Almost four-fifths of IT decision-makers are now deploying AI and automation, new research has suggested.
A recent study by 8×8 found that 78 percent of IT leaders are turning to AI and automation to address the current “permacrisis” — defined by the UCaaS and CCaaS vendor as “an extended time of instability and insecurity” — afflicting businesses in the UK.
8×8’s research, named “Permacrisis: The View from the IT Frontline”, asked over 550 IT decision makers of UK enterprises with over 500 employees on their books about how the current permacrisis has affected them and their IT teams. The report states it examines the ongoing impact of businesses functioning in uncertain times and how they are leveraging technology to adapt.
“The UK has experienced a number of crises over the last decade, with no end in sight. As a result of this unprecedented series of ongoing, unexpected events at the societal and global level, businesses are being forced to constantly adapt to significant amounts of change,” said Chris Angus, VP, EMEA Contact Centre Engagement at 8×8.
Further, the expectations of customers and employees have also shifted along the way and digital technology has played a fundamental role in enabling organisations to adapt and show resilience. As companies now have more data, and demand for real-time insights, the use of AI will go beyond customer engagement, and be deployed to run more efficient businesses and provide better services and offerings.”
How Businesses Are Using AI and Automation to Adapt to Permacrisis
8×8 reported that 91 percent of organisations surveyed said they were feeling the effects of the permacrisis, with two-thirds saying they had accelerated their digital transformation processes as a consequence. 94 percent of IT decision-makers surveyed said that their business is introducing technology changes to safeguard the future amid the ongoing uncertainty — especially UCC platforms and services.
Two of the most common technological advancements cited by IT decision-makers were AI and automation. AI and automation were reported by surveyants to help simplify workloads, minimise routine manual work, and enhance both customer and employee satisfaction. Over three-quarters of those surveyed added that their organisation was leveraging the technology to serve customers.
UCC tools are being introduced during these digital transformations to better control instability and uncertainty. Over half of the respondents said they intended to introduce automated processes to their communications, while 47 percent said they’d leverage communications technology to oversee staff performance, and 44 percent said they’d use it to oversee customer and employee trends.
Interesting Contrast in Research
8×8’s research illustrates that the majority of IT leaders across every industry in the UK are planning long-term for the permacrisis to continue, with the growing ubiquity of AI and automation products and capabilities creating new opportunities for safeguarding the future and managing risk.
However, 8×8’s study contrasts intriguingly with one conducted by Cisco, which was published last week. Cisco’s AI Readiness Index found that only 14 percent of global businesses are prepared to deploy and leverage AI.
Not only are most businesses struggling to keep up with the pace of AI innovations, but there are also gaps across critical business areas that signal “serious risks”, as described by Cisco. The race to introduce AI across most businesses is apace, with 61 percent of Cisco respondents agreeing they have a maximum of one year to incorporate an AI strategy before their organisations are negatively impacted.
Naturally, Cisco’s research methodology will differ from 8×8’s, while it’s noteworthy that Cisco’s study was global, while the UK’s was UK-specific.
However, the gulf between 8×8’s finding that almost four-fifths of IT decision-makers intend to leverage AI into its systems and Cisco’s reporting that only 14 percent of organisations feel ready to do so illustrates a compelling (and potentially alarming) disparity between the ambitions of those organisational experts aiming to use AI to transform their business and the challenges of those businesses’ wider strategies in operational terms, or the limitations of their legacy systems in technical terms.
