KPMG Finds Finance Operations Lean on AI: 71% Adoption With Compelling ROI Across Reporting, Treasury, and Risk

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TechTarget and Informa Tech have joined forces to create a unified intelligence powerhouse, blending TechTarget’s reach with Informa Tech’s Digital Business assets. This strategic consolidation unlocks a comprehensive network designed to inform, guide, and accelerate decision-making for technology buyers, sellers, and researchers across the globe. The collaboration fuses a vast ecosystem of content producers with a robust audience ecosystem, enabling faster, more reliable insights across the technology landscape.

In no uncertain terms, the combined entity now operates a network of more than 220 online properties, spanning an expansive portfolio that covers more than 10,000 granular topics. This is paired with a substantial, engaged audience of over 50 million professionals who rely on original, objective content drawn from trusted sources. The strategic objective is clear: to empower professionals with critical insights that help them navigate priorities, mitigate risk, and make more informed decisions across their businesses. The integrated platform is designed to serve diverse user needs—from in-depth research and practical how-tos to timely analyses of market shifts, regulatory changes, and emerging technologies. The result is a more cohesive, data-driven experience that supports a wider range of business decisions across industries and regions.

Overview of the merger and strategic alignment

The consolidation of TechTarget with Informa Tech’s Digital Business unit represents a deliberate effort to streamline access to high-quality technology content while expanding the depth and breadth of topics covered. The combined operation emphasizes objectivity, expertise, and reliability, aiming to set a higher standard for technology journalism and analysis in a crowded digital landscape. The merged organization positions itself as a central hub for primary insights, bringing together editorial rigor, industry expertise, and a scalable distribution network. The strategic alignment centers on delivering value to technology buyers, corporate leaders, and technology teams by providing timely, credible, and actionable information.

The integration also signals a pronounced emphasis on cross-channel consistency. By uniting a broad spectrum of properties under a single umbrella, the organization can standardize editorial governance, streamline content workflows, and ensure that insights flow seamlessly from research and analysis to practical application. The objective is not only to inform but also to guide decision-making processes across key business priorities. In practical terms, this means enabling readers to access comparable, well-sourced information across multiple topics and formats—ranging from long-form analyses and white papers to quick-turnaround news updates and expert commentary. The result is a more coherent experience for users who rely on dependable, industry-aligned coverage to stay ahead in fast-moving technology sectors.

The combined network also broadens opportunities for partnerships, sponsorships, and thought leadership programs. By aligning with a broader set of properties and audiences, the organization can offer advertisers and sponsors more integrated, research-backed visibility across high-value channels. For business leaders and decision-makers, the integration enhances the reliability and consistency of the information they use to chart strategic directions, evaluate vendors, and benchmark performance. In sum, the merger advances a unified mission: to power a trusted, comprehensive source of technology intelligence that informs critical decisions, accelerates innovation, and helps organizations stay competitive in a rapidly evolving digital economy.

Network reach, audience, and content scope

The unified platform speaks to a wide and diverse professional audience across the technology spectrum. The network’s expansive reach encompasses more than 220 online properties, each contributing to a rich mosaic of content that covers more than 10,000 granular topics. This breadth ensures that readers can drill into niche areas while also accessing broader overviews that contextualize specific issues within the bigger picture of tech strategy and market dynamics. The audience, meanwhile, comprises over 50 million professionals who trust the platform for original, objective content produced by recognized industry authorities and subject-matter experts.

From a content-supply perspective, the network emphasizes originality and credibility. Editorial teams prioritize independent reporting, data-backed analysis, and practical perspectives that readers can apply in real-world business settings. The content covers a spectrum of formats—including long-form investigations, how-to guides, expert roundups, case studies, data-driven analyses, and market forecasts—designed to cater to varied preferences and learning styles. This approach supports diverse use cases: executives seeking strategic guidance, practitioners looking for hands-on implementations, researchers exploring emerging themes, and students or professionals building understanding of complex domains.

In addition to foundational content, the platform integrates practical resources and events that extend value for the community. It features a mix of industry-led events, partner collaborations, and specialist reports designed to deepen engagement and advance knowledge in critical areas such as IoT, AI, data science, cloud computing, cybersecurity, robotics, and digital transformation. The combined operation also emphasizes staying current with evolving topics and breaking developments, ensuring readers have timely access to the information they need to plan, invest, and respond to changes in technology ecosystems.

The platform’s coverage spans a comprehensive set of verticals and cross-cutting topics. Key areas include information technology (IT) strategy, robotics, cloud computing, cybersecurity, edge computing, the metaverse, data centers, the Internet of Things (IoT), quantum computing, industrials and manufacturing, consumer technology, healthcare, finance, and energy. Each vertical is addressed with depth and clarity, combining domain-specific insights with cross-functional perspectives that illuminate how technology intersects with operations, governance, risk, and strategy. The result is a holistic knowledge base that readers can navigate to understand not only what is happening, but why it matters for business outcomes.

Within this broad landscape, recent highlights emphasize the platform’s commitment to cutting-edge developments in machine learning, artificial intelligence, data science, and automation. Topics like deep learning, neural networks, predictive analytics, and NLP (natural language processing) receive sustained attention, reflecting both market demand and academic progress. The platform also features coverage of generative AI, AI ethics, explainable AI, AI policy, and AI governance, recognizing that technology deployment must be paired with responsible practices and robust governance frameworks. Readers will also encounter content on foundational models, agentic AI concepts, and the practical implications of AI across operations, finance, and governance.

The platform’s editorial approach blends explanatory content with forward-looking analyses, offering readers a perspective that helps them anticipate shifts, assess risk, and identify opportunities. The inclusion of scenario-based pieces and implementation-focused coverage supports readers who are evaluating technology investments, vendor selections, and organizational changes necessary to harness the benefits of AI, automation, and data-driven decision-making. Throughout, the emphasis remains on original reporting, credible sources, and balanced perspectives that empower readers to make informed choices in a dynamic technology landscape.

Thematic pillars: AI, ML, NLP, data, and automation coverage

Within the expansive content network, thematic pillars anchor ongoing coverage of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and related technologies. This includes focused explorations of deep learning, neural networks, and predictive analytics—areas that continue to drive significant business value across multiple sectors. The coverage also delves into natural language processing (NLP), with attention to language models, speech recognition, and chatbots, reflecting the practical applications of AI in customer service, enterprise operations, and information management. Readers can expect detailed discussions of how AI technologies are deployed, the benefits they deliver, and the challenges they pose, including governance and compliance considerations.

A recurring emphasis across the platform is the evolution of AI from experimental pilots to enterprise-scale implementations. Coverage includes AI in financial reporting, treasury management, risk management, and tax, highlighting the expanding footprint of AI in core finance and operations functions. The platform tracks generative AI developments, including the creation of emotionally aware avatars and other user-facing AI tools, and it analyzes the implications of these technologies for user experience, security, privacy, and organizational policy. The editorial team also tracks agentic AI concepts—the idea of AI systems that can act autonomously to achieve goals—and presents practical blueprints and case studies to illustrate how these ideas translate into business practice.

In the data realm, the platform covers data science, data analytics, data management, and synthetic data, recognizing that the quality, governance, and accessibility of data underpin successful AI and automation initiatives. The broader coverage extends to automation in various forms, including robotic process automation and intelligent automation, with insights into implementation strategies, ROI, and organizational readiness. A cross-cutting focus on data security vulnerabilities, workforce skills gaps, and the costs associated with AI adoption appears consistently, underscoring the real-world constraints organizations face as they scale their digital initiatives.

The verticals and cross-cutting topics are interwoven to provide readers with a complete picture of how AI and automation reshape industries and business processes. Notable areas include IT, robotics, cloud computing, cybersecurity, edge computing, the metaverse, data centers, IoT, and quantum computing, all of which interact with AI-driven capabilities in meaningful ways. In industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, finance, energy, and consumer technology, readers encounter practical analyses that connect strategic priorities with technology solutions. The platform’s approach is to present a balanced mix of conceptual frameworks, practical guidance, case studies, and forward-looking perspectives that help decision-makers align technology choices with organizational goals.

If you seek to understand how AI might impact governance, risk, and compliance within corporate settings, the editorial coverage provides discussions on AI policy, ethics, explainability, and responsible AI practices. The content also considers the governance structures needed to manage AI deployments, including risk assessment, data governance, model monitoring, and accountability. In tandem, coverage of implementation challenges—such as data quality, integration with legacy systems, and change management—helps readers anticipate obstacles and design more resilient strategies. The overarching aim is to deliver a cohesive, insightful, and practical resource for professionals navigating the AI-enabled transformation of modern business.

Highlights of industry movements, case studies, and practical applications

The merged platform features a steady stream of industry-focused pieces, including high-profile case studies and strategic moves by leading organizations leveraging AI and automation. One notable area of coverage centers on autonomous driving and the broader mobility tech ecosystem. For instance, a highlighted article discusses Wayve, a self-driving vehicle company, moving into Japan, illustrating how AI-enabled autonomy is expanding into new markets and regulatory environments. This kind of coverage explores the technical challenges, regulatory considerations, and market dynamics that shape the deployment of autonomous transportation technologies. It also reflects the platform’s emphasis on real-world deployments and their implications for industrial use cases, safety, and efficiency gains in transportation networks.

In the strategic analytics space, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has launched an AI Science Institute geared toward accelerating AI-driven research. The coverage of this development underscores the role that research institutes and corporate think tanks play in advancing AI capabilities and translating academic advances into practical tools for industry. Articles on this topic examine how such institutes contribute to setting research agendas, fostering collaboration between academia and industry, and accelerating the pace at which AI innovations reach market-ready solutions. The emphasis is on the strategic value of organized, discipline-based research ecosystems in shaping the trajectory of AI adoption across sectors.

Another notable trend highlighted is Salesforce’s Agentic AI Adoption Blueprint, which has been described as a key resource for organizations seeking to integrate agentic AI capabilities into their operations. This blueprint is presented as a best-practice framework for deploying AI that can operate autonomously to achieve business goals, with attention to governance, risk, and operational impact. The content discusses Virgin Atlantic’s AI apprenticeship program as a practical example of workforce development in AI, designed to upskill employees and prepare the organization for AI-enabled workflows. Such items illustrate how large organizations are leveraging AI to strengthen talent pipelines while expanding the reach and effectiveness of their AI initiatives.

The platform also covers innovations in generative AI, including AI avatar generators that develop emotionally aware avatars, highlighting how synthetic media and human-like agents are shaping customer interactions, training, and user experiences. In the realm of automation and robotics, articles discuss new in-house AI-powered self-driving technologies from major automakers, as well as efforts by robotics and automation teams to create AI “brains” for industrial robots, reflecting ongoing progress in robot autonomy and cognitive control. Coverage in this space emphasizes practical deployment, integration challenges, and the return on investment that organizations seek from these advanced automation capabilities.

Beyond mobility and robotics, the platform examines cybersecurity, data centers, cloud, and IT infrastructure as evolving ecosystems for AI-enabled operations. Coverage includes the relationship between AI and IT modernization, as well as the emergence of intelligent automation across enterprise functions. Roadmaps for AI-enabled transformation are explored through case studies and expert analyses, focusing on how organizations can plan, pilot, measure, and scale AI across diverse business units. The emphasis across these articles is on actionable insights, governance considerations, and the strategic implications of AI as a core driver of productivity and innovation.

Finance, data governance, and AI in finance: a deep-dive study

A substantial portion of the platform’s AI coverage is anchored in finance operations, where a landmark study by KPMG highlights the growing role of AI in financial processes and decision-making. The core finding is that 71% of organizations are using AI in their finance operations, with a strong ROI signal and a wide range of benefits already being observed. The research, conducted across 2,900 organizations in 23 countries, builds on an earlier study that included 1,800 organizations in 10 countries. The progression from the earlier study to the broader survey indicates accelerating adoption and a widening scope of AI applications in finance.

Among the respondents using AI, 41% reported deploying AI to a moderate or large extent, a rise of 5 percentage points compared with the original research. This trajectory points to a continued expansion in AI usage, with projections suggesting that AI adoption in financial functions could reach as high as 83% over the next three years. The study introduces a maturity framework that categorizes organizations into Leaders, Implementers, and Beginners. Leaders account for 24% of respondents and are the most advanced in their AI deployment; Implementers represent 58%, and Beginners comprise 18%.

In terms of application areas, financial reporting is identified as the most common use case for AI, but the coverage is broadening to include treasury management, risk management, and tax. The benefits of AI in finance grow with experience: finance teams starting with AI report two to three benefits, but Leaders report seven benefits as AI adoption deepens. This progression underscores how maturity in AI implementation compounds value over time. The study also notes that ROI is not only being achieved but sometimes exceeded, with 57% of Leaders indicating ROI that surpasses expectations. Even among less advanced adopters, nearly one-third (29%) report the same positive ROI outcome.

David Rowlands, global head of AI at KPMG International, emphasizes that AI is a global phenomenon affecting finance teams across markets and sectors. He highlights the potential benefits and ROI as central to the strategic focus on AI, noting that the journey is likely to accelerate as new capabilities come online. A striking trend observed in the study is the rapid growth of generative AI: the share of companies with no intention to use the technology has fallen from 6% to 1.0%, signaling widespread experimentation and adoption. Firms are piloting or deploying AI in areas such as treasury and risk management, while adoption in tax remains comparatively slower.

The study also identifies common barriers to AI adoption across organizations. Data security vulnerabilities are cited by 57% of respondents, followed closely by limited AI skills and knowledge (53%), challenges in gathering consistent data (48%), and costs (45%). Rowlands stresses that despite these obstacles, the benefits of AI adoption are substantial enough to warrant proactive governance and careful outcome-driven planning. The message is clear: establish robust governance with a clear focus on outcomes, while recognizing that AI’s benefits are multiplaying as organizations advance into new capabilities and deeper deployments.

The KPMG study culminates in a call to action: organizations should act now to reap the benefits of AI, balancing governance with a pragmatic execution plan. The study’s insights are presented as a foundation for rethinking finance with an AI-first approach, suggesting that finance leaders can drive transformative improvements by aligning AI initiatives with strategic objectives, data governance, and responsible practices. The conclusion drawn by experts is that the journey toward AI maturity in finance is ongoing and accelerating, with significant upside potential as organizations invest in people, processes, and technology.

Industry outlook, governance challenges, and workforce implications

As AI and automation become embedded in core business processes, governance, data quality, and workforce readiness emerge as critical success factors. The platform’s coverage emphasizes the need for clear governance frameworks to manage AI deployments, including accountability structures, model risk management, and ongoing monitoring. The talent dimension—ensuring that teams have the skills to design, implement, and govern AI systems—appears as a central theme in expert commentary and case studies. The wealth of data available to organizations amplifies the importance of data governance, data quality, and data integration strategies as foundational prerequisites for successful AI initiatives.

The broader industry implications underscore a shift in how organizations approach decision-making and strategic planning. AI is not just enhancing operational efficiency; it is enabling new business models, new customer experiences, and new ways to measure value. The platform’s content provides frameworks, case studies, and practical guidance that help leaders translate complex AI concepts into tangible outcomes. The emphasis on responsible AI, ethics, and explainability reinforces the idea that AI deployment must be aligned with organizational values, regulatory requirements, and public trust. This focus on governance and responsibility complements the technical and financial dimensions, creating a holistic view of AI adoption that spans technology, strategy, and culture.

In terms of workforce implications, the platform highlights AI-related skills gaps and the need for ongoing training and development. Investments in upskilling and reskilling are framed as essential components of AI readiness. Initiatives such as AI apprenticeships, internal training programs, and partnerships with educational institutions are discussed as practical steps to ensure a steady pipeline of qualified talent. The coverage also examines how AI can augment human capabilities rather than simply replace them, emphasizing collaboration between people and intelligent systems to drive better outcomes. The convergence of technology, governance, and people is presented as the core of successful AI-enabled transformations.

Platform impact, reader value, and future directions

For technology buyers and enterprise leaders, the integrated platform offers a single, credible source of truth for AI, ML, data, automation, and related topics. The editorial strategy focuses on delivering clarity and depth, helping readers understand not only what is happening but why it matters for their organizations. The breadth of topics, combined with rigorous research and practical case examples, provides decision-makers with the context needed to evaluate vendors, plan implementations, and forecast outcomes. The content is designed to support both strategic planning and tactical execution, enabling users to connect high-level trends with on-the-ground actions.

From an SEO and content strategy perspective, the unified network leverages strong topic coverage, consistent terminology, and structured content formats to improve discoverability and relevance. The mix of evergreen analyses, timely news, and forward-looking features supports ongoing engagement and repeat visits, which are essential for building authority in a dynamic technology landscape. The inclusion of diverse formats—articles, white papers, reports, and practical guides—helps accommodate different search intents and user journeys, ultimately driving sustained traffic and meaningful engagement.

Looking ahead, the platform’s trajectory suggests continued expansion in AI, automation, data, and related disciplines, with a focus on governance, ethics, and practical outcomes. As organizations face evolving regulatory considerations and market demands, the need for trustworthy, comprehensive technology intelligence will only grow. The merged entity is positioned to play a central role in shaping how professionals learn, reason, and act in a world where technology is inseparable from strategy, operations, and culture. Readers can expect deeper dives, more integrated research programs, and new formats that translate complex topics into actionable insights.

Practical guidance for readers and partners

For readers seeking to maximize the value of this consolidated platform, a few practical guidelines emerge from the comprehensive coverage. First, prioritize cross-topic perspectives that connect AI, data, and automation with core business functions. This approach helps build a coherent understanding of how disparate technologies intersect to drive outcomes. Second, leverage the documented case studies and real-world examples to benchmark strategies, identify best practices, and anticipate implementation challenges. Third, engage with governance-focused content that addresses ethics, explainability, and risk management to ensure responsible, compliant adoption of AI initiatives. Fourth, stay attuned to workforce development threads, including AI training and apprenticeship programs, to support talent pipelines and organizational readiness. Finally, keep an eye on the latest industry movements and research initiatives highlighted in the platform, such as AI science institutes and enterprise blueprints, which indicate where practical innovations are headed and how leaders are planning to invest.

For partners and advertisers, the platform presents opportunities to engage with a large, professional audience through integrated programs that leverage high-quality research, events, and content collaborations. The robust editorial framework offers credibility and resonance with decision-makers, making it possible to align brand narratives with evidence-based insights, case studies, and strategic guidance. By participating in the platform’s programs, partners can position themselves as thought leaders, contributors to ongoing industry discussions, and trusted resources for buyers seeking to understand and adopt leading-edge technologies.

Conclusion

The unification of TechTarget and Informa Tech’s Digital Business assets creates a uniquely powerful source of technology intelligence, with a reach that spans more than 220 online properties, 10,000+ topics, and a devoted audience of over 50 million professionals. The combined operation emphasizes original, objective content from trusted sources, designed to help readers gain critical insights and make more informed decisions across a wide range of business priorities. By aligning editorial rigor with a broad and deep content ecosystem, the platform delivers comprehensive coverage across AI, ML, NLP, data management, automation, and the many verticals that intersect with digital transformation. The platform’s coverage of industry movements, research initiatives, and practical applications—ranging from autonomous vehicles in new markets to AI governance and finance—highlights its role as a central, credible resource for technology leaders navigating a rapidly evolving landscape. The integration signals a commitment to ongoing innovation, governance, and reader-first value, ensuring that professionals have the information they need to succeed today and to anticipate what comes next in the era of intelligent automation and data-driven decision-making.

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