In this article, ETR discusses the impact of AI proliferation, particularly in the context of robotic process automation (RPA), and analyzes the performance and trends of various vendors in the RPA and ML/AI subsectors utilizing our most recent data.
Key Takeaways:
- The proliferation of AI is expected to have a significant impact, both in the short term and long term, with potential disadvantages or benefits to ancillary software subsectors such as RPA (Robotic Process Automation).
- According to ETR's Gen AI survey, 44% of respondents suggest that budget for AI initiatives is being reallocated from other areas, rather than being newly added.
- ETR's data shows that ML/AI is the subsector with the highest absolute Net Score (57.9%) and is experiencing the largest year-over-year gains in Net Score (16.3 ppts) among ETR's tracked subsectors. On the other hand, RPA is seeing the largest Net Score declines (-7.2 ppts y/y), despite having an absolute Net Score above TSIS averages (29.9%).
- The decline in RPA within ETR's data is primarily driven by three vendors. Those same three vendors are seeing worsening trends in ETR's shared accounts analysis.
- If you would like a complimentary copy of this report, please reach out to us at service@etr.ai or start your own free trial.
Questions remain around the full impact of the proliferation of AI, both short-term and long-term, and both in scope and magnitude, aside from the fact that it will surely be felt. Not the least of which is around the disadvantage (or benefit) to ancillary software subsectors. RPA seems to be one of the focus areas within this debate, along with the possibility of AI configurations taking away the need for some of the pure RPA use cases.
From a budget perspective, ETR’s recent Gen AI survey indicates that 44% of survey respondents suggest that the budget to fuel AI ambitions was being reallocated from elsewhere (vs newly added budget). Along with that, preliminary data from our APR24 TSIS data on the subsector level shows a stark divergence in Net Score momentum between ML/AI and RPA:
• ML/AI is the subsector with the highest absolute Net Score this period at 57.9% and is also seeing the largest y/y gains in Net Score (16.3 ppts) among ETR’s tracked subsectors.
• RPA, on the other hand, is seeing the largest Net Score declines (-7.2 ppts y/y) despite an absolute Net Score that remains above TSIS averages (21.6%) at 29.9% this period.
• For reference, the TSIS survey-level Net Score has seen a 0.8 ppts gain year over year in APR24.
The question then becomes, which vendors drive the RPA declines within ETR’s data? When utilizing ETR’s Vendor Trends dashboard, isolated to the RPA sector, the data shows that year-over-year net scores decline squarely and are focused on three vendors. Meanwhile two other vendors remain stable, and one vendor stands out with significant growth. Further, within ETR’s shared accounts dashboard, we can isolate RPA vendor spend intent momentum only within the Adopt and Increase respondent base across the ML/AI subsector. This analysis suggests similar but worsening trends for the same RPA vendors. ETR subscribers can see the full report on our platform, but if you are not a subscriber, please feel free to contact us at service@etr.ai for a complimentary copy of the report. Or, even better, access the entire ETR research platform with your own free trial today.
Enterprise Technology Research (ETR) is a technology market research firm that leverages proprietary data from our targeted IT decision maker (ITDM) community to provide actionable insights about spending intentions and industry trends. Since 2010, we have worked diligently at achieving one goal: eliminating the need for opinions in enterprise research, which are often formed from incomplete, biased, and statistically insignificant data. Our community of ITDMs represents $1+ trillion in annual IT spend and is positioned to provide best-in-class customer/evaluator perspectives. ETR’s proprietary data and insights from this community empower institutional investors, technology companies, and ITDMs to navigate the complex enterprise technology landscape amid an expanding marketplace. Discover what ETR can do for you at www.etr.ai