Artificial intelligence and machine learning roared on the scene in 2014 and 2015, with by mega-investments by tech leaders such as IBM and Microsoft, along with the obligatory accompanying hype. Now, the AI/ML market appears to be "backing off," says Craig Le Claire, analyst with Forrester Research. Delivering his remarks at an event sponsored by Automation Anywhere, Le Claire points out that intelligent software bots are increasingly taking on the automation challenges of enterprises.
Indeed, the drive toward intelligent automation in all its forms is taking time to accept and adopt among enterprises. Only 17 percent of 600 CIOs responding to a KPMG survey[1] acknowledge their firms have smart automation technologies operating at full scale, and 30 percent don't even know where to begin. At issue are lack of staffing and technology resources, along with lack of organizational support and accountability.
The big-bang AI and machine learning projects may be stuck in pilots and proofs of concepts, but a less glamorous form of intelligent automation may be percolating its way through processes and channels across enterprises -- software bots associated with robotic process automation[2] (RPA). These bots usually take on single-purpose tasks, such as pulling data for a purchase order, or delivering an email confirming with a transaction. A majority of enterprises surveyed[3] by Deloitte last year, 53 percent, report they have put RPA in place, with 72 percent expecting to do so within the next two years.
"Software running in obscure data centers that no one will ever see will transform or replace the jobs of cubicle workers, coordinators, and even knowledge workers," Le Claire writes in his recent book, Invisible Robots in the Quiet of the Night[4]. These