41% of Federal Agencies Need to Automate Work with Intelligent Machines in Next Year, ServiceNow Survey Shows
October 12 2017 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Top time-wasting tasks: emailing requests and
approvals, updating spreadsheets, hand delivering files
ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) today released the results of a new
survey, “Today’s State of Federal Automation,” that for the
first time reveal that 41% of federal decision-makers indicate they
need intelligent machines to keep up with the rising volume of
everyday work, but the adoption of machine learning in the federal
sector is stymied by the use of existing legacy tools. These
technology advances promise greater accuracy, cost reduction and
more time to focus on value-added work.
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ServiceNow survey reveals that fed
agencies are wasting time on routine manual tasks (e.g. email,
spreadsheets, paper files) and need greater automation to get work
done. 41% of federal agencies say they need to automate work with
intelligent machines in the next year just to keep up with the
increasing pace of work. Legacy systems, budget uncertainty and
shortage of skilled workforce are the top 3 obstacles to the
adoption of intelligent automation by fed agencies. (Graphic:
Business Wire)
ServiceNow commissioned Market Connections to poll 150
decision-makers from federal civilian, defense and intelligence
agencies to evaluate their views and adoption of intelligent
automation comprising artificial intelligence or machine learning
software for everyday work. The findings include:
Fed agencies waste time on routine manual tasks and need
greater automation to get work done
- 77% said they will need greater
automation in their workplace in the next five years to keep up
with the increasing pace of work at their agency. 41% said it is
needed within 12 months.
- 77% spend more than a quarter of their
workday on manual administrative tasks.
- The top three manual tasks performed at
work are emailing updates, requests or approvals (87%), and
updating spreadsheets (78%) and electronic documents and forms
(77%).
- Interestingly, a third of the
respondents still hand deliver paper files to others.
“Fed agencies are approaching the breaking point,” said Bob
Osborn, CTO, Federal, ServiceNow. “In an era of smart phones and
online conveniences, many in our federal agencies are still
delivering the equivalent of interoffice envelopes. Manual work
saps productivity and limits federal agencies’ ability to think
about and act on their organizational missions.”
For ServiceNow’s recommendations on how to make everyday work
more efficient, read this blog post.
Interest is high for federal agencies to automate with
intelligent machines
- Most respondents (65%) indicated that
their agency is currently using or considering an intelligent
automation solution, but a quarter (24%) are not sure of the
timeframe.
- Fewer than 1 in 5 (18%) are currently
using advanced automation.
- Laggards outnumber the early adopters:
35% say they are not considering it or do not know.
“While it is early days for federal agencies to invest in
machine learning, the need is there to remove obstacles to
productivity,” said Osborn. “Federal audiences have interest in
exploring this area and identifying how they best can apply it to
their operations.”
Areas that can benefit most from intelligent automation to
everyday work
- The survey identified IT service
management as the most automated agency process (58%) today. 42% of
respondents indicate HR services are at least somewhat automated in
their agency. The least automated service was resolving customer
issues (28%).
- More than half indicated that
intelligent automation would be very beneficial for the creation of
real-time performance reports and analytics—the top area. 43%
identified IT service desks and 39% identified resolving security
threats.
- 6 in 10 agreed on the top four benefits
of automation: accuracy, cost reduction, less time spent on tasks,
and freeing up staff to focus resources on value-added tasks.
“While much of the federal world is highly manual, there are
bright spots in IT services,” Osborn said. “Greater automation can
drive more accurate and speedy work.”
Replacing existing legacy tools is the #1 barrier to the
adoption of intelligent automation
- The top concern in adopting more
advanced automation was being forced to replace existing legacy
technology that they had been heavily invested in. 42% cited that
would significantly impact their agency’s planning efforts to
integrate and achieve intelligent automation.
- Cost and staffing also posed concerns:
39% said the uncertainty around funds/budget is a significant
concern, and 36% said their current staff don’t have the proper
training to support these new technologies once implemented.
- Potential job eliminations and layoffs
landed at the bottom of the list of concerns (21%).
“Although government leaders and key IT policy makers have
emphasized the benefits of adopting modern technology, many
agencies are still clinging on to their legacy tools and don’t
fully understand the advantages of using advanced automation,” said
Osborn. “Federal agencies need to look at how the private sector is
using advanced automation today and how they are able to cope with
the rising volume of work.”
Respondents agree that not modernizing manual processes will
have a negative impact on work
- 66% of respondents said human error
will increase.
- 57% said maintaining legacy systems
will be costly.
- 55% said reduced productivity will
continue.
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need to automate work with intelligent machines in next year
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Survey Methodology
ServiceNow commissioned Market Connections to design and conduct
a study to identify the extent in which business processes are
handled manually or are automated in federal civilian and defense
agencies. The 8-minute online survey was fielded between September
11 and September 22, 2017, in the U.S. A total of 150 respondents
who currently work for the federal government and involved in their
organization’s decisions or recommendation regarding technology and
processes that support administrative functions, completed the
survey. The margin of error is ±8% at a 95% confidence level.
About ServiceNow
ServiceNow makes work better across the enterprise. Getting
simple stuff done at work can be easy, and getting complex
multi-step tasks completed can be painless. Our applications
automate, predict, digitize and optimize business processes and
tasks, from IT to Customer Service to Security Operation and to
Human Resources, creating a better experience for your employees,
users and customers while transforming your enterprise. ServiceNow
(NYSE:NOW) is how work gets done. For more information,
visit: www.servicenow.com.
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Media Contact:ServiceNowWoodrow Mosqueda,
669-262-2160press@servicenow.comorInvestor Relations
Contact:ServiceNowJimmy Sexton,
805-453-8566ir@servicenow.com
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