83% of IT decision-makers across Canada reported progress on their AI strategies in 2024
More than half of Canadian respondents (56%) plan to increase AI investment in 2025
Despite limited return on investment (ROI) so far, Canadian organizations are betting on AI in the long term, prioritizing innovation and productivity gains over traditional financial savings
MARKHAM, ON and TORONTO, Jan. 15, 2025 /CNW/ — New study, commissioned by IBM (NYSE: IBM) found that Canadian companies surveyed are investing in AI for the long term, with a growing interest in using open-source tools to drive ROI and innovation going forward.
The study of more than 2,400 IT decision makers (ITDMs), conducted by Morning Consult and developed in collaboration with Lopez Research, revealed that 83% of Canadian respondents report making progress in executing their 2024 AI strategy, with 42% already seeing positive ROI from their AI investments. The data reveals that Canadian businesses are using a combination of buying or leasing AI tools from vendors (65%), using an open-source ecosystem (57%) as compared to in-house development (42%).
“This is a crucial year to pivot on AI adoption in Canadian organizations and our success hinges on strategic investments across models, platforms and supporting our people,” said Deb Pimentel, President, IBM Canada and General Manager, IBM Technology Canada. “This study underscores the importance of open-source platforms, high-quality data, and a well-defined AI strategy to enhance productivity. We’re committed to partnering with clients and partners to accelerate their AI strategies.”
More than half (56%) of Canadian respondents indicate they will increase their AI investments in 2025, while planning to leverage open-source ecosystems (41%), hire specialized talent (41%), evaluate models (43%) and use cloud managed services (49%) to optimize AI implementation.
“As organizations begin to implement AI at scale, many are placing greater stock in success metrics such as productivity gains, in part because traditional hard-dollar ROI have yet to show up on the balance sheets,” said Maribel Lopez of Lopez Research. “Yet, they continue to rapidly advance their AI strategies, with no sign of slowing down. Companies seem to now recognize the value of defining specific use cases and optimizing AI projects. They are leveraging hybrid cloud strategies and open source to drive AI innovation and deliver financial returns.”
Key Canadian findings include:
Companies are betting on AI for the long term
83% of Canadian ITDMs surveyed reported that their company has made progress in executing its AI strategy.
42% Canada respondents reported positive ROI from AI investments compared to the global average of 47%.
ROI is not necessarily the primary driver of AI investments at Canadian organizations and the lack of short-term ROI is not discouraging companies. 39% of Canada respondents reported that AI investment was equally innovation-driven and ROI-driven, with only 7% reporting their strategy was exclusively ROI-driven.
25% of Canadian respondents identified ‘more rapid innovation’ as the most important metric, followed by ‘productivity time savings’ and ‘faster software development’ with 21% each. While monetary savings (16%) and short time to trouble shoot issues (17%) are considered less important ROI measurements.
In Canada, companies are planning to use more cloud managed services (49%), evaluating models (43%) and using more open source (41%) and hiring specialized talent (41%).