At Datacom, we work alongside hundreds of New Zealand organisations every day – from regional businesses to government organisations and corporates with a global footprint – and one thing is clear: AI is no longer a future concept. It is here now, and it is delivering measurable value.
By Hayden McKee, General Manager – Modern Platforms, Datacom
Our latest research, the 2025 State of AI Index, confirms what we’re seeing on the ground. AI adoption has surged, with 87 per cent of New Zealand organisations now using some form of AI – up from just 48 per cent two years ago. And the results speak for themselves: 88 per cent of those using AI report a positive impact on their operations.
What is significant, given that productivity gains have often proved elusive, is that one in five of these organisations are seeing significant productivity gains, equivalent to 25 per cent or more in time saved or output increased. Another 28 per cent are seeing moderate gains and 35 per cent are seeing smaller but still meaningful improvements.
So, what’s driving this? The most common use cases are practical and focused: automating repetitive tasks, improving data analytics, optimising workflows, and enhancing customer or employee experiences. These are areas where AI can be deployed quickly and start delivering value almost immediately.
But while the benefits are clear, the next challenge is scaling. Our Director of AI, Lou Compagnone, has observed that many organisations are still stuck in the pilot phase. Do you have the internal skills? Do your teams understand how to work with AI? Is there a clear governance framework in place?
Lou Compagnone explains it well: “There’s a difference between being able to pilot AI and scale it successfully. Creating a proof of concept is relatively straightforward. Operationalising it – making it secure, maintainable and integrated – is where the real work begins.”
To move on from pilots and toward operationalising AI across the business, the advice from our team is to look at establishing cross-functional teams that provide oversight, coordination and support for AI initiatives across the business. These teams help ensure that AI isn’t just a series of disconnected experiments, but part of a cohesive strategy.
That strategy needs to be grounded in business objectives. What are you trying to achieve? Where can AI make the biggest difference? And how will you measure success?
At Datacom, we’ve taken our own medicine. We’ve integrated over 90 internal AI productivity tools and transformed our digital engineering services by combining AI agents with human software engineers. The result? Our app modernisation teams are currently rebuilding legacy systems in a fraction of the time and enabling cost savings in the region of 50 per cent for some of our customers.
But know that not every organisation is ready to move at that pace. Our research shows that barriers remain – from skills shortages and data quality issues to uncertainty around governance and ethics. Shadow AI – the use of unapproved tools – is also a growing concern, with over half of leaders identifying it as a problem.
That’s why training and policy are so important. Yet only 46 per cent of organisations have provided AI training in the past six months, and just 29 per cent have formal ethics or safety guidelines in place.
If we want to unlock the full potential of AI, we need to move beyond experimentation. That means investing in skills, building robust data and cloud foundations, and developing clear strategies that align AI with business goals.
The good news? The business case is stronger than ever. AI is delivering real, measurable results. Now it’s time to scale.
