S/w Robots, AI worth watching for in next five years

MUMBAI, INDIA: As per a process automation study by Cognizant, that was based on a poll of 537 senior business and technology decision-makers across multiple industry sectors, new software “robots”, leveraging attributes such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and effective use of big data, will unlock significant value within the next three to five years. This study base included financial services, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceutical, retail, hospitality, and technology.

The study’s findings show that software “robots” are making businesses smarter and companies are unlocking the value of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and Big Data to drive savings, agility and business insight with knowledge processes.

The study points that the use of process automation is high, but still in early stages compared to the technology available. There is a long tail of process systems yet to be automated, as machine learning and artificial intelligence enable a new generation of knowledge “robots” that can mimic human actions while interacting with multiple applications. On average, 25-40 per cent of the workflows are getting automated today. This automation is occurring with workflows that follow rote procedures and manual inputs, paving the way for next generation IPA technologies to drive greater cost savings and efficiency while driving richer business insights when applied to more complex workflows.

Nearly one-fifth respondents reported achieving cost savings of greater than 15 per cent from IPA over the past year. Health insurers emerged as industry trailblazers, pushing frontiers of cost reduction through automation of middle-office functions, such as claims coding and processing, with over one quarter seeing at least 15 per cent cost savings year-over-year.

In banking, nearly half of those surveyed reported at least 10 per cent revenue growth driven by process-aligned analytics over the past year, and nearly three out of every four banks (73 per cent) expect to see similar growth in the next three to five years. The study was conducted by Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work under the aegis of Cognizant’s Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) practice.

Gajen Kandiah, Executive Vice President, Business Process Services, Cognizant, said: “The future of process work includes connecting skilled people to increasingly powerful technologies such as autonomic computing—including artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning—that can increase savings, enhance insights, and accelerate business. This shift is playing out in just about every industry.”