Ai | majority of uae firms have a ‘clear, shared vision’ for ai

Majority of UAE firms have a ‘clear, shared vision’ for AI

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More than 80% of enterprises in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are deeply committed to enterprise-wide AI deployments, with buy-in from top management and a clear vision for business transformation, according to a major new survey.

The AI Maturity Index Report, carried out for ServiceNow in collaboration with Oxford Economics, found that 81% of firms say they are operating with a clear, shared vision of AI’s role in the wider enterprise.

And 71% of UAE businesses surveyed say their decision makers are fully committed to leveraging AI for transformation, while 60% say an AI leader with a formal job title such as ‘Chief AI Officer’ has been appointed to oversee the strategy of their AI implementation.

Not surprisingly, in line with these investments, researchers found that 77% of respondents’ organisations have increased their AI budgets year-on-year.

In addition to unveiling the extent of engagement with AI, the findings also show how UAE organizations think about AI success. Almost one in four respondents (23%) across the country cite productivity increases as their favoured metric for verifying the retrun on investment (ROI) of AI solutions. This is reflected in the choices made about where to focus their transformation efforts.

It found the most popular AI use cases are in data-related areas. More than half (53%) of respondents say their organization is using AI for data-cleaning, management, integration, visualization or transformation. Some 44% are using AI for performance management, and 43% are concentrating on resource utilization such as labour and IT capacity. Another 43% are using AI for sales-focused tasks like lead-generation and marketing.

The study also revealed that UAE businesses are already seeing tangible returns on these AI investments. Almost two-thirds (65%) report at least some ROI in terms of increased efficiency or productivity and 24% say their ROI was greater than 15%.

“AI is making a bigger splash since GenAI emerged,” said William O’Neill, Area VP for UAE, ServiceNow. “However, the real power of AI, which is demonstrated in our UAE findings, is in the careful selection of use cases. AI is now advanced enough to reshape work throughout the enterprise, from payroll and procurement to employee requests, customer queries, and even content creation. But organisations can go further. By using an enterprise AI platform approach, teams and ecosystems can work together to scale efficiently, connecting areas of the business such as customer service and technical support in ways that empower employees and delight customers.”

Interestingly, although UAE organizations are seeing tangible ROI on their AI investments, these are being accrued without organizations having very mature AI capabilities. While all surveyed organizations report at least some AI capabilities, only 15% have reached the stage where they are transforming or innovating with AI. The remainder are in the assessing (12%), experimenting (44%) or operationalizing (31%) stages.

“The UAE has long been a first-mover when it comes to innovation and adoption of technology and we’re seeing it again, this time with AI,” said O’Neill. “I would encourage business leaders across the country to continue to lean in. I would encourage them to keep those clear, shared strategies in mind and to lead with vision because those are the factors that experience tells us predict high AI maturity more than any others.”

SMEs continue to thrive in Abu Dhabi

SMEs in Abu Dhabi constitute over 90% of total businesses, employing nearly half of the workforce and contributing 42.8% to the emirate’s non-oil GDP, according to Moza Obaid Al Nasri, Executive Director of the SME Sector at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.

In her statement, Al Nasri highlighted the pivotal role of SMEs in driving economic growth, innovation, and diversification.

She noted that Abu Dhabi has created a competitive and inclusive business environment, which is among the fastest-growing start-up ecosystems in the MENA region, with a 28% increase in value.

Al Nasri underscored the importance of the ‘Falcon Economy’ strategy, which focuses on high-growth sectors, and highlighted ongoing efforts to provide a supportive regulatory and financial environment for SMEs. These initiatives are designed to stimulate innovation and sustainable growth, supported by strategic investments, she added.