Sentiment split on impact of AI on network operations, adoption levels remain low
More than two-thirds (72%) of IT professionals are currently not using any form of artificial intelligence (AI) in their network operations and almost half (44%) have a negative view of AI as a supporting technology, according to the results of a TechBeat conducted in association with independent network integrator Agile Networks and supported by Juniper Networks.
Of those not currently using AI technology, just one fifth (19%) reported having a firm roadmap in place for its future deployment.
When asked about the key challenges in deploying AI-based technology, privacy, data security, accountability and transparency ranked high in the list. Just 8% cited job displacement as an issue.
Less than half of those questioned (35%) said they were confident in their ability to accurately evaluate AI technology.
Kenn Larkin, CEO with Agile Networks, said: “Artificial Intelligence has the potential to positively transform our IT and network operations but there remains a significant cohort of IT professionals with legitimate questions around privacy, data security, transparency and accountability.
“We have a lot of work to do as an industry to engender trust and confidence in AI use but as the technology matures, and legal and regulatory frameworks are put in place at global and local levels, adoption levels will undoubtedly rise.”
Use cases for AI
Despite the low level of overall adoption, those using AI (2%) cited clear use cases such as IT asset management, predictive maintenance, IT capacity planning and infrastructure monitoring.
“We were very surprised at the low level of AI use in the area of network troubleshooting and diagnostics,” said Sean Nolan, business development manager with Agile Networks.
“Networking manufacturers such as Juniper Networks have been integrating AI-powered tools into their hardware and software solutions for some time now. For example, Marvis, the industry’s first AI-powered, conversational-based assistant has transformed the way IT teams interact and engage with enterprise networks. We’ve seen the volume of network support tickets slashed by up to 98 per cent through its use.”
Barriers to AI adoption
Lack of in-house expertise was cited as a barrier to AI adoption by 38% of respondents. This compares to 49% in 2022, a decrease that will be encouraging for organisations seeking AI expertise. However the number of those citing lack of management buy-in as an obstacle to AI adoption has increased from 12% in 2022 to one quarter in 2023. This is perhaps indicative of a growing market awareness of the technology and media debate surrounding some of the more negative aspects of the technology.
Evaluating new technologies and vendors
The decision-making process for the purchase of AI technology is likely to be fraught with difficulty as just 44% of IT professionals said they were confident in their ability to evaluate hardware of software solutions that encompass AI.
“Many IT professionals are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach with it comes to integrating AI into their IT operations,” said Larkin.
“Clearly there are outstanding issues to be resolved around integrity, accuracy and data privacy. We will continue to work with vendors such as Juniper Networks, who are firmly committed to transparency and accountability around AI usage and delivering the significant operational benefits that derive from its deployment across the enterprise network.”
The survey was conducted online during the month of July 2023 with the support of Juniper Networks. It was completed by 101 IT professionals across the industry spectrum including the public sector, finance, technology and manufacturing.
A copy of the Intelligent Evolution report is available for immediate download at https://www.agilenetworks.ie/intelligent-evolution-aiops-report/
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