business outcomes," said Dhumatkar. While AI adoption brings transformative opportunities, it also amplifies security concerns. In APAC, 72% of respondents reported an increase in security challenges due to an increase in AI adoption. Globally, nearly three in five tech leaders (59%) identified AI-driven security challenges as a leading global stressor. However, strategic measures are yielding results, with a 17% decrease in cybersecurity as a top priority since 2023. On the sustainability front, as AI adoption accelerates, a third of global tech executives anticipate major shifts in corporate sustainability processes and another third expect new government energy policies and investments. Though its focus has declined year-on-year, to 72% in 2024 from 84% of companies in 2023, carbon footprint reduction remains a top priority, especially in regions with high AI adoption. In APAC, three in every four respondents indicated the importance of carbon footprint reduction. With 57% of respondents indicating "high" or "extremely high" impacts, increased data and computation due to the rise of AI have brought significant contribution to their companies' sustainability initiatives.