Gartner Says 30% of Enterprises Will Automate More Than Half of Their Network Activities by 2026

Automation Is Key to I&O Delivering Greater Value, Efficiency and Agility

By 2026, 30% of enterprises will automate more than half of their network activities, an increase from under 10% in mid-2023, according to Gartner, Inc.

“Infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders are increasingly looking to AI-based analytics and augmented decision making, including intelligent automation (IA), to improve operational resilience and responsiveness, address complexity and process increasingly large amounts of data through automation,” said Chris Saunderson, Sr Director Analyst at Gartner.

IA for I&O is the application of AI techniques, including generative AI (GenAI) to automate decision making and execute actions for I&O initiatives. It is increasingly being used to empower business agility and is driving more advanced I&O service enablement.

IA is an emerging technology that is in the Trough of Disillusionment on the Gartner Hype Cycle for I&O Automation, 2024 and is expected to reach mainstream adoption in the next five to ten years (See Figure 1).

Figure 1: Hype Cycle for I&O Automation, 2024

Source: Gartner (September 2024)

The addition of GenAI capabilities has increased demand in the market for IA platforms. Through the use of analysis and automation, IA enables capabilities that deliver improved operations, efficiency and insight generation.

“Technology providers that offer best-of-breed tools for AI for IT operations (AIOps), application performance monitoring and GenAI will influence IA,” said Saunderson. “AIOps and stand-alone automation technology providers may expand their offerings to IA, through acquisitions or organic development.”

Hyperautomation Continues to be A Staple Discipline for 90% of Large Enterprises

“Along with IA, hyperautomation has seen a resurgence in interest and demand since the fervor of GenAI that launched in November 2022,” said Frances Karamouzis, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. “Hyperautomation involves the use of multiple technologies and tools including AI, machine learning, event-driven software architecture and robotic process automation, among others.”

Less than 20% of organizations have mastered the measurement of hyperautomation initiatives. “Hyperautomation initiatives are often an integral part of a larger technology roadmap that includes systems of record on one end of the spectrum, and AI and GenAI on the other,” said Karamouzis.

The demand for hyperautomation is driven by the mandate for operational excellence across processes and functions to support resilience. This demand only continues to increase the growth of offerings provided by hyperautomation.