Almost all business leaders report ‘tech anxiety’, study finds

The vast majority of business leaders (94%) have admitted to “tech anxiety” within their organisation’s senior leadership, according to a report by DX firm Kin + Carta.

The study surveyed 800 senior business leaders in the US and UK, comprised of a mix of C-suite, senior, VPs, directors and other key decision makers.

According to the report – 2024 Leadership Priorities in Tech – tech anxiety is the concern senior leaders feel over their business operations due to the speed at which technology is evolving.

The greatest source of anxiety is cyber security (24%) – which may come as no surprise as cyber firms expect 2023 to be the most prolific year for ransomware to date – followed by AI and machine learning (19%), and concerns over how strategise and track sustainability (17%).

The potential disruption associated with AI and machine learning, in particular, are substantial due to the speed of technological change (35%), internal skills gap (29%) and access to the right talent (28%).

“Fears around complex black-box technology, information security, and GenAI hype are causing tech anxiety levels to rise,” said Richard Neish, global chief strategy officer, Kin + Carta.

Neish also points towards economic volatility as an aspect increasing pressure on businesses budgets and demanding greater speed to value.

“Leaders must be flexible, leverage data, and build transformation around business needs to succeed,” Neish urged.

Going forward, investment in AI and machine learning is seen as the number one priority among global companies: 15% of leaders say they plan to invest in it this year, with cyber security second.

Additionally, three-quarters (75%) of leaders believe that further investment in digital transformation initiatives is necessary within the next 12 months. More than half (58%) plan to spend more in the coming year compared to previous years.

“There’s no doubt that technology is moving incredibly quickly, but concerns such as data trust and the internal skills gap can be managed, as long as businesses invest in the right areas,” Neish concluded.