U.S. Leads Rapid Growth of Intelligent Automation Amid Pandemic-Related Drive to Optimize Costs, Productivity

ISG Provider Lens™ report finds U.S. companies turning to service providers for rollout of virtual agents, natural-language processing and AI-powered IT operations management

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$III #ISGProviderLens–Eight out of 10 U.S. enterprises have tried or adopted intelligent business automation solutions to future-proof their businesses, and this trend is expected to accelerate in the near term, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2020 ISG Provider Lens™ Intelligent Automation – Solutions and Services report for the U.S. finds 80 percent of U.S. companies have experimented with or deployed intelligent automation as part of a digital transformation. The U.S. market is the largest adopter of such technologies, and U.S. companies are more focused than others on digitization at scale, the report says.

The report focuses on providers that offer proprietary platforms and related integration and delivery support services. Many companies prefer this type of solution, while others prefer to work with consultants and providers, such as ISG Automation, that are platform-agnostic and offer integration and support services across a range of platforms.

Intelligent business automation combines technologies such as natural-language processing (NLP), machine-learning-enabled optical character recognition (OCR), conversational artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) to improve productivity, data accuracy and customer experience while cutting costs. Automation is increasing worldwide as enterprises respond to the long-term economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report says.

“Intelligent automation is gaining momentum as the pandemic forces companies to become more agile, efficient and resilient,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens research. “U.S. enterprises are leading this trend, thanks to the maturity of the U.S. market.”

In particular, North America leads the world in using intelligent virtual agents and conversational AI, because most consumers in the region are comfortable interacting with bots instead of humans to resolve common issues, the report says. Banks and other financial institutions have led in adoption of conversational AI, and the range of generic inquiries the technology can answer is expanding. As the systems learn to better discern user intent and consumers grow more confident in dealing with them, the market is expected to boom in the near future.

As U.S. enterprises progress to their second or third outsourcing engagements, they are dealing with intelligent automation service providers in more holistic ways, ISG says. This may include working collaboratively with them and adopting a partnership model. To be effective in the long term, digital transformation outsourcing engagements should include advisory, change management and maintenance support services to keep employees and suppliers on board through the transition, the report says.

Another major trend in the U.S. and worldwide is the development of AI for IT operations (AIOps), which applies algorithms to data from a wide range of sources to uncover issues and predict their effects, the report says. As global systems integrators roll out these platforms, companies in the U.S. and elsewhere will have a new tool to make their supply chains more agile and resilient.

The 2020 ISG Provider Lens™ Intelligent Automation – Solutions and Services report for the U.S. evaluates the capabilities of 49 providers across four quadrants: Intelligent Business Automation, Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps) for Large Accounts, Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps) for Midmarket and Conversational AI. The report evaluates only those providers offering their own proprietary automation platforms; it does not cover independent providers, like ISG Automation, that offer solutions across a range of platforms.

The report names Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, HCL, IBM, Infosys, TCS and Wipro as leaders in two quadrants, and [24]7.ai, Artificial Solutions, EXL, Genpact, Hexaware, IPsoft, Kore, LTI, Mindtree, Mphasis and Tech Mahindra as leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, Cognigy, DXC Technology, Hexaware, Mindtree, OneReach and UST are named as Rising Stars–companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition—in one quadrant each.

Customized versions of the report are available from [24]7.ai, Artificial Solutions, Hexaware and LTI.

The 2020 ISG Provider Lens™ Intelligent Automation – Solutions and Services report for the U.S. is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG’s global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG’s enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, the U.K., France, the Nordics, Brazil and Australia/New Zealand, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

Contacts

Press Contacts:

Will Thoretz, ISG

+1 203 517 3119

will.thoretz@isg-one.com

Cait Buckley, Matter Communications for ISG

+1 617 874 5214

isg@matternow.com