Norderstedt, April 25, 2018 – Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are on the priorities lists of most companies in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). Yet so far, companies have been hesitant to use the technology, and many of the opportunities offered by AI and ML are still untapped. This was the conclusion of the study “Machine Learning / Deep Learning 2018” by IDG Research. The study involved 345 participating companies. Lufthansa Industry Solutions is a partner to the study and took part in a panel of experts.
Central questions and key findings
What topics will primarily occupy companies in IT in the coming year? Who is already using AI technologies? What are the goals of ML? These are some of the questions the study looked into. An analysis brought to light the following key findings:
- AI and ML are high priorities
In the coming year, around a quarter of the companies (25 percent) are keen to take up AI and ML issues – even more than Big Data and Analytics, or the digitalization of business processes. Overall, AI occupies fourth place in the lists of priorities, behind cloud computing (30 percent), IT security (28, percent) and IT service management (28 percent). While only 31 percent of the companies with a small IT department are already making use of the first AI applications, this figure rises to 56 percent for companies with more than 100 IT experts.
- Technology in place, but expertise is lacking
Forty-five percent of the companies possess the right IT infrastructure for AI and ML, and nearly three-fourths (74 percent) have access to the required data. However, only around a quarter (24 percent) have the necessary experts, such as data scientists, and the related knowledge of algorithms and fundamental mathematical principles.
- Top three applications in the area of AI
The three most popular AI applications share first place with more than 30 percent each. These are speech recognition, assistance systems and planning tools. For around half (49 percent) of those surveyed, IT is the winner when it comes to making use of AI and ML solutions. The areas of marketing, distribution and customer experience trail far behind at 31 percent.
- Optimizing internal processes with ML
For 41 percent of all the companies, ML is primarily for improving internal processes. This is how it is seen mainly by the IT department (44 percent) and specialist departments (43 percent). Larger companies, above all, see ML as a technology that can benefit risk management (33 percent).
- Higher risk of hacking with AI and ML
More than one-fourth of all the companies (27 percent) expect AI and ML to increase the danger of hacking attacks and spying. This opinion is held mainly by IT specialists (30 percent) and larger companies (32 percent).
Please download the study Machine Learning / Deep Learning 2018 here (in German).
Please download the key findings of the study Machine Learning / Deep Learning 2018 here (in German).
Lufthansa Industry Solutions is a service provider for IT consulting and system integration. This Lufthansa subsidiary helps its clients with the digital transformation of their companies. Its customer base includes companies both within and outside the Lufthansa Group, as well as more than 200 companies in various lines of business. The company is based in Norderstedt and employs more than 1,400 members of staff at several branch offices in Germany, Switzerland and the USA.