Anaconda AI Platform
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The AI investment surge is real, and so are the hidden costs. The AI market is projected to reach $4.8 trillion by 2033, representing a thirty-fold increase in just a decade, according to a new UN Trade and Development report. While organizations rush to implement AI capabilities, many are discovering that managing open-source AI tools securely and efficiently presents unexpected challenges that can derail both timelines and budgets.
A new independent study by Forrester Consulting provides compelling evidence of how to navigate these challenges successfully. Organizations using Anaconda’s AI platform achieved a 119% return on investment and $638,000 in net present value over three years, proving that the right approach to open-source AI management delivers substantial business value.
The Open-Source AI Imperative: Innovation at What Cost?
Forrester research confirms that “by using open source, firms can accelerate AI initiatives, reduce costs, and increase architectural openness to create a more dynamic and inclusive tech ecosystem.” However, managing open-source packages presents significant challenges around security, operational efficiency, and compliance that can create substantial barriers to AI adoption.
The Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study, commissioned by Anaconda and conducted by Forrester Consulting, examined four organizations across financial services (traditional banking), financial technology (fintech startups and platforms), industrial manufacturing, and oil & gas sectors. All were multibillion-dollar enterprises that had implemented Anaconda’s AI platform to address these exact challenges.
Three Critical Areas Where Organizations Achieve Measurable Value
1. Operational Efficiency Gains: $840,000 in Productivity Recovery
In today’s competitive AI landscape, maximizing developer and data scientist productivity has become critical. The Forrester study found that organizations improved operational efficiency by 80% after deploying Anaconda’s security and governance features. Teams dramatically reduced time spent on manual package vetting, dependency management, and troubleshooting.
As one Python technology lead at an industrial organization noted: “Compared to our prior state or using open-source solutions, Anaconda saves us the work of two FTEs… With Anaconda, we can now automate a lot of our really manual processes. This has led to significant time savings and improved efficiency in our daily operations.”
2. Strengthened Security: $157,000 in Risk Mitigation
The stakes are high. Data breaches now cost organizations an average of $4.88 million per incident, according to IBM’s 2025 Threat Intelligence Index. The Forrester research found that Anaconda reduces the risk of breaches from addressable attacks by 60%. Organizations experienced fewer security incidents and reduced costs associated with breach remediation and compliance violations.
A head of data management at a financial services organization shared: “We had incidents where we had a security breach, especially around packages. Package security breaches happened a couple of times. Anaconda’s security features have reduced these incidents.”
3. Technology Cost Optimization: $179,000 in Avoided Expenses
Technology stack sprawl is becoming a major cost driver as organizations expand their AI capabilities. By consolidating multiple legacy tools into Anaconda’s unified platform, organizations eliminated expensive licensing fees and reduced maintenance overhead. The study documented $80,000 in annual cost avoidance, totaling $179,000 in present value over the three-year study period.
Strategic Advantages and Fast Implementation
While the financial benefits are substantial, the Forrester study also revealed significant strategic advantages. Organizations reported advanced open-source package access that accelerates AI innovation, increased portability that avoids cloud-vendor lock-in, improved time to value for AI and data science projects, enhanced employee satisfaction that supports competitive talent attraction, and streamlined compliance and governance for regulated industries.
The implementation timeline proved equally compelling. The study’s composite organization, representing a $1 billion company with 100 Anaconda users, achieved an 8-month payback period, $1.18 million in total benefits over three years, and $537,000 in total costs (including subscription, implementation, and training).
Calculate Your AI Initiative ROI
Every organization’s AI journey is unique. Anaconda has partnered with Forrester to create an interactive ROI calculator that models potential returns based on your specific environment, user count, and organizational characteristics.
The calculator uses the same proven methodology from the TEI study, allowing you to customize inputs for your organization size and AI team structure, adjust salary ranges based on your region, see personalized ROI projections and detailed calculations, and download a comprehensive business case for stakeholder discussions.
Explore the ROI calculator to model what secure, scalable AI development could mean for your organization’s bottom line.
The AI Security Imperative
As one study participant reflected: “Anaconda really is a bloodline, if you will, of the data science practice for my company. It enables development tools, statistical modeling, and package management, ensuring dependencies among packages with correct updates.”
In an era where AI capabilities are becoming critical competitive differentiators, the question isn’t whether to invest in open-source AI tools. The question is how to do so securely, efficiently, and at scale. The Forrester study provides clear evidence that the right platform approach delivers measurable business value while addressing the fundamental security and operational challenges of AI adoption.Ready to build your business case for secure AI development? Download the full TEI study today.
