Managed.IT - issue 51

BULLETIN 6 MANAGED.IT 01732 759725 Quick win RPA use cases key to ROI Businesses could achieve cost savings of up to $165 billion by 2022 through widespread adoption of automation across the automotive ($32 billion), retail ($125 billion), utilities ($149 billion) and manufacturing ($165 billion) sectors, claims Capgemini Research Institute in its new report, Reshaping the future: Unlocking automation’s untapped value . So far, global businesses have just scratched the surface of what’s possible with automation. Even amongst those that are experimenting with or implementing the technology, only 16% have adopted multiple automation use cases at scale (i.e. beyond pilots and test projects) and only 32% are focusing on ‘quick win’ use cases, which Capgemini says are easy to implement and highly beneficial. These include processes such as: n Reconciliation in accounting n Request for Proposal (RFP) generation in procurement n Onboarding in human resources n Lead generation in sales and marketing n Anti-fraud checks in Financial Services n Predictive maintenance in Industrial Manufacturing. Instead, 36% of organisations are focusing on ‘case by case’ implementations in areas such as data entry or storage automation, which the report claims are not as scalable, are harder to implement and may not deliver large returns. Analysis by Capgemini Research Institute shows that procurement/supply chain and human resources realise the greatest returns on investment (ROI) of 18% and 15% respectively. Ashwin Yardi, Chief Industrialisation and Automation Officer and India COO, said: “Automation presents huge potential to drive both efficiency gains and business value. We should learn from those use cases in automation today and look to some of the ‘quick wins’ to drive uptake and return on investment.” www.capgemini.com/ researchinstitute/ Positive vision of AI gaining traction AI will diversify human thinking not replace it, claims Tata Communications, following a survey of 120 global business leaders, in which 75% said they expected AI to create new roles for their employees, freeing them from tedious repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus more on communication and creative thinking. Almost all leaders (93%) believe AI will enhance decision-making and 80% think it could facilitate team composition, organisation and communications. Ken Goldberg, UC Berkeley professor and co-author of the report, said: “The prevalent narrative around AI has focused on a ‘Singularity’, a hypothetical time when artificial intelligence will surpass humans. But there is a growing interest in ‘Multiplicity’, where AI helps groups of machines and humans collaborate to innovate and solve problems. This survey reveals that Multiplicity, the positive and inclusive vision of AI, is gaining traction.” www.tatacommunications.com Machines to create more jobs than they displace By 2025 humans will be responsible for less than half (48%) of all work activity, compared to 71% today, with machines increasing their share of ‘task hours’ from 29% to 52%, claims the World Economic Forum (WEF). In The Future of Jobs 2018 , WEF predicts that over the next five years machines will displace 75 million jobs and create 133 million new ones, resulting in a net gain of 58 million. Even so, it warns there’s likely to be significant change in the location, quality and permanency of work, making it vital to provide retraining/ reskilling and a safety net for at-risk workers and communities. In-demand jobs will include those that require a high level of technical proficiency (e.g. data analysts and scientists; software and application developers; ecommerce and social media specialists) or uniquely human skills, such as creativity, critical thinking and persuasion (e.g. sales and marketing and customer service). Jobs likely to become redundant are routine-based, white-collar roles like data entry clerks and accounting and payroll clerks. WEF’s survey of human resources officers and strategy executives reveals that 54% of employees in large companies would need significant re/up- skilling to harness the growth opportunities offered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Yet, only one third of companies plan to reskill at-risk workers; just over half plan to limit retraining to employees in key roles. Half (50%) of all companies expect their full-time workforce to shrink by 2022 as a result of automation, compared to 38% that are predicting growth. More than a quarter expect automation to create new roles in their enterprise. www.wef.ch Cyber security could be enhanced with more automation Too few organisations are making the most of security automation to overcome cybersecurity challenges, despite the possibilities presented by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), warns Skybox Security. Its report, Understanding Security Processes and the Need to Automate , reveals low adoption levels in all regions, but especially EMEA and the US, where just 4% and 9% of organisations are using AI/ ML to automate processes for managing firewall rules and security policy, compared to 27% in APAC. Skybox Director of Product Marketing Sean Keef said: “Security leaders have started on their automation journey. However, this survey shows that many companies have a long way to go. There are many areas where it is essential to implement automation and where automation reduces risk. For example, collecting/gathering data for attack surface visibility and modelling, network change management and rule life cycle management. Networks are becoming too large and complex to manage manually.” www.skyboxsecurity.com 1 Cognitive Diversity: AI & The Future of Work AI Sean Keef