Confidence in managing current technology risks has fallen
Business leaders have a handle on the risks associated with new technologies, the majority of respondents believe. Nearly nine out of ten (89%) believe their senior executives understand these risks well. This confidence is particularly apparent from the respondents in legal roles (97%), whilst respondents in risk and compliance roles are more cautious (87%).
Whilst confidence in understanding the risks arising from new technologies is high, there is growing disquiet about senior executives’ knowledge of the risks associated with current technologies. Although the proportion who are confident remains high, at 82%, this is a 10% drop compared to 2022. This confidence is especially low among respondents in the Life Sciences & Healthcare sector (69%). There has been a significant rebalancing in the Media sector: in 2022, 100% of respondents had confidence in their executives understanding of current tech; in 2024 that had fallen to 79%.
One explanation may be that senior executives’ attention has been distracted away from their current technology operations to focus on emerging technologies. Moreover, yesterday’s new technology is today’s current technology. Many respondents will have updated their technology since our first report, and perhaps discovered that their professed understanding of new forms of technology was overstated.
Whatever the explanation, it will be important for executives to maintain a focus on managing risks across both current and new technologies.