Over half of enterprises investing in Generative AI

A recent report by 451 Research has disclosed that over half of enterprises are investing in Generative AI (GenAI), utilising the technology for integration and automation. The research suggests that GenAI-led integration and automation can lead to heightened productivity, boost sales revenue, and improve the customer experience.

The Boomi Discovery Report, released a week ago, was based on insights drawn from 650 business and IT leaders across various sectors. The report outlines how enterprises are employing GenAI to integrate systems and streamline processes, indicating that this technology has benefitted business operations. These developments come against the backdrop of an increasingly fragmented digital landscape characterised by application sprawl, departmental disconnect, growing costs, and skill shortages. GenAI offers efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and improved customer and employee experiences for those prepared to adopt it.

According to the report, GenAI's effect on integration is being felt. More than half (55%) of respondents ranked GenAI as very important for integrating data, applications, and processes. The key drivers for global AI adoption included improved productivity (44%), growth in sales and revenue (40%) and enhanced customer experience (39%). Despite these positive aspects, there are recognised complexities and risks associated with GenAI and integration, with the main concerns revolving around data security and privacy (42%), data quality and availability challenges (42%), and model training, accuracy, and reliability (31%). However, 90% of those surveyed agreed that GenAI has the potential to enhance the speed and quality of the development and automation of data, application, and process integrations.

Steve Lucas, CEO at Boomi, commented on the findings, "The capacity to smoothly integrate and automate business processes has long been a top priority for numerous enterprises. As organisations expand and continue to navigate unforeseen business challenges, it will become increasingly difficult to manage all the data, technology, and processes necessary to attain business goals. Generative AI can be a formidable tool for today's enterprises, streamlining crucial integration and automation practices and liberating IT teams to focus on innovation."

Additional key conclusions from the report include:

IT leaders demonstrated higher trust in GenAI compared to business leaders, with 82% either completely or somewhat trusting the GenAI output against 63% of business leaders. Accuracy and consistency were significant factors driving trust in GenAI, with over half of business leaders (57%) citing that accuracy and quality of AI outputs were factors in their reliance on AI. Just under 50% (48%) cited consistency and reliability as an AI trust factor. Enterprise executives see high value in GenAI, citing improved process accuracy and consistency (38%), cost reduction (38%), innovation and creativity (34%), streamlined operations (31%), optimised resources (28%), and creation of competitive advantage (27%) as the chief potential benefits of leveraging GenAI. All those surveyed believed that virtually any type of integration could benefit from GenAI-supported integration platforms.

Also delivering his insights was Matt McLarty, CTO at Boomi, “Integration and automation form the basis on which enterprises construct business agility. However, system integration and automation aren't always straightforward. Hence, a unified approach proves beneficial. With a unified platform powered by AI technology, enterprises can gain the advantages of comprehensive integration and automation while reducing unwanted complexity."}