IDC: EMEA businesses face difficulties scaling AI
In Cyprus, analytics company IDC reported that companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are finding it difficult to scale artificial intelligence while controlling costs and risks. According to Cyprus Mail, 99% of company executives in the EMEA region believe AI could change how their organizations generate revenue over the next three to five years.
Artificial intelligence strategy has also become one of two topics that boards of directors increasingly seek to discuss, alongside financial performance. The other topic is security. At the same time, around two-thirds of EMEA organizations are still at early stages of maturity in AI adoption.
The gap between ambition and implementation
IDC estimates that the region's interest in artificial intelligence generally matches the global level, but EMEA lags behind in its ability to implement the technology effectively. AI agents are already used in cybersecurity, IT, human resources management and customer operations. Some 95% of enterprises in the region reported using such agents in the workplace.
IDC warned that this figure primarily indicates the spread of the technology rather than organizations' readiness to manage it. The use of agents also raises cost issues: companies struggle to determine the cost of individual workflows, lack AI financial management specialists, and face opaque pricing models.
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Cost control and reliability
IDC noted that the use of agents across different business functions is expanding faster than management systems are developing. Lapo Fioretti, IDC senior analyst for AI-driven business development strategies, stressed that limiting costs is not the same as controlling them.
Organizations more often make progress when they direct AI investments toward measurable business value, have funded road maps with defined outcomes, and build governance mechanisms into projects from the outset. IDC named modular platforms, connected data and continuous learning among the common traits of more successful organizations.
Before scaling AI agents, IDC identified reliability and accuracy as the most important factors, while execution speed ranked lower. The company warned that a combination of high investment ambitions and weaker implementation capabilities could lead to smaller deals, longer sales cycles and delayed returns on investment. IDC also advised adapting AI strategies as results from practical use accumulate, rather than relying solely on initial forecasts.
