“SMEs need to move from disconnected pilots to true alignment”: Study finds European businesses benefit more from AI than other markets

SAS Finds European SMEs Achieving Better Outcomes with Real-World AI Deployments
Compliance remains a major headache for one in four managers
Preparing for EU AI law could have helped

A new SAS report on AI readiness claims that European small businesses are among the most ready to achieve the highest ROI from artificial intelligence compared to other regions in the world.

Although North American SMEs perform better in planning, creation and implementation, they fail to actually deploy their solutions, indicating that European SMEs have progressed beyond pilot projects to actual implementation.

However, the number of companies around the world that are still in the early stages of AI readiness is far greater, with 37% considered “experimental” and 33% considered “opportunistic.” Nine out of ten companies in the first (experimental) phase do not even have a formal AI strategy in place, the report reveals.

AI deployment is higher in Europe, but overall deployment remains low

Compared to the number of companies that are in the early stages of AI readiness, only 9% have fully integrated AI into their strategy, operations and decision-making.

For many, these are the fundamental elements that still hold them back. Nearly half say data is still scattered across systems (45%) and AI tools work independently of each other (46%). Compliance, security and risk management remain the top barrier for 24% of respondents.

“Organizations that view governance as a foundation rather than an obstacle are often best positioned to execute it,” wrote John Carey, senior vice president of SAS Global Channels.

The report also implies that preparing for regulation such as the EU AI Law could have better positioned companies to maximize the return on their AI investment, while other regions appear to be lacking in this area.

Daniel-Zoe Jimenez, vice president of IDC Research, urged companies to focus on aligning data, people and resources to avoid disconnected pilot projects. “Experimenting with this technology is one thing. Deploying it in a strategic and sustainable way is another.”

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