As India’s BFSI sector accelerates its digital transformation journey, banking leaders must navigate the complex interplay of legacy infrastructure, cybersecurity, AI disruption, regulatory mandates, and customer trust to build resilient, inclusive, and future-ready financial institutions.
As organizations in the UAE, and across the globe for that matter, execute on their AI strategies, discussions have (rightly) quickly escalated from department watercoolers to C-suite boardrooms. Analytical minds have thankfully prevailed, and we now find ourselves commonly discussing AI maturity. In an effort to form a global picture of these discussions, ServiceNow collaborated with ThoughtLab on a survey of 500 technology decision makers. What emerged was a clear distinction between “Pacesetters” — technologists who are redefining the IT function and driving strategic change across the enterprise — and Everyone Else. Pacesetters demonstrated a clearer understanding of tech and non-tech principles. They were focused on adding value today, tomorrow, next year, and next decade. So, let’s take a look at what the Pacesetter does that sets them apart and points the way to success for Everyone Else.
1. Turning cost into revenue
While it may seem like an almost impossible feat, Pacesetters have discovered ways of flipping their corporate reputation from cost center to value hub. Technologies like AI call out for a holistic view of IT — for a new collaborative culture that leans into the winds of change, dismantles silos, and invests strategically in tools that have broad appeal and universal applicability. This is exactly what IT Pacesetters do. They look to AI-centric tools that can generate insights to be used for connecting more effectively with customers, or for increasing productivity, or for a range of other deliverables that could collectively be called “innovation”.
Those that are merely trudging along the road rather than blazing the trail are stuck in the old “IT is an overhead” paradigm. Not only is this philosophy holding its adherent organizations back; it may be doing damage as their industry peers siphon off customers. Pacesetters are building hybrid IT departments. Yes, they are cost centers, but they also drive revenue. Some 44% of Pacesetter technology decision makers have aligned IT with overall business strategy compared with just 23% of others. Indeed, we found that more than half (58%) of the technologists we polled were futureproofing their business models by making IT decisions more value-based.
“Pacesetters in the AI era are redefining IT from a cost center to a value driver. Their success lies in aligning technology with business strategy, dismantling silos, and cultivating a culture of innovation and upskilling.”
Fares Asadi, Director of Solution Consulting MEA at ServiceNow
2. Forming strategic partnerships
In more and more UAE companies, AI is everywhere. Our survey found this to be true around the world. To alleviate the pressure on overworked IT teams, Pacesetters are decentralizing IT through the formation of strategic partnerships. Having bridged old operational silos, these organizations are able to take a business-wide view of tech. This is great for technologists, who can now be evaluated on their ability to impact the business as a whole. It is also better for the AI journey because the collaboration between IT and CXOs enhances implementation and governance.
Our global findings showed that 40% of tech decision makers believe operational silos are impeding digitalization. We also found that Pacesetter enterprises tend to collaborate more with the CEO (81%; 51% of others) and CTO (68%; 57% of others).
3. Becoming cultural change agents
In the spirit of becoming the change they want to see, Pacesetter technologists are digging deep into their mines of soft skills. Collaboration and problem-solving attributes historically accelerate change and increase the likelihood of positive results. Pacesetters make innovation part of the business. They train employees to think creatively. And encouragement for out-of-the-box thinking comes from the most senior levels of the company.
In our research, we found that two thirds (67%) of Pacesetters were focused on creating a culture of innovation, compared with 58% of others. We also gauged strong interpersonal skills among Pacesetters (66%; 34% for others), and we noted robust leadership and communication skills (60%; 37% for others).
4. Getting hands-on with hiring and upskilling
GCC business leaders are, by now, familiar with the challenges presented by regional skills gaps in IT, AI, and other STEM areas. ServiceNow’s global study found that 70% of respondents think most employees need training in AI if adoption is to succeed. Now, more than ever, technology decision makers must actively involve themselves in the recruitment process. They must apply the collaborative culture described above to the CHRO. Together, IT and HR leaders must determine what skills they need to acquire and how to get them. They must also identify internal opportunities for skills acquisition through upskilling programs.
Our findings showed that 44% of IT Pacesetters collaborate with the CHRO, compared with only 30% of Everyone Else. Forward-thinking technologists work with HR to design training programs such as those for customer-service agents to use AI tools to speed up service delivery and relationship-building.
Horizon bound
In several organizations, we are seeing UAE-based technology decision makers being graded on how much they impact business metrics like revenue and shareholder value; on whether they can effectively flip their function from a sole cost center to a hybrid center for both costs and revenue generation. Two thirds of the countries in ServiceNow’s global survey are planning to operate as hybrids by 2027.
Whether an enterprise is spinning its wheels in the sand or bound for the top of the dune will come down to its technology decision makers — leaders that will need new business-focused skills and fresh interpersonal approaches to power their organizations up the bank. Everybody has a role to play, but it is the technologists that must take charge of the caravan. For these Pacesetters, this is the year they win big.
