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Navigating the Future: The Rise of AI-Powered Automation in Enterprise

Ritu Dubey
Digitate

In the business landscape today, automation is no longer considered a luxury, it has become a necessity. It plays a crucial role in enhancing business resilience, elevating employee and customer experiences, and securing a competitive edge. A Gartner report found that a staggering 80% of executives believe that automation can be seamlessly integrated into any business decision.

A recent report, AI and Automation: Laying the Foundation for the Autonomous Enterprise, conducted by Digitate in collaboration with Sapio Research, further reinforces the significance of automation. The survey findings shed light on the pervasive integration of AI and automation in today's organizations and underscores the central role of these technologies in shaping future business strategies.

The findings indicate that 90% of IT decision-makers have strategic plans to implement more automation, including AI, within the next 12 months. Impressively, 58% of these organizations aim to roll out automation initiatives within the next six months.

The enthusiasm for automation is evident across sectors, with 26% planning to implement greater autonomous operations over the next five years, split between semi-autonomous (16%) and fully autonomous (10%) systems. That said, keeping humans in the loop will also remain critical, as 30% reported their organization will have an equal proportion of automation and human processing.

It's apparent from the survey findings that IT leaders are acutely aware that survival hinges on embracing AI-powered automation. The research showed most companies realize this and are taking urgent action to increase investment in this area. The shift is palpable as enterprises not only recognize the necessity of AI and automation but are actively leveraging these technologies to enhance business KPIs, elevate employee productivity, and boost customer satisfaction, ultimately propelling themselves toward the coveted status of an autonomous enterprise. The survey delivered several other interesting insights across a diverse range of operational areas, including:

IT Complexity as a Top Internal Challenge

44% of respondents identify growing IT complexity as the most significant internal challenge, attributed to the complexities of cloud migration and adoption. With 92% already having or planning a multi-vendor cloud strategy, the survey reveals a clear correlation — two-thirds of IT leaders plan to implement additional IT automation in the next 12 months to streamline operations amidst this evolving landscape.

Automate or Be Left Behind

The automation wave is sweeping through various organizational departments, with IT (90%), finance (89%), and customer support (89%) leading the charge. As enterprises experiment with different forms of automation, the report highlights that 74% have delved into generative AI, followed by workflow automation (68%) and AIOps (65%). The urgency is evident, as organizations strive to stay competitive and resilient in the face of technological disruption.

AI's Impact on the Workforce

The rapid adoption of automation prompts reflections on the workforce's future. Surprisingly, 26% of IT leaders express concerns about workplace insecurity and job redundancy for employees. Paradoxically, 60% of decision-makers acknowledge that implementing automation has resulted in both improved employee satisfaction and increased productivity. Striking a balance between technological advancement and workforce well-being remains a pivotal challenge for organizations navigating this transformative journey.

Cybersecurity: An Ongoing Concern

Cybersecurity emerges as the foremost external risk, with 54% of IT decision-makers highlighting it over concerns of a recession (36%). Despite this, only 38% have deployed automation to address cybersecurity risks, indicating a gap between recognizing the threat and actively mitigating it. Nevertheless, 49% of respondents plan to implement some form of automation within the next six months, showcasing a growing awareness of the need for proactive cybersecurity measures.

What’s encouraging about the report is that as enterprises pivot towards autonomous operations the interplay of AI and automation emerges as a linchpin for success. Navigating challenges, addressing workforce concerns, and proactively managing cybersecurity risks are integral components of this transformative journey. The report serves as a compass, guiding organizations through the complexities of the digital landscape as they embrace the future powered by AI and automation.

2024 is going to be an interesting year!

Methodology: The report draws insights from a comprehensive survey of 601 US-based IT leaders responsible for technology decisions within large organizations (>1,000 employees), with a strong representation across diverse industries like manufacturing, technology, retail/eCommerce, and financial services.

Ritu Dubey is Global Head of New Business Sales and Market Development at Digitate

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Navigating the Future: The Rise of AI-Powered Automation in Enterprise

Ritu Dubey
Digitate

In the business landscape today, automation is no longer considered a luxury, it has become a necessity. It plays a crucial role in enhancing business resilience, elevating employee and customer experiences, and securing a competitive edge. A Gartner report found that a staggering 80% of executives believe that automation can be seamlessly integrated into any business decision.

A recent report, AI and Automation: Laying the Foundation for the Autonomous Enterprise, conducted by Digitate in collaboration with Sapio Research, further reinforces the significance of automation. The survey findings shed light on the pervasive integration of AI and automation in today's organizations and underscores the central role of these technologies in shaping future business strategies.

The findings indicate that 90% of IT decision-makers have strategic plans to implement more automation, including AI, within the next 12 months. Impressively, 58% of these organizations aim to roll out automation initiatives within the next six months.

The enthusiasm for automation is evident across sectors, with 26% planning to implement greater autonomous operations over the next five years, split between semi-autonomous (16%) and fully autonomous (10%) systems. That said, keeping humans in the loop will also remain critical, as 30% reported their organization will have an equal proportion of automation and human processing.

It's apparent from the survey findings that IT leaders are acutely aware that survival hinges on embracing AI-powered automation. The research showed most companies realize this and are taking urgent action to increase investment in this area. The shift is palpable as enterprises not only recognize the necessity of AI and automation but are actively leveraging these technologies to enhance business KPIs, elevate employee productivity, and boost customer satisfaction, ultimately propelling themselves toward the coveted status of an autonomous enterprise. The survey delivered several other interesting insights across a diverse range of operational areas, including:

IT Complexity as a Top Internal Challenge

44% of respondents identify growing IT complexity as the most significant internal challenge, attributed to the complexities of cloud migration and adoption. With 92% already having or planning a multi-vendor cloud strategy, the survey reveals a clear correlation — two-thirds of IT leaders plan to implement additional IT automation in the next 12 months to streamline operations amidst this evolving landscape.

Automate or Be Left Behind

The automation wave is sweeping through various organizational departments, with IT (90%), finance (89%), and customer support (89%) leading the charge. As enterprises experiment with different forms of automation, the report highlights that 74% have delved into generative AI, followed by workflow automation (68%) and AIOps (65%). The urgency is evident, as organizations strive to stay competitive and resilient in the face of technological disruption.

AI's Impact on the Workforce

The rapid adoption of automation prompts reflections on the workforce's future. Surprisingly, 26% of IT leaders express concerns about workplace insecurity and job redundancy for employees. Paradoxically, 60% of decision-makers acknowledge that implementing automation has resulted in both improved employee satisfaction and increased productivity. Striking a balance between technological advancement and workforce well-being remains a pivotal challenge for organizations navigating this transformative journey.

Cybersecurity: An Ongoing Concern

Cybersecurity emerges as the foremost external risk, with 54% of IT decision-makers highlighting it over concerns of a recession (36%). Despite this, only 38% have deployed automation to address cybersecurity risks, indicating a gap between recognizing the threat and actively mitigating it. Nevertheless, 49% of respondents plan to implement some form of automation within the next six months, showcasing a growing awareness of the need for proactive cybersecurity measures.

What’s encouraging about the report is that as enterprises pivot towards autonomous operations the interplay of AI and automation emerges as a linchpin for success. Navigating challenges, addressing workforce concerns, and proactively managing cybersecurity risks are integral components of this transformative journey. The report serves as a compass, guiding organizations through the complexities of the digital landscape as they embrace the future powered by AI and automation.

2024 is going to be an interesting year!

Methodology: The report draws insights from a comprehensive survey of 601 US-based IT leaders responsible for technology decisions within large organizations (>1,000 employees), with a strong representation across diverse industries like manufacturing, technology, retail/eCommerce, and financial services.

Ritu Dubey is Global Head of New Business Sales and Market Development at Digitate

Hot Topics

The Latest

As businesses increasingly rely on high-performance applications to deliver seamless user experiences, the demand for fast, reliable, and scalable data storage systems has never been greater. Redis — an open-source, in-memory data structure store — has emerged as a popular choice for use cases ranging from caching to real-time analytics. But with great performance comes the need for vigilant monitoring ...

Kubernetes was not initially designed with AI's vast resource variability in mind, and the rapid rise of AI has exposed Kubernetes limitations, particularly when it comes to cost and resource efficiency. Indeed, AI workloads differ from traditional applications in that they require a staggering amount and variety of compute resources, and their consumption is far less consistent than traditional workloads ... Considering the speed of AI innovation, teams cannot afford to be bogged down by these constant infrastructure concerns. A solution is needed ...

AI is the catalyst for significant investment in data teams as enterprises require higher-quality data to power their AI applications, according to the State of Analytics Engineering Report from dbt Labs ...

Misaligned architecture can lead to business consequences, with 93% of respondents reporting negative outcomes such as service disruptions, high operational costs and security challenges ...

A Gartner analyst recently suggested that GenAI tools could create 25% time savings for network operational teams. Where might these time savings come from? How are GenAI tools helping NetOps teams today, and what other tasks might they take on in the future as models continue improving? In general, these savings come from automating or streamlining manual NetOps tasks ...

IT and line-of-business teams are increasingly aligned in their efforts to close the data gap and drive greater collaboration to alleviate IT bottlenecks and offload growing demands on IT teams, according to The 2025 Automation Benchmark Report: Insights from IT Leaders on Enterprise Automation & the Future of AI-Driven Businesses from Jitterbit ...

A large majority (86%) of data management and AI decision makers cite protecting data privacy as a top concern, with 76% of respondents citing ROI on data privacy and AI initiatives across their organization, according to a new Harris Poll from Collibra ...

According to Gartner, Inc. the following six trends will shape the future of cloud over the next four years, ultimately resulting in new ways of working that are digital in nature and transformative in impact ...

2020 was the equivalent of a wedding with a top-shelf open bar. As businesses scrambled to adjust to remote work, digital transformation accelerated at breakneck speed. New software categories emerged overnight. Tech stacks ballooned with all sorts of SaaS apps solving ALL the problems — often with little oversight or long-term integration planning, and yes frequently a lot of duplicated functionality ... But now the music's faded. The lights are on. Everyone from the CIO to the CFO is checking the bill. Welcome to the Great SaaS Hangover ...

Regardless of OpenShift being a scalable and flexible software, it can be a pain to monitor since complete visibility into the underlying operations is not guaranteed ... To effectively monitor an OpenShift environment, IT administrators should focus on these five key elements and their associated metrics ...