SolarWinds new Trends Report

SolarWinds has published its 2024 IT Trends Report, titled "AI: Friend or Foe?" The report, derived from a survey of nearly 700 IT professionals, highlights a strong interest in adopting AI technology, with nearly all respondents expressing a desire to integrate AI into their operations. However, confidence in their organization’s readiness to do so is low, with significant concerns about data quality, infrastructure, and security.

Despite 90% of IT professionals already using or planning to use AI, the report underscores worries about data and database infrastructure readiness and, most notably, security and privacy. Krishna Sai, SVP of Technology and Engineering at SolarWinds, emphasized that while AI is a hot topic, the rush to implement it has raised substantial risks. He advocates for robust internal systems and a focus on security, fairness, and transparency to make AI a valuable asset rather than a liability.

The report reveals a mixed sentiment towards AI: nearly half (46%) of IT professionals want their companies to accelerate AI implementation despite the challenges, yet only 43% believe their databases can support AI demands. Furthermore, only 38% trust the quality of the data used in AI development. Ethical concerns, data privacy, compliance, and potential job displacement are significant barriers to AI adoption, with more than a third of organizations lacking policies to guide proper AI implementation.

To address these issues, SolarWinds introduced its "AI by Design" framework, focusing on privacy and security, accountability and fairness, transparency and trust, and simplicity and accessibility. This framework aims to set a new industry standard for ethical and secure AI development. Additionally, SolarWinds launched its new generative AI engine, built in accordance with the AI by Design principles, reinforcing the company’s commitment to secure and ethical AI innovation.