Mena region’s early adoption of GenAI key to driving growth

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In the rapidly expanding megaprojects and developments in the Mena region, early adoption of GenAI is set to significantly boost productivity and efficiency.

This is according to a new report from Project Management Institute (PMI), the world's leading authority for project professionals. The report explores how high adopters of GenAI (or trailblazers) are leading the charge in embracing GenAI.

These trailblazers not only aid in unlocking performance enhancements and advancing GenAI adoption, but also believe in sharing their learnings to propel business transformation.

UAE’s Generative AI market

The UAE’s Generative AI market is a fast-emerging sector and a disruptor in world economies. Organisations that embrace GenAI are already realising the benefits in productivity, effectiveness, collaboration and creativity.

The report, “First Movers’ Advantage: The Immediate Benefits of Adopting Generative AI for Project Management,” surveyed 500 project professionals from around the globe, all using GenAI in their project work. Organisations that encourage GenAI adoption see an increased use of GenAI among project professionals, setting the stage for transformative and positive outcomes, including:

•Trailblazers are more productive (93% of trailblazers versus 58% of low adopters or “explorers”), elevating their problem-solving (89% vs. 46%), and more effective (88% vs. 50%) by using GenAI.

•High adopters are strengthening their interpersonal skills – which PMI calls “power skills.” With GenAI, they are boosting collaboration (83% of trailblazers versus 32% of explorers) and creativity (84% vs. 44%).

•Using GenAI, high adopters are seeing other project improvements, including project scope (87% trailblazers versus 34% explorers), scheduling (85% vs. 46%), cost (85% vs. 42%) and quality management (91% vs. 40%).

Use of GenAI doubles

A study by Microsoft and LinkedIn shows that the use of GenAI doubled in the last few months of 2023, with 75% of knowledge workers using it, a trend PMI has seen explode in its nearly one-million-member community of project professionals.

“Our research shows that GenAI trailblazers know how to maximise adoption to elevate their performance, navigate complex work, and usher in GenAI across their teams. They’re standing out from their peers for their innovative leadership,” said Pierre Le Manh, PMP, President & Chief Executive Officer of PMI.

“We want to ensure project professionals who haven’t yet added this technology to their toolbox can quickly get up to speed and benefit from GenAI given its exponential growth.”

Hanny Alshazly, Regional Managing Director for Middle East and North Africa (Mena), PMI, said: “The growing significance of GenAI in project management reflects the far-reaching impact of this disruptive technology. The future belongs to the GenAI trailblazers who innovate and embrace its transformative power. At PMI, we've experienced firsthand the advantages of incorporating GenAI into our operations.”

Learning from High Adopters – Bringing Explorers on Board

Project professionals leading GenAI adoption are already building strategic advantages over those still in the initial stages:

•Trailblazers are already mastering the critical skill of prompt engineering, the key to unlocking the full potential of GenAI.

•Trailblazers stand out because they use GenAI for more complex tasks, such as data analysis, planning, and risk management. These high adopters are three times more likely to strengthen their skills with GenAI when compared with explorers (36% vs. 12%).

•High adopters also recognise the importance of actively advocating for organisational adoption.

“GenAI is transforming every industry, which will create more opportunities for project professionals because they will help organisations implement this disruptive technology,” said Le Manh.

“A key insight from the report is that it’s much harder to accelerate adoption without organisational support. Trailblazers are ten times more likely to work for organisations that empower them to use GenAI. It’s these forward-thinking organisations and their trailblazing project professionals that are seizing this moment and ready to lead the GenAI revolution.”

Early adoption

UAE’s early adoption of the emerging technology and the use of generative artificial intelligence has already positioned it as a leader on the global stage, as per PwC Middle East.

GCC countries are expected to reap about $23.5 billion in economic benefits by 2030 as investments in generative AI continue to grow, according to PwC unit Strategy & Middle East report published last month, showcasing the sector’s immense economic potential.

In Saudi Arabia, the generative AI market is expected to surpass $1 trillion by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of more than a quarter, from nearly $220 million in 2023, data from Statista shows.

Saudi Arabia’s recent launch of ‘Generative Artificial Intelligence for All’ Initiative underpins the country’s commitment to expediting digital transformation and backing Generative Artificial Intelligence for the global benefit of nations.

Developing GenAI Resources with Project Professionals in Mind

As the leading authority in project management, PMI has a unique view into a global community of knowledge workers nearly one million strong. This community has enthusiastically embraced both PMI InfinityTM, a GenAI tool developed by PMI, and trainings offered by PMI. Together, PMI and its members are elevating the skills of the profession. In this unique moment in time, those professionals who are actively experimenting with GenAI are sharing their results with their fellow project professionals in the PMI community.

PMI is poised to launch a series of GenAI prompts, specific to a variety of industries and use cases, as an additional resource for project professionals. Research has shown that effective prompt engineering helps yield stronger quality answers and a better overall GenAI experience.

Providing a starting point and bridging the gap between trailblazers and explorers, PMI is introducing a Prompt Library to PMI Infinity. Project professionals can use PMI Infinity TM as an on-the-job partner that delivers interactive and detailed responses designed for project work.

The new curated repository of prompts, already vetted by the PMI community, will help users level up projects by providing an accessible entry point for developing precise prompts to support their day-to-day integration of AI into their workflow.