- Adoption poised to accelerate as nearly half of global IT professionals cite advances in AI that make it more accessible
- Changing business needs due to COVID-19 driving adoption
New market research commissioned by IBM found that almost one-third of IT professionals surveyed globally say their business is now using artificial intelligence (AI), with 43 percent reporting that their company has accelerated their rollout of AI as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While recent advances in the technology are making AI more accessible than ever, the annual survey also found that a lack of AI skills and increasing data complexity are cited as top challenges.
Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8668657-ibm-global-data-ai-growth/
The "Global AI Adoption Index 2021," conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of IBM, revealed that while AI adoption was nearly flat over the last year, momentum is shifting as the need for AI has been accelerated by changing business needs due to the global pandemic. AI is already changing the way businesses operate today, from how they communicate with their customers via virtual assistants, to automating key workflows, and even managing network security. The "2021 CEO Study" from IBM's Institute for Business Value recently revealed that more than half of CEOs surveyed expect AI to deliver tangible business benefits in the next few years.
Highlights from the "Global AI Adoption Index 2021" include:
- Business adoption of AI was basically flat, but significant investments in AI are planned: Almost one-third of companies reported using AI in their business, similar to 2020 findings. For those deploying or exploring AI, they report it is being driven by multiple pressures and opportunities businesses are facing, from the COVID-19 pandemic to advances in the technology that make it more accessible. A third of global IT professionals report their company plans to invest in both skills and AI solutions over the next 12 months.
- COVID-19 accelerated how businesses are using automation today: 80 percent of companies are already using automation software or plan to use this technology in the next 12 months, and for more than one-in-three organizations, the pandemic influenced their decision to use automation to bolster the productivity of employees, while others found new applications of this technology to make themselves more resilient, such as helping to automate the resolution of IT incidents.
- Trustworthy and explainable AI is critical to business: 91 percent of businesses using AI say their ability to explain how it arrived at a decision is critical. While global businesses are now acutely aware of the importance of having trustworthy AI, more than half of companies cite significant barriers in getting there including lack of skills, inflexible governance tools, biased data and more.
- The ability to access data anywhere is key for increasing AI adoption: The proliferation of data across the enterprise has resulted in over two thirds of global IT professionals drawing from more than 20 different data sources to inform their AI. Almost 90 percent of IT pros say being able to run their AI projects wherever the data resides is key to the technology's adoption.
- Natural language processing is at the forefront of recent adoption: Almost half of businesses today are now using applications powered by natural language processing (NLP), and one-in-four businesses plan to begin using NLP technology over the next 12 months. Customer service is the top NLP use case with 52 percent of global IT professionals reporting that their company is using or considering using NLP solutions to improve customer experience and it was the use AI case IT professionals were most likely to report that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased their focus on.
"As organizations move to a post-pandemic world, data from the Global AI Adoption Index 2021 underscores a major uptick in AI investment," said Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President, IBM Cloud and Data Platform. "A large majority of those investments continue to be focused on the three key capabilities that define AI for business - automating IT and processes, building trust in AI outcomes, and understanding the language of business. We believe these investments will continue to accelerate rapidly as customers look for new, innovative ways to drive their digital transformations by taking advantage of hybrid cloud and AI."
While adoption is poised for growth, some global businesses are still facing a multitude of challenges when it comes to adopting AI. Persistent barriers across markets and industries highlight the need for continued focus on addressing skills and solutions gaps.
- The survey determined top three barriers to AI adoption for businesses are: Limited AI expertise or knowledge (39 percent), increasing data complexity and data silos (32 percent), and lack of tools/platforms for developing AI models (28 percent).
IBM is working to accelerate adoption by delivering AI designed for the needs of businesses. To give businesses, data scientists and developers the capabilities they need to scale AI, IBM is continually bringing new innovations to IBM Watson from IBM Research that help enable organizations to better understand the language of business, automate processes and IT, and drive trust in their AI outcomes. Additionally, IBM Global Business Services brings deep technology, industry and process design expertise to co-create solutions with customers that embed AI into core business processes and create intelligent workflows at scale.
Download the full report here.
Methodology
The data sheds new light on the deployment of AI across 5,501 businesses in China (500), France (500), Germany (500), India (500), Italy (500), Latin America (1,000 across Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru), Singapore (500), Spain (500), the United Kingdom (500), and United States (501). The polling was conducted online through Morning Consult's proprietary network of online providers in April 2021. All respondents were required to have significant insight or input into their firm's IT decision-making. See full details on the methodology at the end of the summary.
About IBM Watson
Watson is IBM's AI technology for business, helping organizations to better predict and shape future outcomes, automate complex processes, and optimize employees' time. Watson has evolved from an IBM Research project, to experimentation, to a scaled, open set of products that run anywhere. With more than 40,000 client engagements, Watson is being applied by leading global brands across a variety of industries to transform how people work. To learn more, visit: https://www.ibm.com/watson
More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.
TRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now! Request Now.
Forms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.
Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
LATEST COMMENTS
MC Press Online