IT sector to benefit most from adopting AI.
Application of artificial intelligence is being tested by a whole lot of companies to ensure efficiency in business operation and increase in employee productivity. Indian companies are also testing the application of AI to improve business.
A recent study by the International Data Corporation (IDC), commissioned by Intel India reported that Indian companies are more eager to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) and the trend is expected to increase the expenditure in technology in thenext 18 months.
The report, which surveyed 194 organisations across four sectors, found that about one in five organisations surveyed are implementing AI in some way or the other. This number is expected to increase further by 2019, where about 7 in 10 firms will adopt AI in their business operation.
The survey also reveals that 75 percent of the firms are very optimistic about the use of AI in increasing process efficiency and employee productivity. But surprisingly, an equal number of companies (76 percent) think that they will face a shortage of skilled manpower to embrace AI.
IT will be the most prominent function benefitting from AI. More than half of the larger companies in sectors, such as telecom, media, technology, BFSI, have already implemented AI in their operations to bring efficiency into business.
About 64 percent of the companies surveyed believe that they can grow their revenue by better targeting of offers at customers using AI.
Sandeep Sharma, research manager, Software and IT Services, IDC India says that “Cognitive systems will not only change business processes within organisations, but alterthe business models that most organizations currently follow. AI has widespread implications for Indian organizations and promises real benefits for the companies that have been quick to adopt the solution. Business leaders should have a clearly-defined roadmap to realize the potential that cognitive/AI technology can bring to the enterprise”.
Some of the functions across sectors,which will benefit from deploying AI over the next 18 months are:
Information technology: IT will be the most prominent function benefitting from AI. More than half of the larger companies in sectors, such as telecom, media, technology, BFSI, have already implemented AI in their operations to bring efficiency into business. The report reveals that 71 percent of the firms see benefit in terms of the automation of the work and an equal number (69 percent) of firms see benefit in terms of increased employee productivity.
Sales & marketing: Most of the retail and some of the BFSI organisations are looking to use AI to improve the efficiency of their sales and marketing function, by better targeting their customers and improving sales processes. They are leveraging AI to improve customer experience and improve their loyalty ranks.
Manufacturing and retail organisations are employing AI to redesign their supply chain networks to make them more efficient and reduce turnaround time.
Financial services organisations are leveraging AI to improve regulatory compliance and fraud reduction.
Retail and automotive organisations are using AI to improve consistency in the decisions they make.
While AI can be a game changer for business houses, its use is still limited. This is partly due to high cost of solutions, shortage of skilled talents, unclear ROI, cybersecurity threat, regulatory compliance and lack of quality of data.