In our latest market survey "AI in use at IT service providers and system houses", we asked 480 managing directors and sales managers from IT service providers and system houses to shed light on their perception and use of AI-related solutions.
The results show a clear picture: IT service providers recognize the potential for their business, but are still cautious when it comes to implementation.
Not a day goes by without news about artificial intelligence and its areas of application, new or further developed solutions and tools. The topic also remains a constant focus in the media of leading IT providers & Vendor . In our Market Insights published in January, 26% of IT service providers and system houses surveyed confirmed artificial intelligence as the most important trend in IT and corresponding solutions as the most important driver of efficiency. Reason enough for us to go into more detail in our new MARKET INSIGHTS.
THE MOST IMPORTANT FINDINGS AT A GLANCE:
1. AREAS OF APPLICATION
Where is AI most likely to be adopted by customers?
Service & support (29%),
automation of IT processes (23%) and
sales & marketing support (16%) are seen as particularly promising.
2. KI IN THE PORTFOLIO
71% of respondents are not currently planning any specific integration of AI solutions, 17% are in the concrete planning stage and 8% already offer AI solutions.
3. FOCUS AREAS
Chatbots & dialog systems (33%), CoPilot (21%), communication & translation modules (13%) and business process automation tools (13%) are the most frequently used or planned AI solutions.
OPPORTUNITY & CHALLENGE AT THE SAME TIME
With regard to concrete business opportunities for AI in their own portfolio, only just under 30% of the IT service providers & system integrators surveyed are currently in concrete planning or already offer AI-based solutions. It appears that dialog systems & chatbots for customer service & support applications currently have the strongest adaptation rate. This is followed by Microsoft CoPilot, which Microsoft partners in particular are increasingly promoting and positioning.
The managing directors and sales managers we interviewed confirm that AI is "the next big thing". There is great interest, but in many cases there is still no concrete business context to justify investment decisions. Decision-makers on the customer side are specifically looking for tried-and-tested solutions instead of getting involved in research projects.
In general, the partner landscape sees great potential in AI technology, as IT service providers and suppliers are hoping for investments in consulting, implementation and also significant investments in IT systems and infrastructure. However, the majority of use cases still appear to be in the development or conception phase.
QUESTION 1: AREA OF APPLICATION
Our survey shows that IT service providers see a wide range of potential applications for AI. The following areas are clearly in focus:
- Service & support automation (29%): This enables standard inquiries to be processed more efficiently and customer service to be optimized.
- Automation of IT processes (23%): Respondents see great potential in the data center and security environment in particular.
- Sales and marketing support (16%): Automation and digital tools increase efficiency in these areas.
Other areas mentioned are production & manufacturing (6%), finance and accounting (6%), extensive data analysis & business intelligence (6%), supply chain / logistics (5%) and human resources (4%).
QUESTION 2 KI IN THE PORTFOLIO
Exciting: despite great interest and belief in the importance of AI for the business of the future, 71% of IT service providers confirm that they currently have no concrete plans to integrate AI solutions into their portfolio. 17% are in the concrete planning stage, 8% have already integrated AI solutions and 4% are developing or testing AI components.
QUESTION 3 Focused AI solution areas
The currently most focused AI solution areas are:
- Chatbots and dialog systems (33%)
- Microsoft CoPilot (21%)
- Communication and translation modules (13%)
- Business Process Automation Tools (13%)
Other solutions mentioned include Data Analytics & BI Tools and Data Center Automation Tools.
CONCLUSION
AI has a clear presence and its relevance for some areas of the company is already in focus. But concrete implementation is lagging behind. IT service providers need to develop concrete solutions for their customers in order to fully exploit the potential of AI.
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