Speed Without Risk: How CIOs Can Win Fast in the AI Factory Era
For CIOs, the pressure has never been greater. Boards and investors expect AI-driven transformation to deliver results in months, not years. Yet the faster organisations move, the more risks emerge in terms of cost overruns, compliance failures, stalled pilots, or security lapses. In this environment, delay is defeat but speed without the right foundations will also lead to failure.
The sheer pace of AI adoption underscores the urgency. ChatGPT reached more than 800 million weekly active users by mid-2025, one of the fastest adoption curves in history. Organisations are following suit: enterprise-wide sovereign generative AI tools, machine learning pipelines, and high-performance compute projects targeting cost efficiency, productivity and innovation initiatives are being deployed at record speed. Yet according to global benchmarks, most aren’t delivering the returns expected.
The problem isn’t ambition. It’s execution. Many organisations are running headlong into the reality that without strong infrastructure foundations for capacity, interconnection, security, and sovereignty, speed doesn’t stick.
Why CIOs Can’t Afford to Slow Down
The appetite for speed is real. The ADAPT CIO Edge Survey (August 2025) found that the No.1 organisational goal for CIOs is “growing the business”, with tech modernisation and simplification identified as the primary levers. Now more than ever, as technology accelerates, Boards and CEOs see speed as essential to stimulating growth, capturing market share, and meeting the challenge of digital-first competitors.
Yet CIOs also report that many AI initiatives struggle to scale. Research from S&P Global shows that 46% of AI proof-of-concepts are abandoned before reaching production, while IDC estimates that up to 88% of pilots fail to deliver ROI. The message is clear: speed is essential to growth, but unless organisations modernise the right way, they risk burning cash and credibility.
The Risk of Moving Too Fast
However, speed without guardrails comes at a cost. Under-estimated or misunderstood infrastructure requirements, supply chain weaknesses, and gaps in operational discipline can derail projects before they launch. Human error alone accounted for nearly 40% of major outages in the past three years (Uptime Institute, 2025).
The paradox is stark. CIOs must move faster than ever, but every acceleration increases exposure to operational and reputational risk. It’s not just about how quickly infrastructure is deployed, but whether it can scale fast without compromising reliability, security, and sustainability under AI-era loads.
Getting the Foundations Right
The organisations that are winning with AI are those that treat speed as engineering discipline, not just application urgency. They understand that infrastructure architecture and partner choice are strategic decisions made early in the project lifecycle, not technical afterthoughts.
This is where trusted colocation and digital infrastructure partners matter. For CIOs, building AI factories entirely in-house often means heavy capital outlay, slower delivery, and difficulty meeting regulatory expectations. By leveraging strategic colocation partners, CIOs can:
- Deploy at speed: Facilities already designed for AI and HPC workloads cut time-to-capacity from years to months.
- Control risk: Modular builds as requirements scale, sovereign-certified zones, and independently audited performance protect against stranded capital, compliance and operational failures.
- Preserve capital: Avoid heavy upfront expenditure while accessing premium digital infrastructure.
- Stay adaptable: Interconnection ecosystems and scalable platforms make it easier to anticipate and adapt to demand shifts.
Getting this balance right between moving fast and mitigating risk is the real differentiator in the AI era.
Speed That Delivers ROI
Speed only matters if it creates measurable outcomes. The question CIOs must ask is simple: “Will this infrastructure help me show value in 90 days, not three years?”
The best providers prove their credibility with audited performance benchmarks, transparent sustainability metrics, broad compliance and time-to-value evidence. This is how CIOs demonstrate progress to boards, establish confidence with regulators, and protect long-term investments.
Speed, when coupled with strong foundations, becomes more than urgency. It becomes a foundation of trust and a platform for growth and innovation.
CIO Speed Checklist
- Demand proof of delivery: Can your partner show a track record of bringing scaled AI capacity online in under 12 months?
- Test connectivity: Is interconnection secure, scalable, and provisioned in minutes, not weeks?
- Measure ROI early: Will your provider commit to helping demonstrate a production workload or business outcome within 90 days?
- Insist on governance: Are security, compliance, and sovereignty baked into the design as opposed to being bolted on later?
The First of the Five Foundations
Speed is the first of the five foundations of AI factory success. Without it, projects miss their window of opportunity. But without balancing speed against risk, organisations end up with fragile infrastructure that can’t scale.
NEXTDC’s platform is built with this balance in mind: engineered for rapid deployment, designed with operational certainty and sustainability at its core, and proven to help CIOs move fast without breaking trust.
This article is part of NEXTDC’s 5S series on digital trust: Speed, Scale, Security, Sovereignty, and Sustainability. If your current partners can’t deliver speed without exposing you to risk, talk to us. We’re already moving at your pace.
