IT leaders concerned over AI implementation & process optimisation

Global process mining leader, Celonis, has unveiled research highlighting the challenges IT leaders face in adopting AI, enhancing business resilience and driving financial success. The study discovered that, while 89% of businesses are actively adopting AI, there are serious concerns among 72% of IT managers that process deficiencies could sabotage successful AI implementation within the next two years. Alex Rinke, co-Founder and co-CEO of Celonis, asserts that insufficiently revised business processes could place these organisations at a considerable disadvantage.

The study uncovered that poor processes have further damaging effects on organisations, impacting employee morale, productivity and obstructing innovation. Businesses estimate that sub-optimal processes result in time wastage and productivity reduction (63%), negatively affect employee morale (39%) and impede innovation (19%).

The study, dubbed 'The 2023 Process Optimization Report', is based on a survey that incorporated the insights of over 1,200 global business leaders. The research underscored the pivotal role of process optimisation, with 99% of senior business leaders suggesting that it is vital or essential for achieving their business objectives. A significant 81% are either already investing in or planning to invest in process optimisation technologies within the next three years.

"The potential of emerging technologies, including AI, is at the forefront of every enterprise right now, and it's apparent that business leaders appreciate the need to effectively optimise their processes to harness that potential. However, they're encountering a multitude of barriers such as departmental languages, data silos, uncooperative systems, and hard-to-see processes," Rinke said.

"With recent advancements in our process intelligence platform, we can help our customers bypass these barriers and foster a common language for understanding their processes end-to-end and improve them rapidly," he said.

The research highlights that 82% of business leaders believe in the necessity of process excellence as a vital business discipline in the next five years. The priority of process optimisation may be attributed to multiple factors, including the desire to utilise emerging technologies like AI (70%), cost reduction (69%), customer expectation changes (64%), competitive pressure (64%) and compliance with legislation or regulation (64%).

Business leaders admit that having sub-optimal processes is detrimental to their organisational operations, the report found. The consequences include reduction in productivity and time loss (63%), missed value capture opportunities (46%), efficiency-related monetary losses (43%), negative influence on employee morale (39%), and innovation prevention (19%).

The survey indicates that business leaders comprehend the importance of optimising their processes and the considerable costs of not doing so, with more than 80% either already investing in process improvement technology or planning to do so in the coming three years. With 38% of respondents already using process mining and another 32% evaluating it, process mining's importance is brought to the forefront as a crucial enterprise technology.