OpenText™ (NASDAQ: OTEX) (TSX: OTEX) today released new global research revealing a striking divide between enterprises that are new to AI and those with mature AI programs when it comes to return on AI investment (ROAI). The survey, conducted by Foundry, shows that while nearly 70% of mature AI adopters are satisfied with their results, only 42% of newer adopters report the same.
Maturity Matters for AI ROI
The research, based on insights from 515 CIOs and senior IT leaders, highlights that AI’s benefits compound with experience. Organizations further along in AI adoption measure success beyond efficiency gains, focusing on problem-solving impact, risk reduction, and multi-agent AI deployment. In contrast, newer adopters tend to measure ROAI narrowly, often struggling to balance AI ambition with security and compliance risks.
A financial services CIO summarized the challenge: “Our business wants more AI and our security and IT are panicking because nobody knows how to secure it and run it in a well-governed way.” Similarly, a healthcare VP noted, “AI success depends on better metadata management, stronger governance, and classification.”
Mature AI users also invest more strategically, with enterprises allocating an average of $5.4 million annually toward generative AI tools, infrastructure, and talent—a factor closely tied to higher satisfaction in ROAI.
Information Readiness Is Key
Across all organizations, strong information management is a prerequisite for AI success. Yet gaps remain:
- Security and compliance risk (44%) is the top information management challenge
- Less than half rate their governance as functioning “very well”
- Expertise in secure information management is a top priority when selecting partners
“AI’s value does not appear overnight. Real returns come when enterprises move beyond surface-level automation to solve real problems. That takes secure, well-governed information,” said Savinay Berry, Chief Product Officer and CTO at OpenText.
The findings underscore that information readiness is essential for unlocking AI’s full potential, particularly as organizations adopt multi-agent AI to tackle complex challenges.
Why It Matters
As enterprises invest heavily in AI, those lacking robust information governance risk limited returns and elevated compliance exposure. OpenText’s research suggests that maturity—not just spending—determines success, highlighting a growing need for platforms that simplify information complexity and strengthen governance.
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