GenAI remains a key priority for CIOs, with Microsoft top-ranked: Investing.com survey

Investing.com — Generative AI (GenAI) is a key focus for Chief Information Officers (CIOs), with Microsoft (NASDAQ: ) remaining “best positioned” in the space, according to Morgan Stanley’s latest 3Q24 CIO Survey.

As workloads increasingly shift to the cloud, Microsoft is not only well-positioned to capture significant market share, but is also expected to dominate GenAI spending.

“53% of CIOs expect Microsoft to gain the largest incremental share of GenAI spending in 2024,” the report points out, with the next closest competitor trailing well behind at just 5%.

The survey reflects a broader trend among CIOs, with AI and machine learning consistently at the top of the priority list for the fourth quarter in a row. The importance of GenAI has grown significantly, impacting investment strategies in general. In fact, 78% of CIOs report that innovations in AI and large language models (LLM) have directly influenced their investment decisions, a significant increase from previous quarters.

“Importantly, hyperscalers remain the preferred vendor group for CIOs to help apply AI, LLM and other innovative technologies. And critically, Microsoft is in the lead position,” Morgan Stanley analysts noted.

This dominance is driven by several factors, including its strong alignment with key secular trends, the breadth of its product offerings, and its ability to leverage consumer pricing models through Azure.

These advantages translate into real financial gains as Microsoft continues to extend its lead as the leading IT budget share gainer, with +49% net expected share gains, compared to +45% in our survey previous.

Over the next three years, 44% of CIOs expect Microsoft to maintain its dominance in GenAI, further consolidating its leadership position.

Moreover, Microsoft is seen as the fastest-growing hyperscaler in public cloud spending. Despite some deceleration in growth across cloud platforms, the company’s Azure platform remains the CIO favorite for public cloud investments in 2024.