C-level executives are increasingly drawn to artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, for its transformative potential in reshaping operational paradigms. Organizations are investing heavily in combining AI with proven automation capabilities to supercharge business transformation and increase productivity. Intelligent Automation, the seamless integration of automation with AI/ML, streamlines routine tasks through automation while empowering systems to learn and make informed decisions with the help of AI.
CIOs are keen to understand the current and future deployment, utilization, and strategic planning of automation within enterprises. The Automation Now & Next: State of Intelligent Automation Report unveils the worldwide landscape of automation, focusing on the dynamic interplay of automation and AI/ML, including emerging generative AI technologies.
Key findings from the report indicate that organizations stand to reap substantial benefits by strategically investing in automation and generative AI, aiming for exponential productivity growth. According to the survey, 88% of respondents emphasize the pivotal role of AI in achieving successful automation. The rising priority of Intelligent Automation is evident as the C-suite becomes more involved in purchasing decisions, with organizations allocating larger budgets year over year to capitalize on its transformative potential. Notably, the average respondent is investing $5.6 million in 2023 in Intelligent Automation, reflecting a 17% increase over 2022 spending.
75% of respondents are actively deploying Intelligent Automation broadly or scaling it enterprise-wide. This shift is evident as organizations transition from prioritizing RPA-based automation to making substantial investments in AI/ML automation technologies. The primary motivation behind these initiatives is the desire to enhance productivity, reflected in 76% of respondents choosing productivity as the leading KPI for measuring the impact of Intelligent Automation investments.
Virtual assistants have become the primary use case for Intelligent Automation technology, cited by 68% of respondents, showcasing a significant increase from the previous year. Other prominent use cases include customer service and intelligent document processing, both poised to benefit from advancements in generative AI technologies.
Business users play a pivotal role in driving automation scale, with 84% emphasizing the need for automation initiatives to align closely with business objectives.
However, businesses are also facing challenges such as data issues and regulatory concerns in adopting AI. The report highlights that 39% of respondents identify data challenges and regulatory/ethical concerns as the top barriers, while 70% express apprehensions regarding security and privacy issues.
To ensure the success of their organization’s automation journey, CIOs must take these steps:
- Identify an executive sponsor with a deep understanding of automation’s potential and budget influence.
- Treat automation as a joint program between business and IT, fostering collaboration between technology and business leaders with shared goals.
- Define clear and replicable performance KPIs to measure the success of automation initiatives.
- Initiate new projects on the cloud, utilizing a complete and connected Intelligent Automation platform.
- Develop a strategic plan to migrate existing on-premises tools and automations to the cloud gradually.
- Encourage citizen development efforts with modern, AI-powered tools, promoting ease, enhancement, and governance.
- Provide incentives for employees to upskill and contribute to the success of automation initiatives.
- Establish channels for crowdsourcing and sharing automation ideas among employees to foster innovation.
- Maintain a focus on productivity gains as a critical measure of success in the automation journey.
- Identify opportunities to deploy generative AI in automation development for faster and more accurate processes.
- Integrate generative AI into automation workflows to generate content, such as emails, and facilitate interactive conversations.
- Utilize end-to-end automations to allow workers more time for higher-value tasks, ultimately driving increased overall productivity.
Read next: 53% of IT leaders plan to add cloud capabilities for AI/ML – Foundry report
