The Economics of Software Innovation

This survey of C-level executives in Japan explores the economic opportunity AI presents for software innovation, the security and governance challenges that come with rapid agentic AI adoption, the evolving role of human expertise in an AI-driven development landscape, and how executives are making the business case for software innovation investment.

• How AI investments could unlock ¥1600 billion in value, saving an average of ~¥1.2 million per employee annually
• Why 85% of executives expect agentic AI to become the industry standard within 3 years — and what governance measures are needed
• The human skills that 97% of executives say remain valuable
• How 88% of organizations are linking software development metrics to key business outcomes