UK & US firms slow to adopt cloud & AI technologies

A recent study by customer intelligence company Acxiom has revealed that organisations are hosting less than half (44%) of their operations in the cloud, indicating a slower-than-anticipated migration.

The findings, part of the report titled "The Mass Martech Modernization," drew data from 100 marketing technology decision-makers in the UK and another 100 in the US.

The research indicates that a significant portion of operations, 56%, remains on-premise. This slow pace of migration to cloud-based technology is attributed largely to a lack of internal expertise, which was cited as a considerable challenge by 32% of the businesses surveyed. Compliance with industry regulations (31%) and ensuring data security (30%) were also highlighted as significant hurdles.

Other challenges listed by respondents include developing a cloud migration strategy (29%), securing internal resources for the migration (27%), migrating existing processes and data to the cloud (27%), and facilitating change management to ensure user adoption (26%). These multiple challenges underline the complexity and cautious approach businesses are taking towards cloud adoption.

A head of marketing at a large US bank noted, "We still do a lot of our campaigns through our on-prem system, because there's a lot of that that hasn't been migrated yet. It took about two years to get legal and compliance comfortable with having personally identifiable information in the cloud. And it's still not all up there, but at least we can now use the automated capabilities we acquired."

In tandem with slow cloud migration, the report also highlights a lag in the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) within businesses. Despite the widespread hype surrounding AI, more than half (53%) of the companies surveyed have not yet implemented AI technologies. The main reasons cited include a lack of understanding of AI's potential and challenges related to integration.

Of the 47% that are using AI, only 24% deploy it for advanced tasks such as customer segmentation and real-time organisation. The remaining 23% utilise AI for more basic functions like content recommendation. The data also reveal a geographical difference in AI adoption; in the US, 28% of businesses use AI for advanced marketing tasks compared to 19% in the UK.

A Director of Marketing from a large UK insurance provider commented, "We're not using AI anywhere in the business as yet, but it's definitely something that we're thinking about. We've some concerns around it from a governance perspective. But mainly, we are in such a world of pain trying to fix the stack that we've got, trying to add something new in, it just feels like now is not the time. We don't have the technology, we don't have the skill set internally to be able to manage it."

The report further indicates that expectations around AI integration vary between markets. US respondents are more inclined to believe AI evolution will necessitate new AI-powered tools and an AI-interoperable martech stack. Conversely, UK respondents are more focused on modifying their martech purchasing strategies and overhauling current solutions. Both markets, however, recognise the need to invest in enhancing their teams' AI literacy.

Almost half (48%) of the businesses surveyed stated that the emergence of AI has prompted them to review their existing tech stack. Acxiom's findings suggest that organisations working with a martech service partner are more likely to have a coherent martech strategy and the necessary executive support. Such organisations are also more likely to use AI and adapt their marketing technology accordingly.

Acxiom's research indicates that 50% of partner-supported organisations are utilising marketing AI in some form, compared with just 6% of those that do not employ a partner, highlighting the potential benefits of external expertise in navigating both cloud and AI transitions.