European companies lag behind with AI

A survey by NetApp exposes an international AI gap. Companies from European countries are generally among the laggards.

The gap between AI pioneers and laggards is widening, concludes a report from NetApp. The report surveys 1,300 IT leaders about AI investments and their outlook on future developments. Europe is represented by Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The three EU countries hang on the tail of the pack, while Asian countries take the lead. US Vice President J.D Vance’ s statement that the US is the ultimate AI leader is not supported by the report. One criteria NetApp uses to distinguish leaders from laggards is whether companies’ data is optimized to effectively implement AI. This is a major pain point in Germany (47%) and Spain (55%).

According to NetApp, there is a broader trend and other European countries are also at risk of falling behind. Across all countries, forty percent expect to invest more in AI by 2025. This will mainly focus on data management and/or infrastructure, especially in those countries where this is not yet in place. The European Union recently announced an ambitious investment plan to boost the European AI industry.

Concerns about security and sustainability

While companies do not want to fall behind with AI investments, there are also concerns. 41 percent of respondents expect that the continued development of AI technology will lead to more threats around data privacy, cybersecurity and compliance. These challenges are perceived more strongly in countries that are among the leaders, although laggards should not be blind to these if they want to close the gap.

A second concern is sustainability. 50 percent of global respondents say they sometimes have “AI shame” because its use has a major impact on their carbon footprint. Contrastingly, reducing carbon footprint is a focus for fewer companies than in 2023. There is often a discrepancy between saying sustainability is important and actually acting on it, as Capgemini also had to conclude.

“This report shows how critical infrastructure is for data access and proper processing,” said Diliane Snackers, Senior Director Benelux at NetApp. “Security and compliance are also top priorities for the successful adoption of AI. However, there is a significant shortage of experts in these areas at many European companies.”