IT needs to overcome a perception that it's more tactical than strategic -- "Business and IT executives differ in their perceptions of strategic and operational IT issues, from IT's strategic role to its performance. And an A.T. Kearney survey of senior business and IT executives conducted this summer by Harris Interactive suggests that senior business executives don't believe IT is keeping pace. Many of these business leaders believe IT is tactically focused and that the best technology innovations come from the business side. Unless significant changes are made, those differences may continue to define -- and possibly limit -- IT's strategic role."
When enterprises begin treating AI budget as the line item they protect last when cutting elsewhere, the market has crossed a threshold that analysts rarely name explicitly. That is precisely where Europe now stands. A new forecast from IDC projects European AI spending will reach nearly $470 billion by 2030, expanding at a 35 percent CAGR over the next five years. European enterprises are allocating capital toward AI because the operational returns on cost efficiency, risk mitigation, and resilience are now demonstrable enough to justify sustained budget commitment. The strategic implication is significant: AI has moved from the innovation portfolio into core operational infrastructure. European AI Market Development Generative AI solutions, already embedded across enterprise deployments, are expected to account for more than 55 percent of the total market by the end of the forecast period. Software is both the largest technology segment, at 54.9 percent of total spending in 2026...