GenAI Strategy: From Technology Catch-Up to Competitive Differentiation

Rotterdam, 22 January 2025

Deloitte today unveils the fourth quarterly edition of State of Generative AI in the Enterprise, revealing the current landscape of GenAI adoption and deployment. Based on a survey of 2,773 respondents across 14 countries, including the Netherlands. An interesting outcome is that there is a strategic shift from a technology catch-up to competitive differentiation with GenAI.

GenAI adoption is moving at the speed of business, not the speed of technology

Organisations typically face practical challenges when scaling GenAI initiatives. More than two-thirds of respondents say that only 30% or fewer of their GenAI experiments will be fully scaled in the next three to six months. Despite this, a vast majority of respondents (78%) expect to increase their overall AI spending in the next fiscal year.

"If you want to scale GenAI throughout the organisation, you get to the core processes of the company. In addition to practical matters, you will also have to deal with issues like data quality and security, limiting risks and complying with regulations. Integrating such a disruptive technology requires some time," says Naser Bakhshi, Partner AI & Data at Deloitte.

Almost half of the Dutch respondents (48%) indicate that they experience (very) much external pressure to use GenAI tools and applications in their organisation. This could be pressure from competitors, shareholders or other stakeholders. Just over a quarter of the Dutch respondents (28%) experience (very) much pressure from within their own organisation.

Increasing concerns about regulatory compliance

The continuous developments around GenAI increase the need for clear (legal) frameworks for organisations. Globally, organisations face challenges in terms of risk management (32%) and regulatory compliance (38%). Concerns about regulatory compliance have increased among Dutch respondents; from 32% in the first edition of Deloitte's State of Generative AI in the Enterprise to 40% now.

Dutch respondents are also concerned about the lack of explainability and transparency (40%) and misuse of client and customer data (40%). Moreover, Dutch respondents are the least concerned about the elimination of jobs due to automation (10%).

Organisations already have their eyes set on the next technological development - Agentic AI

The development of Agentic AI, a GenAI technology that can make decisions and perform actions virtually autonomously without human intervention, has captured leaders' attention. A quarter of the organisations surveyed (26%, NL: 34%) are already investigating the development of Agentic AI to a (very) large extent and 42% to some extent (NL: 34%). However, the main challenges GenAI is currently facing - unclear regulations, risk management, data shortages and staffing issues - continue to play a role in Agentic AI.

Bakhshi: "If the Netherlands wants to be in the vanguard in the field of GenAI, we must be prepared to invest enough time and energy. We all have a lot to discover and learn in the coming years. In doing so, we must keep in mind: the human factor must always remain at the centre."