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Avanade Study: Intelligent Automation a Must for Businesses

More than 30% of companies are already using some type of intelligent automation today, and to help jumpstart productivity and innovate, every business should be adding intelligent internal systems within the next three years, according to a new study from Avanade.

Nearly 80% of respondents said there’s been internal pushback within their companies against the implementation of artificial intelligence technologies, mostly thanks to the fear that it would take away jobs. However, more than 50% of business leaders worldwide who responded to the survey said they see AI automation tech augmenting their workforces, instead of replacing them.

The survey, conducted between May and June 2017, surveyed 400 C-level executives, 400 IT decision makers, and 3,000 consumers, in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany, Japan and Sweden.

“Leaders recognize the potential for intelligent automation to accelerate productivity by driving more value from data, and freeing employees from mundane, repetitive tasks to focus on activities that require human intervention and/or add value, like innovation,” said Avanade CEO Adam Warby. “However, while global business leaders have moved beyond the humans vs. machines fear factor, employees are yet to be convinced. To remain relevant, leaders need a vision for the AI-first world and must educate employees on the potential of intelligent automation to drive unprecedented personal and professional capabilities.”

By 2020, Avanade expects nearly two in three organizations to be using intelligent automation technologies, and more than 85% of business leaders surveyed dais they’ll need to do just that if they wish to remain leaders in their respective fields five years from now.

Business leaders said the top benefits of intelligent automation include productivity (50%) and faster time-to-market (45%), with more than 40% saying intelligent automation will help workers better focus on complex tasks and new innovations. Approximately 60% of consumer respondents said intelligent automation is more likely to replace jobs than create them, however.