IDC predicts that investment in artificial intelligence will exceed 100 million euros this year in Portugal

The International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that investment in artificial intelligence (AI) will exceed 100 million euros in Portugal by 2024 and will grow by 25 per cent annually between 2023 and 2027.

At the Data & Artificial Intelligence event, held at the Belém Cultural Centre, some AI trends, opportunities and risks were shared. As investments in AI and automation grow, a focus on results, governance and risk management is key to ensuring the success and security of these initiatives

“Today we are witnessing a seismic shift in investments in artificial intelligence, where organisations are redefining their horizons to harness the power of AI. This technological revolution is not just limited to incremental improvements, but is restructuring the businesses that operate and how customer experiences are shaped. Robust investments in AI reflect not just a trend, but an urgent need to adapt and innovate, driving a new era of opportunity and accelerated growth,” emphasises Gabriel Coimbra, Group Vice President and Country Manager at IDC Portugal.

According to the IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Artificial Intelligence and Automation 2024 Predictions study, which monitors artificial intelligence software, hardware and services in all sectors and use cases, in 2023 companies worldwide invested 166 billion dollars (153.7 billion euros) in AI solutions. A figure that the consultancy believes will grow to 423 billion dollars (391.8 billion euros), with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.9 per cent between 2022 and 2027. This figure is four times higher than the CAGR of five years ago, which stood at 5.7 per cent for global IT investments in the same period.

In addition, IDC estimates that global intelligent process automation (IPA) software will reach 65.3 billion dollars (60.4 billion euros) in 2027, growing at a CAGR of 21.7 per cent between 2021 and 2026. As an example, in 2022, the IPA market grew by 16.7 per cent to 24.5 billion dollars (22.7 billion euros), compared to 20.5 per cent growth to 21 billion dollars (19.4 billion euros) in 2021.

10 trends for the next 5 years
At the event organised by IDC, 10 predictions were presented for the area of AI and automation up to 2027. In addition, the IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Artificial Intelligence and Automation 2024 Predictions study also describes the main factors affecting the decision-makers responsible for this expenditure and the effective use of the associated solutions.

By 2026, 70 per cent of cloud and software platform providers will bundle generative AI (GenAI) security and governance packages with their core services, reducing GenAI risk scenarios threefold.

The regulatory divergence of AI in different geographical regions will create major challenges for multinational organisations, increasing implementation time and effort for sensitive use cases by up to 10%.

By 2027, GenAI digital assistants will be the user interface for 25 per cent of interactions with enterprise software, including software development and higher for operational exploitation processes such as customer engagement.

The global economic impact of AI will neutralise as organisations overcome the initial disruption and refocus resources on innovation and new business opportunities, driving economic expansion.

Spending on server accelerators (GPU, FPGA and ASIC and AI ASSP) compared to server CPUs will reverse, reaching a 55/45 ratio.

By 2025, G2000 companies will apply more than 40 per cent of IT investments to AI initiatives, leading to a double-digit increase in the rate of product and process innovation.

After a temporary focus on GenAI, 60% of companies will refocus on defining automation strategies based on results, rather than specific technologies.

Two-thirds of companies will use a combination of GenAI and RAG to boost autonomous, domain-specific knowledge discovery, improving the effectiveness of decisions by 50 per cent.

By 2024, 33% of G2000 companies will explore innovative business models to double their GenAI monetisation potential.

By 2028, 30 per cent of G2000 companies will experiment with AGI systems that will have a transformative effect on society and create significant opportunities and threats.

“The explosive global popularity of ChatGPT has given us AI’s first real inflection point in public adoption. As investments in AI and automation grow, a focus on outcomes, governance and risk management is critical,” says Ritu Jyoti, vice president of the Worldwide Artificial Intelligence and Automation Market Research and Advisory Services group at IDC.