PANDEMIC SPURS THE DEMAND FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
In fact, AI initiatives hold more sway than could have been thought before, most of the IT managers stated, so many are prepared to raise spending on such solutions, the company’s latest survey results show
Somebody has missed the opportunity
In the immediate future, many companies have plans to increase spending on the products that utilise artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, which resulted in the recent spread of the coronavirus. A good proportion of IT managers believe that AI initiatives should have been given higher priority much earlier — yet before the pandemic set in. These are the data cited by Algorithmia company in its study. The survey entitled “2020 Enterprise AI/ML Trends” was completed in August 2020 and gathered replies from one hundred managers of big businesses, in positions from IT director and superior. The analysts were solely keen on the opinion of experts who represented organisations with the annual turnover of USD 1 billion and the headcount of 5,000 employees minimum.
Green Light for the AI
As it turned out, irrespective of the company’s business activity, IT managers polled by Algorithmia agree that machine learning and AI projects must be given priority. Some 65% of respondents stated similar projects were top priority in the list of crucial deployments prior to the pandemic, and 33% of managers maintained such decisions were higher on their priority list at the time. Moreover, 43% of respondents noted that artificial intelligence technologies were much more important than they had deemed before, and 23% of respondents said that now realised the fact that AI technologies should have been assigned the top priority among IT initiatives from the very beginning.
“2020 remains the year of fast tracking the digital transformation. In spring, many companies learned from their own experience that distance working was possible and, under some circumstances, beneficial, and the business continuity must be viewed in planning of each period. The AI enables to effectively automate work processes, mitigate the risks and boost the company’s flexibility, which is particularly crucial in the time of crisis, similar to what we are observing now. NetApp offers a bunch of AI-based solutions, suitable for businesses in a wide range of industries and helping properly prepared for potential emergencies, and optimise the operations and expenses of the company. The latest factor is of prime importance, in view of the lockdown effects on the global economy,” noted Tatiana Bocharnikova, NetApp Managing Director for Russia & CIS.
The survey indicated that IT managers intended to spend more in AI, whereas the pandemic boosts the demand for the relevant professional skills among the people. For instance, 91% of respondents stated that their company had spent less at least USD 1 million on everything related to artificial intelligence and machine learning, and half of the polled people intend to increase spending in that direction. Meanwhile, 59% of respondents said, the shortage of staff with AI skills was the major problem for IT managers prior to the pandemic. Above all else, employees who function in the field need to have experience in such spheres as cyber security (69%), data management (64%), and system integration (62%).
Source: CNews
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