NetApp: AI's Impact on Investment, Security & Sustainability

The accelerating advancement of AI technologies, from LLM’s to ML applications, has created a scenario where businesses must navigate complex decisions about investment, data management and infrastructure.

Additionally, in light of significant global economic headwinds and increasing regulatory scrutiny of AI technologies, organisations find themselves at a crossroads.

The past year has seen remarkable developments in AI capabilities, from the widespread adoption of Gen AI to breakthrough applications in various industries.

However, this progress has also highlighted the importance of robust data infrastructure and management strategies.

Looking into how organisations and regions across the world can tackle these challenges, NetApp surveyed technology executives across major economies and found crucial benchmarks for business leaders planning their AI strategies for 2025 and beyond.

The study, titled the 2024 Data Complexity Report, found that businesses are grappling with the reality that AI success depends not just on the algorithms themselves, but on the foundational elements of data management, security and sustainability.

‘AI investment: Will AI break the bank?’

According to NetApp, two-thirds of companies globally report their data is fully or mostly optimised for AI use cases.

However, 40% of global technology executives believe unprecedented investment in AI and data management will be required for their companies in 2025.

The transition from AI experimentation to scaling capabilities is driving this need for increased investment.

While progress has been made in data optimisation, achieving future AI breakthroughs will demand even greater commitment of resources.

‘Data silos: will your data impede AI success’

NetApp also reports that data unification is emerging as a critical factor for AI success, with 79% of global tech executives recognising its importance in achieving optimal AI outcomes.

This means that companies that have unified data storage can remove data silos by connecting data across hybrid multicloud environments.

Additionally, organisations prioritising data unification are more likely to reach their AI goals in 2025.

However, only 23% of companies prioritising data unification say they won't reach their goals, compared to 30% of those that don't prioritise it.

Therefore investing in data management and infrastructure has become the top priority for organisations, with executives emphasising it twice as much as other AI-related initiatives.

‘Data security: will cyber threats scale along with AI?’

With the rise of AI, NetApp highlights that global tech executives are anticipating a significant rise in security threats alongside AI adoption, with 41% predicting a sharp increase in 2025.

This has led to data privacy and security concerns remaining the top challenges globally year-over-year.

Proving this issue, AI-leading countries like India, Japan and the US are nearly twice as likely to report an increase in security issues compared to AI-lagging countries like Germany, France and Spain.

Globally, the increase of AI has increased the attack surface of many organisations, creating new challenges such as protecting AI models, defending exposed data sets and ensuring data availability for AI applications.

Yet despite these concerns, there are signs of progress.

The focus on cybersecurity as a top priority has decreased by 17% since 2023, suggesting that strategic measures implemented by organisations are paying off.

“The organisations leading in advanced analytics and AI are those that have unified and well-cataloged data, robust security and compliance for sensitive information and a clear understanding of how data evolves”, Krish Vitaldevara, Senior Vice President and General Manager at NetApp summarises.

“By tackling these challenges, they can drive innovation while ensuring resilience, responsibility, and timely insights in the new AI era.”

‘Data sustainability: is AI putting the planet at risk?’

NetApp reports that as AI adoption accelerates, 34% of global tech executives anticipate major shifts in corporate sustainability processes, while 33% expect new government energy policies and investments.

However, AI-driven data growth and the infrastructure needed to turn data into business value consume significant energy, which conflicts with sustainability goals.

This impact is more pronounced in AI-leading countries.

For instance, carbon footprint reduction remains extremely or very important, especially in regions with high AI adoption.

However, its focus has declined year over year, from 84% of companies in 2023 to 72% in 2024.

The challenge moving forward will be managing the environmental costs of AI while maximising its potential for innovation.

“2025 is shaping up to be a defining year for AI, as organizations transition from experimentation to scaling their AI capabilities,” Gabie Boko, Chief Marketing Officer at NetApp concludes.

“This year’s Data Complexity Report shows that businesses are making significant investments to drive innovation and efficiency, but these efforts will succeed only if global tech executives can address the mounting challenges of data complexity, security and sustainability. Intelligent data infrastructure, with unified data storage at its core, will be key to unlocking AI’s potential.”

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