NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/-- A large
majority of global companies that are leaders in artificial
intelligence (AI) expect their employees will work comfortably with
robots by 2020. Despite this optimistic outlook, a significantly
smaller fraction of businesses is providing adequate reskilling and
training to address technology disruption, according to a new
survey of C-suite and senior executives. The study shows a striking
disconnect between the expectations of how AI will impact the
future of work, and the actions companies are taking in preparing
their workforces and organizations for that future.
The research, Is Your Business AI-Ready?, conducted by
Genpact, a global professional services firm focused on delivering
digital transformation, and FORTUNE Knowledge Group, also
underscores that even in AI's early days of enterprise
applications, large gaps in behavior and performance exist between
AI leaders (companies realizing the most impact from AI) and
laggards (those reporting the lowest business outcomes from this
technology). While 82 percent of respondents plan to implement
AI-related technologies in the next three years, these disparities
in success will only widen without adoption of critical widespread
organizational change.
"CxOs often struggle with how to achieve strong business impact
from AI. The survey findings underscore what we see with our
clients daily – success won't come simply from technology alone,"
said N.V. 'Tiger' Tyagarajan, president and chief
executive officer, Genpact. "Companies must train their
workforce – at all levels – and encourage the right corporate
culture. Collaboration between humans and machines has the power to
improve customer experiences, grow revenue, and create new jobs –
but only if senior management has the vision to proactively prepare
and embrace change."
Resistance more from corner office than cubicles
While recent news reports raise alarms about the average worker's
wariness of AI, the study shows the C-suite's view is the exact
opposite: close to one-third (32 percent) of respondents indicate
senior management is the group that most strongly resists AI. This
compares with only 13 percent who cite middle management, and a
mere five percent who say entry-level workers resist most.
Breaking barriers: Leaders embrace talent +
technology
According to the research, the top three barriers
to AI adoption are information security concerns, lack of clarity
about where to apply AI most effectively, and silos within the
organization, especially between information technology and other
functions. AI leaders clearly understand that overcoming these
barriers requires much more than just having leading-edge
technology. Leaders dramatically excel over AI laggards in
encouraging a culture that fosters success. For example:
- Nearly three quarters (71 percent) of leaders allocate
sufficient resources and funding toward AI-related technologies,
compared to only 9 percent of laggards.
- More than half (53 percent) of leaders foster a training and
development culture to learn new skills, compared to 15 percent of
laggards.
- Almost 60 percent of leaders say their middle managers think
out of the box and encourage innovation, compared to only 14
percent of laggards.
AI leaders also have a strong focus on process:
- Two-thirds of leaders have processes and systems that are well
documented with standard operational procedures, compared to 20
percent of laggards.
- Leaders are more than four times more likely to have large
amounts of customer data they can easily share across all
departments (58 percent of leaders versus 14 percent of
laggards).
"Process design and talent are keys to success with AI," said
Sanjay Srivastava, chief digital
officer, Genpact. "One provides the catalyst for extracting the
value from AI technologies; the other provides the amplifier to
drive it at scale for the enterprise. Without one or the other, the
chemistry of AI success just doesn't work."
Aiming AI for topline growth: Leaders excel in customer
experience and revenue impact
When looking at AI benefits,
leaders have the clear edge in moving beyond the more expected
cost-cutting measures. While a third of all respondents cite cost
savings as a benefit, more than 40 percent of leaders say AI
improves the customer experience. Leaders also are almost twice as
likely to achieve increased revenues from AI (45 percent of
leaders, compared to 25 percent of all respondents) – a clear
indication that using AI to transform the customer experience also
delivers competitive differentiation.
Moreover, when asked to fast forward three years, 87 percent of
all respondents expect that AI will bring better customer
experiences. This underscores how companies increasingly plan to
throw out their old playbook and replace it with AI – a nod toward
the importance of imaginative, personalized, and immersive customer
experiences.
The research also addresses companies' investments in and use of
AI and other technologies, and further trends on reskilling and
workplace issues. To access a copy of the report, Is Your
Business AI-Ready?, please click here.
In addition, in a separate forthcoming study, Genpact will explore
AI's impact on consumers, both in their personal and professional
lives.
About the Study
In June
2017, Genpact and FORTUNE Knowledge Group conducted a survey
of 300 senior executives (C-suite and one level below) from around
the world, seeking insights into the strategies respondents and
their companies use when adopting artificial intelligence (AI)
technologies. Fifty-one percent of the respondents' companies earn
annual revenues of US$1 billion to $5
billion; 28 percent between $5
billion and 10 billion; 17 percent between $10 billion and 25 billion; and 5 percent between
$25 billion and $50 billion.
One-third of the respondents are based in North America, and the remaining two-thirds
are evenly split between Europe
and the Asia-Pacific region. The
study also differentiated between "AI leaders" –respondents who
achieve strong positive business outcomes from AI, scoring 9 or 10
on a 10-point scale -- and "AI laggards," who scored 1 through 6 on
the same scale.
About Genpact
Genpact (NYSE: G) is a global
professional services firm that makes business transformation real.
We drive digital-led innovation and digitally-enabled intelligent
operations for our clients, guided by our experience running
thousands of processes for hundreds of Global Fortune 500
companies. We think with design, dream in digital, and solve
problems with data and analytics. We obsess over operations and
focus on the details – all 78,000+ of us. From New York to
New Delhi and more than 20
countries in between, Genpact has the end-to-end expertise to
connect every dot, reimagine every process, and reinvent companies'
ways of working. We know that rethinking each step from start to
finish will create better business outcomes. Whatever it is, we'll
be there with you – putting data and digital to work to create
bold, lasting results – because transformation happens here. Get to
know us at Genpact.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and
Facebook.
For more
information:
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Danielle
D'Angelo
(Genpact Media
Relations)
danielle.dangelo@genpact.com
+1
914-336-7951
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Abby
Trexler
(for Genpact
U.S.)
atrexler@peppercomm.com
+1
212-931-6179
|
Mark
Pinnes
(for Genpact
U.K.)
mpinnes@peppercomm.com
+44 20 7680
7121
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Rudra
Bose
(for Genpact
India)
rudra.bose@bm.com
+91
9811626585
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SOURCE Genpact