How are IT teams preparing for the rise of intelligent machines?

Research commissioned by software vendor Ipswitch has highlighted rapid adoption of intelligent machines used for automating and optimising business and IT processes.

The survey examined the attitudes and readiness of 521 IT decision-makers across six developed countries, including Australia, with regard to intelligent machines and business systems. It revealed that 92% of IT professionals surveyed recognise the technology is now central to the success of their business, but 68% acknowledge it raises new concerns about network security, access and controls.

According to the research, investment in intelligent business systems and automation is well underway across the globe. Top current application deployment areas cited by respondents include digital customer engagement systems (55%), process automation and workflow systems (52%), and automated risk monitoring and management solutions (50%).

The research also reveals that:

• 45% have adopted intelligent IoT (Internet of Things) platforms and services, with 34% saying these technologies are on the agenda;
• 42% are utilising autonomous apps and bots, and 32% say they plan to do so;
• 45% are using cognitive computing and inference engines and a further 30% are looking to deploy in the near future;
• 40% are using complex event processing (CEP) technology and a further 34% plan to soon.

Despite the speed of adoption, the study reveals that IT decision-makers are finding it difficult to assess the full extent of the risks, challenges and threats posed by intelligent business systems. Security concerns (33%), funding constraints (30%) and lack of knowledge (24%) were named as primary obstacles to adoption and use. 20% of respondents said increased ‘noise’ on the network is making it harder to detect malicious activity, with automated/bot access to APIs causing system/application issues and creating unexpected security exposures.

More than two-thirds (68%) of respondents confessed their current network security and access management capabilities were already inadequate or needed strengthening to cope with new intelligent machines, while 72% revealed network traffic monitoring and analysis capabilities also required reinforcing. 72% of respondents also said the same applied to their file and document level security and access management systems and protocols. Looking to the future, the survey revealed IT professionals were also concerned about how to counter the potential impact of intelligent systems activity — including external third-party bots, agents and internet-connected ‘things’ — on enterprise networks and infrastructures.

The research also highlighted that the impact of intelligent systems is being felt right now in the enterprise environment, with IT professionals braced for further challenges:

• A quarter expected fully autonomous self-learning robots to be functioning independently within a business setting in less than three years, with a further third saying this will happen within 10 years.
• One-fifth of respondents confirm a lack of human oversight and de-skilling, to the point where no-one in the IT team understands the logic or processes underpinning systems.
• 76% believe these solutions will remove drudgery from IT operations, while just 32% are concerned intelligent systems may eventually put them out of a job.