ISG Provider Lens™ Intelligent Automation – Services and Solutions - Next-Gen Automation - U.S. 2023

Intelligent automation solutions play a crucial role in driving business growth strategically

The intelligent automation services market in the U.S. and around the globe is undergoing dynamic changes driven by the integration of advanced technologies, a focus on hyperautomation, the shift towards cloudcentric
solutions, increased emphasis on security and compliance and a growing trend towards customer-centric offerings. IT service providers play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering these trends as they cater to
businesses’ evolving needs in an increasingly automated landscape.

The intelligent automation consulting services market is undergoing a shift towards strategic alignment,  holistic optimization and a strong focus on change management and skill development. Security and compliance considerations are integral to today’s automation consulting offerings and industry-specific capabilities, reflecting the heightened importance of data integrity in automated processes. Furthermore,
the emphasis on scalability and flexibility underscores the dynamic nature of business operations and the need for adaptive automation solutions. Global IT service providers are pivotal in shaping these trends, 
offering consultative services beyond implementation to drive sustainable business transformation through intelligent automation.

Emphasis on scalability and flexibility is emerging as a value pivot for intelligent automation consulting services offerings from provider partners. Providers are acknowledging the evolving nature of business requirements and the need for scalable, flexible, cloudbased automation solutions. Global IT service providers are also developing agile and scalable intelligent automation frameworks, allowing clients to adapt their automation strategies in response to changing business conditions. The security and compliance integration aspects of intelligent automation consulting are also gaining importance, as manifest in major providers’ strategies and roadmaps of intelligent automation service offerings. The increasing complexity of automation ecosystems, security and compliance are the key levers that are pushing providers are using to integrate
security, governance, risk and compliance aspects at the forefront of intelligent automation consulting services. IT service providers are addressing security concerns by integrating robust measures into  automation solutions, helping to ensure their clients’ data integrity and regulatory compliance.

The emphasis on change management and skill development, the other key aspect of IA consulting, stems from practitioners recognizing automation’s impact on workforce dynamics. Consulting service providers are
prioritizing change management strategies to ensure smooth transitions. Service providers are actively  involved in skill development initiatives, equipping client teams with the necessary capabilities to work alongside automated systems effectively. Holistic process assessment and optimization are also being integrated into this people aspect of IA consulting services. Those services place a strong emphasis on  conducting comprehensive assessments of existing business and workforce optimization processes and  setting benchmarking-based targets on process efficiencies, effectiveness and experience before and after implementing intelligent automation, with governance, risk and compliance (GRC), auditability and controls.

Next-gen intelligent automation services incorporate GenAI capabilities to foster creativity in problem-solving and innovation. Global IT service providers are investing in research and development to implement GenAI
algorithms that can autonomously create content, designs, and solutions, enhancing the overall automation experience. There is exponential Growth in natural language generation (NLG). NLG is emerging as a key
component of next-gen intelligent automation services, enabling systems to generate human-like language for monitoring and alerts, reports, summaries, and communications at all execution levels, development roadmap and strategies. IT service providers are leveraging NLG to enhance the communication between automated systems and human users to improve the interpretability and userfriendliness of automation processes.

Next-gen intelligent automation services also incorporate GenAI capabilities to foster creativity in problem-solving and innovation. IT service providers are investing in research and development to implement and integrate GenAI algorithms within their automation platform offerings that can autonomously create content, designs and solutions, enhancing the overall automation experience.

There is also an increasing focus on ethical AI and responsible automation, thanks to all the recent policy meetings and decisions taken at top government levels, for example, by the U.S. president and in the recent
summit of top government and technology leaders in the U.K. Next-gen services are now being pushed to emphasize the critical need for integrating ethical considerations in AI and automation to address bias, fairness and accountability issues. Global IT service providers proactively incorporate ethical AI principles into their offerings, to promote responsible and transparent use of intelligent automation technologies.

Dynamic process orchestration and autonomous systems are also emerging as a key trend towards dynamic process optimization. They involve creating flexible and adaptive workflows that respond in real-time to
changing business conditions. Global IT service providers are exploring the development of autonomous systems, where intelligent agents can make decisions and execute tasks independently, and thereby  contribute to increased operational efficiency. Service providers are also developing solutions that provide clear insights into AI decision-making processes, addressing accountability trust, and compliance concerns in automated systems.

The next-gen technologies leverage trends in the intelligent automation services market as part of a dynamic shift towards advanced technologies like RPA, AI, and ML. Integrating these technologies and focusing on 
hyperautomation and cloud-based solutions is shaping the landscape for IT service providers in sync with their clients’ digital business process automation needs, demands and priorities. The emphasis on cognitive automation and NLP reflects a growing interest in enhancing the sophistication of automation processes for
a wide range of business applications. Cloud adoption is the apparent rational follow-through key trend in the intelligent automation services market, providing flexibility, scalability and accessibility for adopting  automation solutions and advanced AI-ML technologies.

Core RPA adoption is driven by the need to reduce costs and errors. That is leading to increased demand for RPA solutions from IT service providers and proactive and predictive improvement use cases powered by advanced AI, ML and integrated generative AI (GenAI) capabilities. For example, extended use of  reinforcement learning, a focus on explainable AI (XAI) and a commitment to augmenting human intelligence impact human productivity, creativity and lateral thinking, thereby improving business outcomes. These 
outcomes are transforming the science of the possible into the art of realized value through collaboration with rapidly advancing AI. Global IT service providers are at the forefront of these trends, driving innovation and shaping the future of Intelligent Automation services.

Intelligent automation service providers are exploring ways to augment human intelligence through seamless collaboration with AI systems. Providers are developing solutions that facilitate this synergistic relationship 
between humans and AI, allowing for more effective problem-solving, decision-making, and creativity.

The focus on explainable AI is a crucial driver for intelligent automation services that prioritize transparency and interpretability that are enabled by integrating XAI algorithms into the AI use cases integrated with automation. With the increasing complexity of AI models, there is a growing emphasis on making AI systems
more transparent, interpretable and hence understandable. That’s why IT service providers are integrating explainable AI techniques into intelligent automation services to provide clients with insights into the decision-making processes of automated systems, enhancing trust and accountability.

Reinforcement learning is also gaining prominence in next-gen intelligent automation. It is being used for dynamic decision-making and continuous learning, with a strong focus on explainability and transparency.

The evolution towards dynamic process orchestration and the development of autonomous systems are reshaping how businesses approach automation. The emphasis on ethical AI underscores the commitment of global IT service providers to responsible and inclusive automation practices. These trends collectively  highlight next-gen intelligent automation services’ transformative potential to redefine automated systems’
capabilities and ethical considerations.

Access to the full report requires a subscription to ISG Research. Please contact us for subscription inquiries.