A Third of Global CIOs Warn of Unrealistic Board Expectations as The World Bets Big on AI, According to Expereo

A third of global technology leaders believe their board has unrealistic expectations or demands on how new technologies like AI will impact business performance. This is according to an IDC InfoBrief*, commissioned by Expereo, which highlights serious roadblocks to global AI implementation, despite AI being considered critical to fulfilling business priorities.

The research of 650 technology leaders in global organizations across Europe, the US and APAC reveals that 34% of global technology leaders have been forced to reassess their technology infrastructure because of rising geopolitical risks, as 37% say geopolitical disruptions are currently impacting their organization’s growth strategies.

Amid the volatile economic backdrop, it seems most organizations are placing their bets on AI to drive growth. The research shows that 87% of business leaders believe AI will be important to fulfilling business priorities in the next 12 months.

The IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Expereo, “Enterprise Horizons 2025: Technology Leaders Priorities: Achieving Digital Agility”, reveals that AI has largely met or exceeded expectations to date, with only 12% of global businesses saying AI has fallen short of expectations. Global tech leaders agree that AI will positively impact business, particularly customer-facing activities and costs (both at 66%). However, unrealistic board expectations could throw organizations' AI plans into chaos, as 28% of global technology executives say expectations within their organization of what AI can do are growing faster than their ability to meet them.

Ben Elms, CEO, Expereo, comments: “As global businesses embrace AI to transform employee and customer experience, setting realistic goals and aligning expectations will be critical to ensuring that AI delivers long-term value, rather than being viewed as a quick fix. While the potential of AI is immense, its successful integration requires careful planning. Technology leaders must recognize the need for robust networks and connectivity infrastructure to support AI at scale, while also ensuring consistent performance across these networks. We are at a pivotal moment where strategic investments in technology and IT infrastructure are necessary to meet both current and future demands.”

The research paints a positive picture for the promise of AI, but only if businesses can overcome existing challenges. The majority (52%) of organizations say their network/connectivity infrastructure is not ready to support new technology initiatives, such as AI. A further 45% say their network performance is preventing or limiting their organization’s networks from supporting large data/AI projects (up from 38% in 2024).

42% of global businesses also say concerns over AI governance or ethics remain a significant obstacle to implementing AI initiatives in their organization, followed by resistance from employees regarding their jobs (35%), and keeping up with the pace of change (34%).

Meanwhile, 29% of global businesses say current external technology partners not having the right capabilities remains a significant obstacle to implementing AI initiatives in their organization.

Despite these challenges, 79% of global technology leaders believe the focus on AI has raised their profile at the board level, up from 60% in 2024.

For the full *IDC InfoBrief, Enterprise Horizons 2025: Technology Leaders Priorities: Achieving Digital Agility, doc #EUR253271325​, March 2025, please visit: https://www.expereo.com/enterprise-horizons-2025

About Expereo

Expereo is a world-leading Managed Network as a Service provider that connects people, places, and things anywhere. Solutions include Global Internet, SD-WAN/SASE, and Enhanced Internet. With an extensive global reach, Expereo is the trusted partner of 60% of Fortune 500 companies. It powers enterprise and government sites in more than 190 countries, with the ability to connect to any location worldwide, working with over 2,300 partners to help customers improve productivity and empowering their networks and cloud services with the agility, flexibility, and value of the Internet, with optimal network performance.

Expereo was acquired in Feb 2021, by Vitruvian Partners which acquired a majority shareholding from Seven2.

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