Essentially, it boils down to one thing - value. From over 100 client conversations over the last 18 months, coupled with the data and trends we are seeing, it’s evident that value is the central focus for organisations across Australia.

But the question remains: how do organisations identify and unlock value via their GenAI solutions? What are the choices they are making along this journey and what results are we seeing across the country?

Let’s dive in.

The adage holds true: you need to spend money to make money. 63% of Australian organisations are increasing their investments in GenAI. This figure jumps to an impressive 80% among organisations that see themselves as having 'high expertise' in GenAI. When polled further, these high expertise organisations indicate that this investment is being driven by a clear return on investment (ROI) on their GenAI spending.

In stark contrast, organisations with 'low expertise' face more challenges. A whopping 90% report difficulties in measuring the impacts of their GenAI investments and therefore struggle to see the ROI on their spending. Put another way, 9 out of 10 of these organisations cannot find the ROI in GenAI. 

The findings show why a strategic approach is essential for realising the full potential of GenAI. Organisations that align their GenAI investments with a clear strategy and value proposition tend to see results. By understanding and leveraging the specific areas where GenAI can create value specific to their business, organisations better position themselves to achieve measurable outcomes and sustainable growth.

So, how are organisations going about measuring the value of their GenAI investments? By creating dedicated GenAI KPIs to track performance.

Unsurprisingly, and in the line with wave 1 and 2 results, there is exceptionally strong enthusiasm for leveraging productivity applications with integrated GenAI solutions - 71% of Australian respondents are pursuing productivity as the top benefit. While productivity and cost reduction are always appealing to leaders, it's encouraging to see that Australian organisations are also eager to drive innovation through GenAI—the third most common benefit reported.

This commitment to innovation takes on new significance when we consider the expected timeline for this transformation. 60% of respondents believe that GenAI will transform their industry within 0-3 years, while 80% feel it will transform their own business within the same timeframe.

The data reveals an interesting trend. Generally, Australia feels less prepared than its global counterparts for GenAI, especially in areas such as data management, tech infrastructure and strategy. The exception here is in risk and governance, where preparedness has quadrupled to 28%. This isn't surprising to us, as recent client conversations have focused heavily on implementing effective guardrails that reduce risk without stifling innovation. We feel that this is perhaps an Australian phenomenon, with organisations still waiting for clear AI regulation to emerge in our geography.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents feel only slightly or moderately prepared in terms of strategic readiness. Enhancing this preparedness is crucial because, without it, identifying, unlocking, and delivering value becomes challenging.

Australia continues to grapple with a talent crunch. With only 20% of organisations feeling prepared for this, and the majority of respondents indicating talent as one of their top 2 barriers to adopting GenAI. Continuing the trend from the last wave, no significant headcount changes are expected for now. Interestingly, 60% of organisations with little GenAI expertise cite this as their primary barrier to adoption. Adding to this, 'implementation challenges' remain the top barrier faced in Australia regardless of expertise level. Transitioning from a Proof of Concept (PoC) to full production presents significant hurdles—not just from a technical standpoint but also from workforce and governance perspectives.

Perhaps this goes hand in hand with investments? Australian organisations are investing heavily in cyber security, data management, and cloud consumption. While these areas are crucial, it's worth questioning whether the focus should expand beyond traditional tech lenses. Investing in a broader strategic perspective or review could help organisations identify new opportunities and drive sustainable growth.

Regarding implementation challenges, we now track how many ideas progress to production. We have had a running hypothesis that only 1 in 5 GenAI solutions make it to production in Australia, and this hypothesis was correct; only 10-20% of GenAI solutions in Australia make it to production, compared to 20-40% globally. Organisations with high expertise and clear AI strategies see more solutions reach production than those lacking a well-defined strategy. This underscores the importance of strategic preparation and targeted investment to overcome these barriers.

Nearly 90% of respondents express moderate or high trust in their organisation's GenAI tools and applications. Australia's biggest concern is regulatory compliance, with 40% of respondents acknowledging it as an issue. To address this, two-thirds of organisations are actively monitoring regulatory requirements to ensure compliance. Notably, nearly half of these organisations are revisiting their overarching corporate strategy to align with anticipated regulatory changes.