Latest news with #ITDecisionMakers
Zawya
17-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
96% of EMEA Financial Services Organizations believe they need to improve their resilience to meet DORA Requirements
Dubai, UAE – Six months after the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) came into effect, a new Censuswide survey commissioned by Veeam® Software, the #1 global leader in Data Resilience by market share reveals that 96% of EMEA financial services organizations still feel their current level of data resilience falls short. The survey, which gathered insights from senior IT decision makers at financial services companies in the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, underscores the ongoing challenges faced by the sector as it adapts to DORA – a framework introduced by the EU in January 2025 to strengthen the financial industry's defenses against cyberthreats and ICT disruptions. While DORA has been embedded as a strategic priority across the financial sector, many organizations are still navigating the path to full compliance. The survey found that 94% of organizations surveyed now rank DORA higher in their organizational priorities than they did in the month before the deadline, with 40% calling it a current 'top digital resilience priority.' Half of the respondents said DORA requirements have been integrated into their broader resilience programs, while 39% reported it remains a central focus. The Unintended Consequences of DORA Even with 94% of organizations clear on the steps they need to take; many are facing unforeseen challenges: 41% report increased stress and pressure on IT and security teams. 37% are dealing with higher costs passed on by ICT vendors. 22% believe the volume of digital regulation is becoming a barrier to innovation or competition. 20% have yet to secure the necessary budget to meet DORA requirements. 'It's promising to see that most organizations have embraced and feel confident about meeting DORA's requirements,' said Edwin Weijdema, Field CTO EMEA at Veeam. 'Achieving compliance is an important first step in ensuring your organization is resilient but given today's complex threat landscape there's more to do. New Veeam research shows that many financial institutions still see a gap in their overall resilience and face challenges in securing the necessary budget, even as DORA grows in strategic importance. The journey to operational resilience is ongoing, and it's clear that prioritizing data resilience remains critical for organizations' long-term success.' DORA: Still a Work in Progress Despite this prioritization, many organizations are still working to meet key DORA requirements: 24% have not established recovery and continuity testing. 24% have not implemented incident reporting. 24% have not identified a DORA implementation lead. 23% have not conducted digital operational resilience testing. 21% have not ensured backup integrity and secure data recovery. The most challenging DORA requirement? Third-party risk oversight, with 34% of organizations citing it as the hardest to implement – despite only 20% yet to do so. There are many possible reasons for this, from the limited visibility many organizations have into their third-party operations to the sheer scale of third-party networks. Andre Troskie, Field CISO EMEA at Veeam said, 'It's interesting to see that third-party oversight has emerged as a particular pain point for organizations. Over a third named it the most challenging to implement, and many called for additional guidance on establishing it in the first place. An often-overlooked facet of data resilience, it's promising to see that organizations are interrogating their defences to this degree – which is exactly what it was designed to do. Of course, meeting the requirements is key, but DORA was also about getting organizations to assess their resilience holistically – and in that aspect, it seems to be succeeding.' Additionally, 22% of organizations felt that DORA's design could have been improved to aid compliance, with calls for simplification, clarification, and more detailed third-party risk guidance. Supporting the Journey to Resilience In response to the growing need for structured resilience strategies, Veeam and McKinsey earlier this year introduced the industry's first Data Resilience Maturity Model (DRMM). Built on extensive research and insights from over 500 IT, security, and operations leaders, the Veeam DRMM has been validated through real-world customer outcomes. This framework enables organizations to assess their data resilience using a cross-functional approach that integrates IT, security, and compliance into a unified strategy. It provides a clear roadmap for enhancing resilience and achieving compliance with regulations like DORA. 'DORA was about more than compliance – it was about driving a holistic reassessment of digital data resilience,' added Troskie. 'And in that respect, it's working.' About the Veeam DORA Confidence Survey Censuswide conducted this research on behalf of Veeam between June. 5 and June. 11, 2025. The survey included 404 Senior IT decision makers/Heads of compliance at financial service companies/banks with over 500+ employees across the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Although the UK is a non-EU member state, it was included due to its significant business ties with EU countries that fall under DORA. An additional criterion ensured that all UK respondents worked for organizations that currently fall under DORA. The study was nationally representative. About Veeam Software Veeam®, the #1 global market leader in data resilience, believes every business should be able to bounce forward after a disruption with the confidence and control of all their data whenever and wherever they need it. Veeam calls this radical resilience, and we're obsessed with creating innovative ways to help our customers achieve it. Veeam solutions are purpose-built for powering data resilience by providing data backup, data recovery, data portability, data security, and data intelligence. With Veeam, IT and security leaders rest easy knowing that their apps and data are protected and always available across their cloud, virtual, physical, SaaS, and Kubernetes environments. Headquartered in Seattle with offices in more than 30 countries, Veeam protects over 550,000 customers worldwide, including 67% of the Global 2000, that trust Veeam to keep their businesses running. Radical resilience starts with Veeam.
National Post
08-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
Shadow AI as a Strategic Advantage: ManageEngine Report Points the Way Forward
Article content 97% of IT Decision Makers See Significant Risks of Shadow AI, While 91% of Employees See No Risk, Little Risk, or Risk That's Outweighed by Reward Article content AUSTIN, Texas — ManageEngine, a division of Zoho Corporation and a leading provider of enterprise IT management solutions, today released its report, The Shadow AI Surge in Enterprises: Insights from the U.S. and Canadian Workplace. Based on a survey of IT decision makers (ITDMs) and business employees, the report investigates the rise of shadow AI—unauthorized AI tools used for work—and identifies critical gaps that organizations need to close if they want to reduce the risks of shadow AI and turn it into a strategic advantage. Article content The rise: 60% of employees are using unapproved AI tools more than they were a year ago, and 93% of employees admit to inputting information into AI tools without approval. The risks: 63% of ITDMs see data leakage or exposure as the primary risk of shadow AI. Conversely, 91% of employees think shadow AI poses no risk, not much risk, or some risk that's outweighed by reward. The rewards: Summarizing notes or calls (55%), brainstorming (55%), and analyzing data or reports (47%) are the top tasks employees complete with shadow AI. Generative AI text tools (73%), AI writing tools (60%), and code assistants (59%) are the top AI tools ITDMs have approved for employee use. Article content 'Shadow AI represents both the greatest governance risk and the biggest strategic opportunity in the enterprise,' said Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, director of AI research at ManageEngine. 'Organizations that will thrive are those that address the security threats and reframe shadow AI as a strategic indicator of genuine business needs. IT leaders must shift from playing defense to proactively building transparent, collaborative, and secure AI ecosystems that employees feel empowered to use.' Article content Identifying the Shadow AI Gaps Article content To turn the use of shadow AI from a liability into a strategic advantage, IT leaders need to close the gaps in education, visibility, and governance revealed by the report. Specifically, a lack of education around AI model training, safe user behavior, and organizational impact is driving systematic misuse. Blind spots continue to grow in organizations, even as IT teams move to approve and integrate AI tools as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, shadow AI proliferates due to inadequate enforcement of established governance policies. Article content 85% of ITDMs report that employees are adopting AI tools faster than their IT teams can assess them. 32% of employees entered confidential client data into AI tools without confirming company approval, while 37% entered private, internal company data. 53% of ITDMs say employees' use of personal devices for work-related AI tasks is creating a blind spot in their organization's security posture. Only 54% of ITDMs report their organizations have implemented clear, enforced AI governance policies and actively monitor for unauthorized use, while 91% have implemented policies overall. Article content Proactively managing AI means harnessing employee initiative while maintaining security. It delivers the business value discovered in shadow AI but does so via AI tools that are approved by IT. To that end, ITDMs and employees make several strategic recommendations in the report. Article content 63% of ITDMs advise integrating approved AI tools into standard workflows and business applications, 60% suggest implementing clear policies on acceptable AI use, and 55% suggest establishing a list of vetted and approved tools. 66% of employees recommend setting clear policies that are fair and practical, 63% recommend providing official tools that are relevant to their tasks, and 60% advise providing better education on understanding the risks. Article content 'Shadow AI is a fatal flaw for most organizations,' said Sathish Sagayaraj Joseph, regional technical head at ManageEngine. 'IT teams can't manage risk they can't see—and they can't enable business value that users won't divulge. Proactive AI management unites IT and business professionals in their pursuit of common, organizational goals. That means employees are equipped to understand and avoid AI-related risks, and IT is empowered to help them use AI in ways that drive real business outcomes.' The full report, The Shadow AI Surge in Enterprises: Insights from the U.S. and Canadian Workplace, is available for download here. Article content Survey Methodology Article content In May 2025, ManageEngine commissioned independent market research agency Censuswide to conduct a study of 350 ITDMs and 350 working professionals across the U.S. and Canada, employed in organizations with at least 500 employees and $10M in annual revenue. The survey explored AI usage patterns, security concerns, and governance gaps, with a focus on real-world behaviors across organizations of varying sizes and industries. Article content About ManageEngine Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Media Contact Article content Article content Ahana Vissa Article content Article content Article content
Forbes
13-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
10 Key Findings From AWS Generative AI Adoption Index
AWS GenAI Adoption Index For all the buzz about artificial intelligence reshaping work, concrete data on how it's happening has been scarce. That is starting to change. Amazon Web Services, in collaboration with Access Partnership, has released the "AWS Generative AI Adoption Index," an initiative to rigorously track AI's impact on organizations and their adoption strategies. Released this month, the index offers data-driven insight into how businesses incorporate generative AI into their operations. It is based on responses from over 3,739 IT decision-makers across nine countries rather than hypothetical projections. The goal is to provide executives with an empirical baseline for strategic decisions regarding AI, cutting through the hype with actual data on where AI is making an impact. Here are 10 key takeaways from the AWS Generative AI Adoption Index report: The index reveals that 45% of surveyed IT decision-makers ranked generative AI tools as their top budget priority for 2025, surpassing traditional priorities like security tools (30%). This shift underscores a growing focus on AI-driven innovation and growth across organizations. Impact: Businesses should carefully balance innovation and security when allocating IT budgets, ensuring AI adoption doesn't compromise their security posture. A remarkable 60% of organizations have already appointed Chief AI Officers, with another 26% planning appointments by 2026. This trend reflects a fundamental shift in how organizations view AI—not merely as another technological tool but as a breakthrough requiring strategic oversight at the highest levels. Impact: Organizations should consider establishing clear AI leadership roles to ensure coordinated, strategic implementation across departments. While 90% of organizations now deploy generative AI tools, 44% have advanced beyond early testing to production deployment. Organizations conducted an average of 45 AI experiments in 2024, but only 20 will reach end-users by 2025, highlighting implementation challenges. Impact: Companies should focus on bridging the gap between experimentation and production by addressing technical and organizational barriers. Organizations identify lack of skilled AI workforce as the biggest barrier (55%) preventing them from taking generative AI experiments into production. Other challenges include perceived high costs (48%) and concerns about biases and hallucinations (40%). Impact: Organizations need comprehensive talent strategies that combine hiring, training and partnership with external experts. Rather than developing solutions from scratch, most organizations customize pre-existing AI models to fit their workflows and datasets. Only 25% intend to deploy solutions developed in-house from scratch, while 58% plan to build custom applications on out-of-the-box models. Impact: Businesses should evaluate their specific needs to determine the optimal blend of custom development and ready-made solutions. Interestingly, 44% of financial services firms plan to use out-of-the-box solutions, departing from traditional custom development approaches. This reflects the growing recognition of the benefits of faster deployment and access to advanced AI capabilities that out-of-the-box applications can offer. Impact: Even heavily regulated industries can benefit from pre-built AI solutions with appropriate customization and oversight. External partners are emerging as key enablers of AI transformation, with 65% of organizations planning vendor collaboration for deployment. Strong partnerships between external expertise and internal capabilities will be critical for successful generative AI deployment. Impact: Organizations should develop strategic partnerships with vendors who can provide both technology and implementation expertise. To address the talent gap, 56% of organizations have already developed generative AI training plans, with another 19% planning to do so by end-2025. However, 52% report that a limited understanding of employees' AI training needs is the top challenge in developing these plans. Impact: Companies should conduct thorough skills assessments before designing AI training programs. In 2025, 92% of organizations plan to recruit for new roles requiring generative AI expertise. For 26% of those surveyed, at least half of new positions will demand AI skills, with the ICT sector leading this trend at 35%. Impact: Organizations should begin developing AI-focused recruitment strategies immediately to compete for limited talent. While only 14% of organizations currently have a change management strategy for AI adoption, this will increase to 76% by end-2026. However, a concerning 24% will still lack formal transformation strategies by then. Impact: Businesses must develop comprehensive change management approaches that address operating models, data practices and organizational culture to successfully integrate AI. Looking forward, the AWS study suggests that generative AI's role in the workplace will continue to evolve and expand. Organizations that view AI as a collaborative partner rather than a replacement technology will be best positioned to capture its benefits. Success will require ongoing investment in workforce training, careful attention to emerging AI capabilities and a commitment to fostering a culture that embraces AI-human collaboration. The key to thriving in this new landscape lies not in wholesale automation but in thoughtful integration that enhances human capabilities while preserving the unique value that human workers bring to their roles. Organizations that master this balance will be best positioned to compete in an increasingly AI-enhanced business environment.
