{"id":122768,"date":"2025-07-15T13:38:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T12:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/?p=122768"},"modified":"2025-07-15T13:38:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T12:38:05","slug":"caios-deliver-upto-36-higher-roi-on-enterprise-ai-ibm-dff-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/2025\/07\/15\/caios-deliver-upto-36-higher-roi-on-enterprise-ai-ibm-dff-study\/","title":{"rendered":"CAIOs deliver upto 36% higher ROI on enterprise AI, IBM DFF study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A study by IBM&#8217;s Institute for Business Value (IBV) in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) has found the UAE to be a global frontrunner in enterprise AI strategy, thanks to the early and deliberate appointment of Chief AI Officers (CAIOs). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report found that 33% of the UAE organisations surveyed have already appointed CAIOs, ahead of the global average of 26%. These dedicated AI officers are more than symbolic hires; companies with CAIOs report 10% higher return on AI investments. When these CAIOs also oversee centralised or hybrid hub-and-spoke AI operating models, ROI can rise by as much as 36%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More authority, more accountability <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What sets UAE CAIOs apart is not only their prevalence but also the authority they command. The study found that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>90% of UAE CAIOs report strong CEO support, compared to 80% globally.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>86% enjoy broader C-suite backing, versus 79% globally.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>69% were appointed internally, highlighting a commitment to nurturing leadership from within.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>79% control AI budgets, far ahead of the 61% global average.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Importantly, 62% of UAE CAIOs prioritise building business cases for AI\u2014well above the 45% global figure\u2014indicating a strong orientation toward delivering tangible business value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A Model of Strategic AI Enablement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, wrote in the foreword of the report, &#8220;AI is not a singular breakthrough &#8211; it\u2019s 10,000 small shifts The CAIO is a translator between vision and execution, a bridge between strategy and science, and a steward of value across the enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Within the UAE, Dubai has been one of the early movers in institutionalising AI leadership. \u201cDubai&#8217;s early adoption of the Chief AI Officer role reflects our national commitment to a responsible, future-ready government,\u201d said Saeed Al Falasi, Director of the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence. \u201cThis study reinforces that CAIOs are strategic enablers and catalysts that drive the city&#8217;s vision for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shukri Eid, VP and GM of IBM Gulf, Levant and Pakistan, added that the UAE\u2019s move to embed CAIOs across sectors underscores its foresight. \u201cThe UAE is setting a global benchmark, ensuring AI is a strategic enabler across sectors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Challenges in execution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the path is not without its hurdles. Nearly 76% of UAE organisations remain at the pilot phase of AI deployment, versus 60% globally, suggesting that while leadership and planning are in place, execution still needs to scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lula Mohanty, Managing Partner for IBM Consulting in the Middle East and Africa, noted: \u201cBy appointing CAIOs early and giving them visibility and budget control, UAE organisations have laid a strong foundation. The next step is embedding AI into core functions and delivering measurable ROI.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Experimentation without perfection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite some execution gaps, UAE CAIOs are maintaining momentum. About 74% say they\u2019re willing to launch AI projects even in the absence of perfect impact measurement, compared to 68% globally, showing a preference for agile experimentation over paralysis by analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Operationally minded, data-driven leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study also finds that UAE CAIOs are more likely to come from operational backgrounds (48% vs 38% globally), alongside data expertise (69%), painting a picture of grounded, execution-focused leaders rather than purely academic or theoretical technologists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With their unique blend of internal promotion, strategic empowerment, and pragmatic orientation, UAE\u2019s Chief AI Officers are providing a global model for how to turn AI ambition into enterprise impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As governments and businesses worldwide debate the structure and leadership needed to harness AI responsibly and effectively, the UAE appears to have already translated intent into infrastructure\u2014and vision into value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A study by IBM&#8217;s Institute for Business Value (IBV) in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) has found the UAE to be a global frontrunner in enterprise AI strategy, thanks to the early and deliberate appointment of Chief AI Officers (CAIOs). The report found that 33% of the UAE organisations surveyed have already appointed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4338,"featured_media":121909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18762,4724,19391,15994,11755,13,185],"tags":[3211,908,420,184],"class_list":["post-122768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai","category-countries","category-hot-topic","category-middle-east","category-regions","category-top-stories","category-uae","tag-ai","tag-digital-transformation","tag-dubai","tag-uae"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122768"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122769,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122768\/revisions\/122769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}