Enterprise Solutions
IBM Commissioned Study Finds Open-Source AI Tools Are The Key To Unlocking ROI
By TechDogs Bureau

Updated on Fri, Dec 20, 2024
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Yet, the study had another fascinating revelation: nearly half of businesses prefer using open-source software rather than proprietary ones.
Now, a study commissioned by IBM and conducted by Morning Consult and Lopez Research, shows that it is a growing trend among enterprises, as most of them prefer leveraging open-source AI tools to optimize return on investment (ROI).
The study surveyed over 2,400 IT decision-makers (ITDMs) across 13 countries, highlighting this global change in how businesses are using open-source AI to achieve long-term gains.
So, what does the IBM study say about the future of AI investments and growth of open-source AI tools?
Let’s explore!
What Did IBM’s New Study Reveal?
IBM's latest study shows that 85% of the surveyed businesses reported making progress with their AI strategies for 2024. Of these, 47% already achieved positive ROI from their AI investments.
The insights also show that among businesses using open-source AI tools, 51% reported a positive ROI, while only 41% not leveraging open-source AI tools reported the same. This shows that businesses using open-source AI tools saw a greater return on their AI investments in 2024.
Moreover, of the 62% of respondents planning to increase their AI investments in 2025, almost half (48%) are planning to leverage open-source AI solutions. Additionally, 40% of businesses not using open-source tools yet say they will adopt them in 2025.
The study also showed that the most effective areas to invest in AI were in IT operations (63%), data quality management (46%) and the creation of new products or services (41%). This is set to remain true in 2025 too, with 89% of surveyed organizations planning to either increase or maintain their AI investments and nearly 40% of respondents planning to increase their spending by 25-50%.
So, what is driving this boost in open-source AI adoption?
Why Are Businesses Choosing Open-source AI?
Open-source AI tools offer financial viability, allowing companies to optimize their AI deployments without the steep costs of proprietary software. By leveraging open-source ecosystems, enterprises can accelerate their pilot projects and scale implementations. As open-source AI aligns with hybrid cloud strategies, a focus area for many organizations, it is key in streamlining operations and enhancing flexibility.
In fact, 38% of respondents using open-source AI tools plan to launch more than 21 AI pilots in 2025, compared to 26% of non-open-source users. Another key statistic found by the survey was that over 80% of respondents reported having at least a quarter of their AI solutions based on open-source technologies.
This decision to adopt open-source AI platforms has led to a significant boost in growth metrics. The surveyed businesses said their focus was on quicker software development (25%), rapid innovation (23%) and productivity time savings (22%) as the key success metrics. Open-source AI tools are contributing to these metrics, helping open-source AI adopters in achieving higher ROI.
So, what were the key finding of this study?
What Did The Researchers Say?
Maribel Lopez of Lopez Research, a collaborator on the study, noted, “As organizations begin to implement AI at scale, many are placing greater stock in success metrics such as productivity gains, in part because traditional hard dollar ROI benefits have yet to show up on the balance sheets. Yet, companies continue to rapidly advance their AI strategies, with no sign of slowing down.”
The researchers mention that Morning Consult surveyed a total of 2,413 IT decision-makers from the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, Spain, India, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea to capture the global trend of AI investments.
The researchers also highlight that "faster innovation” was a more critical metric for businesses
utilizing open-source for AI tooling (26%), compared to companies not using open-source AI technologies (19%).
So, what does this mean for the future of AI investments?
Conclusion
Companies will continue to scale their AI initiatives in 2025, however, with a greater strategic focus on industry-specific applications. This means the adoption of open-source AI will likely grow across organizations as they seek higher ROI on their AI investments.
With almost 50% of surveyed organizations calling the utilization of open source and managed cloud services as the most common ways they plan to optimize their AI investments in 2025, cloud-based open-source AI tools will surely see an adoption boost in the future.
Do you think open-source AI tools can become the cornerstone of enterprise AI strategies?
Let us know in the comments below!
First published on Fri, Dec 20, 2024
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