The world of business is in the midst of a revolution powered by artificial intelligence (AI). And as the department closest to the cutting edge, IT finds itself in the vanguard.
Workday’s 2023 AI IQ study on AI in the enterprise found that, when asked about their level of AI adoption within their organisation, IT leaders were more likely than other business leaders to have moved from the initial research and piloting phases to rolling out and scaling up. Another Workday study, the C-Suite Global AI Indicator Report found that nearly half of IT leaders believe AI and machine learning (ML) will enable their function to deliver more strategic value, while 48% see AI and ML as a game changer for IT.
AI capabilities offer a solution to one of IT’s biggest challenges: operational workloads and outdated tools that make it difficult to deliver the innovation and transformation their organisations need. Foundry’s 2023 State of the CIO report discovered where they plan to focus their time in the next three years, more CIOs say driving business innovation (32%) and redesigning business processes (30%) than modernising existing infrastructure (28%). Most CIOs (85%) see their role as, increasingly, a changemaker.
Yet 39% of IT leaders responding to the C-Suite Global AI Indicator study said that the inability to play a strategic and innovative role is the biggest barrier to achieving their IT objectives, citing administrative tasks, available tools, and the speed with which services can be changed or upgraded as key obstacles standing in their path.
AI technologies could help them reduce this operational burden and focus more on tasks and projects with strategic business value.
Reducing workloads and empowering IT
Key to the appeal of AI technologies is the ability to automate and remove the drudgery from common but repetitive IT tasks, transforming rigid processes with a more flexible approach. When asked for the top 10 benefits they expect to see from AI and ML, 33% of IT leaders in the C-Suite Global AI Indicator study selected automating processes such as security, data management and reporting, 27% selected service upgrades, and 26% cited streamlining procurement.
As AI becomes embedded in IT configuration, management, and admin tools, there’s potential for tasks like policy changes, patching, onboarding new users and provisioning hardware to be partly or fully automated. This level of automation not only frees up IT teams for other projects, but removes speed and friction from the process, improving the experience for employees.
AI can have a similar impact on time-consuming help desk and report requests. In the words of Workday Co-President Sayan Chakraborty, ‘Most of the questions people ask of your IT help desk are the same questions over and over again. Machines are really good at answering those questions, or even proactively addressing these questions or helping you self-solve.’ In the future, Chakraborty predicts, generative AI assistants could help employees do their own troubleshooting, which will be faster and more productive for them than waiting for the IT team to intervene. Meanwhile, IT personnel aren’t spending time on routine calls that could be solved in minutes by AI.
This is important, given that IT skills are in short supply in many businesses. A 2022 study by Equinix notes that 67% of IT decision makers in the UK view a shortage of personnel with IT skills as one of the main threats to their business, while 61% believe the problem is being exacerbated by the speed of technical change.
By reducing the workload of overloaded IT staff, AI technologies can help businesses do more with the same-sized workforce. Indeed, by integrating AI and ML into the HR function, CIOs can help shift towards a skills-based approach to talent, where workers with the potential to develop higher-level digital skills can be upskilled to cover new technologies and fill gaps in expertise. Nearly one-third (30%) of CIOs surveyed by Workday feel that talent development and upskilling will be a key benefit of AI and 47% believe the technologies will make IT jobs more rewarding.
Transforming challenges to opportunities
Despite the obvious benefits, there’s some hesitancy towards AI and ML from CIOs. CIOs and IT leaders know that these technologies will be crucial to the future of their business, but they face a heavy burden of responsibility.
One in three IT leaders believe IT will be under stress to find a trustworthy approach to AI and ML for their organisation as a whole, while 35% feel IT leaders will be pushed to make difficult decisions, even where they lack domain expertise. Only 13% say they feel ready to take ownership of AI initiatives in their business, while 37% are adopting a wait and see approach.
Beyond this, many CIOs are worried that the data needed to make AI initiatives successful is too siloed and too difficult to integrate. They also worry that the long-term maintenance of AI and ML models, along with the supporting infrastructure, will become another long-term burden on the IT team.
Yet, in many respects, these challenges are also opportunities. CIOs could seize this moment as a chance to upskill and empower teams within IT and the wider business to make the most of AI. They could also take the opportunity to adopt new workflows, move data out of siloes and unify the information flowing through their organisation. The C-Suite Global AI Indicator Report shows that CIOs at businesses with the highest level of maturity in their AI and ML operations are also the most likely to say that their organisation’s data is managed and accessible. AI could be both means and motivation to innovate and drive real business change.
What’s more, CIOs could accelerate the process by working with platforms, such as Workday, that are embedding AI technologies, including generative AI, into core business, finance, and HR processes, supporting all these outcomes. By automating tasks and making information more accessible, AI technologies allow IT teams to focus their internal AI efforts on initiatives that have a direct impact on the experiences of customers and employees.
‘That’s really the vision’ says Chakraborty. ‘How do we put all this information at your fingertips, so that you can do the meaningful work?’
As the AI revolution continues, Workday can provide the platform and support CIOs need to take full advantage of the technology and apply it in business-changing ways.
Learn how Workday’s finance and HR platform, with AI embedded at the core, can help your organisation redefine how work works.