A recent report from the IBM Institute for Business Value suggests that by 2030, AI will no longer be a tool companies use but will instead be the business model itself. This represents a seismic shift from experimentation to a future of integrated intelligence.
The Revenue Gap
One of the most striking findings is the gap between expectation and clarity. While 79% of executives believe AI will significantly contribute to their revenue by 2030, only 24% can clearly identify where that revenue will come from (Baldwin et al. 3). This suggests many organizations are currently in a wait and see mode, which could be a risk in a high speed market.
Strategic Priorities for Leadership
- Speed Over Perfection: 55% of executives state that competitive advantage in 2030 will depend more on speed of execution than on making perfect decisions (Baldwin et al. 5).
- The Shift to Small Language Models: While large models get the headlines, 72% of executives expect Small Language Models (SLMs) to become more prominent by 2030 because they are easier to fine tune with proprietary data (Baldwin et al. 8).
- The Productivity Flywheel: The report suggests reinvesting the 42% expected gain in productivity back into innovation rather than just letting it hit the bottom line. This funds the transition to an AI-first model.
“A startup can now operate at the same scale as a large enterprise, but move at a much faster speed. That means smaller companies can really disrupt the markets they’re going after.”
— Aaron Levie
CEO and Co-founder, Box
The Next Seismic Shift: Quantum
While we are focused on AI today, 59% of executives believe quantum-enabled AI will transform their industry by 2030. However, only 27% expect to be using it by then. This gap represents an opportunity for early movers to build quantum-ready infrastructure today (Baldwin et al. 12).
Beyond the Buzzwords
The transition to a smarter enterprise requires abandoning incremental change. It means moving toward agentic AI—autonomous systems that can manage end-to-end workflows in finance, sales, and supply chain. By 2030, the one-of-a-kind enterprise will be the one that has successfully coded its unique business logic into its AI models.
Thank you for reading. Staying ahead of these shifts is essential for any modern organization.
Works Cited
Baldwin, Andy, et al. "The Enterprise in 2030." IBM Institute for Business Value, 16 Jan. 2026, https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/en-us/report/enterprise-2030.
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