- OTRS Survey:Employees inundate IT departments with inquiries about AI application
- Every second IT team in the SEA region co-decides which AI tools and services are introduced and used – and often struggle to maintain an overview
Singapore, 13. June 2024 – The more AI applications enter the market, the more responsibility IT teams shoulder. In Singapore and Malaysia, 47 percent of them help decide which AI tools and services are introduced and used in their companies.
However, for many, this is no easy task. According to the second part of the “OTRS Spotlight: IT Service Management 2024“ study, one in ten (9 percent) lacks an overview of the many AI tools and services, their areas of application, potential benefits, costs and risks. 40 percent have a rough overview, but do not always find it easy to evaluate which AI tools and services could be useful for their company.
In addition, many IT teams are inundated with inquiries from employees about AI applications and their usage. A third (30 percent) receive questions about the functions and possible use cases of certain AI tools or services practically every day; a further 35 percent receive these several times a week.
For the study, the software company OTRS Group surveyed 600 IT managers and employees internationally, 100 of them across Singapore and Malaysia.
IT teams are the point of contact for all things AI
IT teams are asked thousands of varied questions by company employees. Most frequently, however, they are asked:
- for assistance with the use of AI tools or services (30 percent practically every day, 35 percent several times a week).
- to address concerns about the data security of certain AI tools or services (31 percent practically every day, 32 percent several times a week).
- to find a suitable AI tool or service for a specific use case/purpose (28 percent practically every day, 32 percent several times a week).
- whether certain AI tools or services may be used (22 percent practically every day, 37 percent several times a week).
“First of all, it is positive that employees are turning to their company’s IT department with their concerns about AI applications. Its expertise is essential for deciding which AI tools and services should be introduced and used in the company. After all, a well-positioned IT service management team not only keeps an eye on the technology itself, but also on whether it contributes to achieving the company’s overarching goals,” Andreas Bender, Vice President Consulting of OTRS Group, emphasizes. “Managers should not underestimate the additional workload caused by the flood of AI-related inquiries for the already understaffed IT teams. In order to support their coworkers, they must have sufficient capacity to deal comprehensively with the many new tools and evaluate their potential uses, opportunities and risks.”
AI guidelines help stem the tide of work
One way to relieve the burden on IT teams could be by establishing guidelines for the use of AI tools and services within the company that employees can follow. The SEA respondents shared that 58 percent already have guidelines for the use of AI tools and services in their organizations. For those without existing guidelines, they see it as an urgent need: 32 percent are currently working on AI guidelines. Only 10 percent neither already have guidelines nor are currently working on them.
What many IT teams lack, just as much as AI guidelines, is an overview of which AI tools and services employees are already using in their company. 49 percent are only partially aware of what these are, while 12 percent have no overview at all.
When it comes to the possible applications of AI in their own area of work – in IT service management (ITSM) – the majority of IT teams feel well informed to some extent, but also find it difficult to obtain a complete overview here (63 percent). In contrast, 32 percent are convinced that they know all about the possible applications of AI in ITSM.
Above all, IT teams want to improve performance and customer satisfaction with AI
Regardless of the additional work that AI applications create for IT teams, they are convinced that it can be of great benefit to both their company and their own work. For most, the main reason for introducing AI applications in their company is to achieve better performance (69 percent). For nearly half (49 percent each), this means increasing customer satisfaction or reducing the workload of employees to focus on other tasks. Time and cost savings are the third and fourth most important reasons with 48 and 45 percent respectively.
In terms of ITSM, IT teams in Singapore and Malaysia expect the greatest benefit from AI applications to be in data analysis, processing and optimization. In the first case, they expect to be able to continuously improve processes (59 percent). Secondly, they expect to automate routine tasks (48 percent). This is followed in the ranking of the most promising AI use cases in ITSM by being able to predict interruptions in ITSM processes (45 percent); using AI chatbots (43 percent); and predictive maintenance and capacity planning (41 percent).
Andreas Bender adds: “While AI applications such as chatbots are already commonplace in B2C customer service, the picture is still somewhat different in ITSM at the moment. The processes and requests that the teams have to deal with here are usually much more complex – and so is the development of AI applications that are intended to relieve the burden in these areas. Nevertheless, IT teams can already see the potential that lies dormant in AI for ITSM. Now it is up to the manufacturers to bring this potential to life.”
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About the ‘OTRS Spotlight: IT Service Management 2024’ Study
The data used is based on an online survey conducted by Pollfish Inc. on behalf of OTRS AG, in which 600 employees in IT service management or IT support in Germany, the United States of America, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, Malaysia and Hungary participated between April 4, 2024, and May 2, 2024.
Additional results of the second part of the study are available for download as an infographic here.
The results of the first part of the study are available here: AI Hype in ITSM: High Potential, High Workload for IT Teams, New Data Reveals