Most financial services leaders believe GenAI solutions help improve levels of productivity, automation and efficiency. Real value lies beyond chatbots and content tools.
Nutanix, a leader in hybrid multicloud computing, has announced findings from its seventh annual global Financial Services Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) survey and research report, which measures enterprise progress with cloud adoption across the industry.
The study reveals that nearly all financial services organisations surveyed are already leveraging GenAI applications or workloads, with real-life use cases focused on customer support and content development.
Despite rapid GenAI adoption, organisations in the sector are struggling to keep pace. Many cite a significant skills gap in managing GenAI with existing infrastructure, and 97% of respondents admit they could do more to secure their GenAI models and applications.
“Financial services organisations are turning to containers and hybrid cloud not just as technology upgrades, but as strategic enablers of customer value,” said Lee Caswell, SVP of Product and Solutions Marketing at Nutanix. “This year’s ECI report highlights how these technologies are delivering measurable ROI by powering GenAI applications that enhance fraud detection, strengthen cybersecurity and elevate customer engagement. For financial institutions, containers and hybrid cloud have become essential tools to drive innovation, agility and trust in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
“But AI and how organisations want to use it is also changing very rapidly. While GenAI remains a part of their activities, beyond the findings in the report, our customers are telling us they have moved to adopt agentic AI and are looking to harness its potential across their organisations and in how they interact with their customers.”
The report surveyed financial services leaders on GenAI adoption, Kubernetes and container usage, and where they are running mission-critical applications today—and where they intend to run them in future. Key findings include:
- GenAI adoption is widespread but not without risk: Nearly all industry respondents report using some form of GenAI today, with use cases focused on customer support, content generation and automation. However, data privacy and security remain top concerns, with 97% agreeing that more must be done to secure GenAI models and applications.
- Infrastructure modernisation is critical for GenAI success: 92% of respondents say their current infrastructure needs improvement to fully support cloud-native applications and containers. Although Kubernetes and containerisation are in use, application portability and data silos remain significant challenges.
- IT talent shortage could slow GenAI momentum: Nearly all respondents (98%) face difficulties scaling GenAI from development to production, citing a lack of skilled personnel and integration challenges. While 62% of respondents are actively hiring for GenAI expertise, upskilling and training remain essential.
- ROI is a long game: 39% of respondents anticipate GenAI-related losses over the next 12 months, while 58% expect gains within one to three years. This reflects a long-term view of GenAI success and highlights the need for better ROI measurement tools.
- Security and compliance remain a priority: 96% of respondents say GenAI is reshaping their data security and privacy priorities. Meanwhile, 90% express concern over security within the broader IT vendor ecosystem, underscoring the complexity of securing AI deployments.
For the seventh year running, Nutanix commissioned a global research study to assess the state of enterprise cloud deployments, application containerisation and GenAI adoption. Conducted in Autumn 2024 by UK researcher Vanson Bourne, the survey included responses from 1,500 IT and DevOps/Platform Engineering decision-makers across a wide range of industries, business sizes and regions, including North and South America, EMEA and Asia-Pacific-Japan (APJ).
