Highlights:

  • The Gartner study was conducted from October 2022 to April 2023, emphasizing the growing importance of next-generation technology.
  • The survey results reveal that familiar technologies are experiencing vigorous adoption within the enterprise, whereas emerging technologies are predominantly in the investigational phase.

According to a recent survey by Gartner, a staggering 79% of corporate strategists worldwide consider AI, analytics, and automation to be crucial factors for achieving success in the next two years.

The survey was conducted from October 2022 to April 2023, highlighting the increasing emphasis on next-generation technologies. Presently, businesses are exploring sophisticated systems that can handle routine or basic tasks and high-value projects that directly contribute to growth, like strategic decision-making and planning.

This survey by Gartner involved interviews with approximately 200 corporate strategy leaders from companies spanning diverse industries across North America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Wide Possibilities

While only 15% of strategic planning and execution activities are presently automated, the survey respondents expressed considerable optimism regarding the potential opportunities that await in the future. The majority of respondents indicated that, in the near future, nearly 50% of these functions could be partly or entirely automated.

As per the leaders surveyed, growth is inevitable as they face the challenge of managing more initiatives, handling larger volumes of data, and making more decisions within limited time and resources. This can only be achieved with faster and more effective data processing and analysis methods.

David Akers, the Director for Research at Gartner, said, “Leveraging analytics and AI for more efficient, insightful strategy decisions is one of the biggest challenges and opportunities corporate strategists face this year.”

He added, “For years, strategists have told their businesses: If you want to stay competitive and effective, you need to go digital. Now, they appear ready to apply that guidance to their own workflows.

Advanced Technologies Being Explored

The survey results reveal that familiar technologies are experiencing vigorous adoption within the enterprise, whereas emerging technologies are predominantly in the investigational phase.

For example, 72% and 62% of the participants stated that they have integrated descriptive and diagnostic analytics into their workflows. However, a smaller percentage of approximately 26% and 41% reported the same for more advanced prescriptive and predictive analytics. Instead, for these particular technologies, the majority (47% and 45%, respectively) declared that they are either experimenting with them or acquiring knowledge on how to implement them effectively.

Likewise, regarding the currently popular capabilities of machine learning and natural language processing, only 20% and 23% of the participants reported having actively deployed systems. Furthermore, most participants remain in the testing and pilot phase of implementation.

Deploying Advanced AI and Analytics

Strategy leaders should prioritize addressing three key challenges identified in the Gartner survey to transition from experimentation to deployment. These challenges include determining relevant business use cases, fostering organizational comfort with the technologies, and securing the necessary budget to implement these technologies effectively.

The first challenge is important because many advanced technologies are already effectively utilized in various domains. To address this challenge, Gartner suggests mapping the existing functionality to specific needs and prioritizing different use cases that new technologies can provide. This can be achieved by asking pertinent questions regarding the technology’s purpose, impact, and suitability.