FROM THE INDUSTRY
Strategic Priorities in the AI Era: A Conversation
with Buddy Bayer By Melissa Cogavin, Broadband Journal
What does business spend on AI? That’s the question answered in the latest IT Priorities research from Colt Technology Services, which gathered responses from 1,200 IT leaders across 13 countries. It asked organisations how they’re prioritising their AI spend, and it also shows which markets are most likely to invest in AI. Broadband Journal caught up with Buddy Bayer, Chief Operating Officer at Colt to drill down into those numbers in more depth.
Highlights across all countries include: n 34% prioritise AI-driven innovation and product development n 33% spend on Generative AI for content development n 32% invest in cybersecurity and threat detection n 31% investing in AI to enhance customer experiences n 31% invest in AI to drive process optimisation and efficiency improvements
Like sustainability there is a lot of misinformation around AI; people are talking a big game but perhaps not backing it up with affirmative action. Are you aware of people saying a lot but doing little where AI is concerned?
Only now – almost three years on from the time that ChatGPT began to truly take off and AI application across businesses began to accelerate – are businesses beginning to slow down and view AI through a more strategic lens. We questioned 1200 IT leaders across 13 countries for our IT Priorities Study, and our research showed that ‘adding AI or machine learning capabilities’ is the
Businesses have been under pressure to integrate AI across their organisations, often without the luxury of time to identify where and how it adds value or has a tangible, positive impact on the customer experience. Initially for many it seemed like ‘AI for AI’s sake’; businesses could demonstrate to their boards, customers and stakeholders that they were early adopters of AI but lacked use cases and analytics behind these implementations.
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SEPTEMBER 2025 Volume 47 No.3
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