How AI can be a game-changer for KTLO and business continuity management

The year was 1913, and the famed US entrepreneur Henry Ford had hit upon an idea that would change the course of the manufacturing world. 

The conveyor belt, or the moving assembly line, was first implemented at the company’s Highland Park assembly plant in Michigan. Ford famously said, “The moving assembly line allowed for the work to be taken to workers rather than the worker moving to and around the vehicle.”

With the introduction of the moving assembly line, the popular Model T could be built in just 90 minutes. 

While reducing the time spent making a car is a given, this action also had ripple effects. Workers started quitting to join rival firms as they found the work at Ford Motor Company ‘boring’. 

However, Ford introduced the profit-sharing $5 workday, doubling workers' daily wage. With this move, he decreased hours and increased wages, thereby allowing him to create a third shift, allowing Ford Motor to become a 24-hour operation. With this, Model T’s cost went from $825 in 1908 to only $260 in 1925.

This heralded a revolution of sorts, and other businesses and industries soon followed suit, and the world was never the same again. 

But what does Henry Ford and his assembly line have to do with AI in IT and KTLO?

In a weird way, everything. 

Can IT teams use AI to do the equivalent of “work to be taken to workers rather than the worker moving to and around the vehicle”?

Introducing AI in ITSM could very well be the ‘assembly line’ moment in ITSM. 

IT teams can now implement AI that can do the heavy lifting when it comes to KTLO tasks like data analytics, ticket resolution, employee experience etc, so that the human workforce can do tasks that require their expertise. 

What is possible with AI in IT?

The three most stated benefits of AI adoption, according to our recent State of AI in IT 2024 report, are ‘data analytics and synthesizing insights’ (45%), ‘chatbots for self-service adoption’ (38%), and ‘improving the employee experience’ and ‘workflow automation and optimization’ (tied at 34%).

The list below delves into all the stated benefits:

• Data analytics and synthesizing insights - 45%
• Chatbot for self-service adoption - 38% 
• Improving employee experience - 34% 
• Workflow automation and optimization - 34% 
• Optimizing cost - 30% 
• Predictive maintenance and security - 28% 
• IT infrastructure management - 28% 
• Identifying related tickets for problem management - 26% 
• Improving knowledge management capabilities - 24% 
• Consolidating the tech stack - 16% 
• Triaging and ranking support tickets - 14% 
• People development and growth - 12% 
• I don’t think it will help much 7% 

If one were to look into these benefits keenly, one aspect stands out: most of these benefits are what one would bracket under KTLO or business continuity management. 

If AI can be used effectively, IT can transform the firm's output by enabling employees to do more fulfilling and intellectually stimulating work. 

Just to delve further into each of these benefits, here’s how AI can potentially create an impact in the top benefit areas:

1. Data analytics and synthesizing insights

Real-time insights: AI systems are particularly useful in providing real-time analytics, that can help your business make quicker on-the-spot data-driven decisions.

Predictive analytics: AI can forecast future trends based on historical data. This can be particularly useful in areas like market analysis, customer behavior predictions, and risk assessment, etc.

Advanced pattern recognition: AI algorithms can analyze datasets quickly and with better accuracy than humans. This can help identify patterns/ trends based on which humans can decide the course of action.

2. Chatbots for self-service adoption

According to our survey, chatbots were the third preferred channel (20%) to contact the IT support team, with 80% of these being AI-driven chatbots. 

Here’s how AI is already playing a pivotal role: 

24/7 availability: Unlike human agents who can get tired and exhausted, AI-powered chatbots can be made available round the clock, providing immediate assistance to users at any time, which significantly enhances customer service and satisfaction.  When asked about what IT support changes they desired, 30% of survey respondents said they’d like AI to offer 24/7 support.

More importantly, AI chatbots can actually ‘talk’ in the common lingo, unlike lifeless portals, and are present where the users are. Say your users are active on Slack or Microsoft Teams, the AI chatbot can be made available exactly there. Users need not go anywhere to get the support they need. 

Handling volume: Chatbots can handle thousands of inquiries simultaneously, reducing wait times and freeing up human agents to tackle the more complex and hairy issues.

Learning and adaptation: AI chatbots can learn from interactions to improve their responses over time, becoming more effective and efficient at handling queries.

Personalization: AI can quickly gauge the user’s context and offer personalized responses, thereby providing a more satisfying user experience.

3. Improving employee experience

Customized employee experiences: AI can personalize the employee experience, offering tailored L&D resources and optimizing job roles to fit individual strengths and preferences. It can also go a step further and create an ideal career path for young hires and mid-level professionals based on skillsets, aspirations, and goals, thereby enabling better retention.

Improve internal communication: AI can enable better communication and collaboration by offering insights and connecting employees with the right resources or colleagues, helping create a more connected and supportive work environment.

4. Workflow automation and optimization

Automating routine tasks: AI can further push the envelope on automation already underway in various forms, freeing employees to focus on more strategic, interesting, and value-adding activities. This can lead to higher job satisfaction and productivity.

Enhanced decision making: You can make better and more informed decisions with AI-driven insights and data. While creating a workflow, an AI-enabled platform can review existing ones and inform the admin of conflicts or redundancies.

Predictive maintenance: AI can predict and prevent system outages or issues before they impact the business, through vigilant pattern recognition. This can ensure smoother operations and reduce stress on IT staff.

In conclusion

While these are just a few examples of what’s possible, the truth is that AI is going to play a pivotal role in IT transformation. Things will never be the same again, much like how the conveyor belt changed the face of automobile manufacturing. 

With the right strategy and tools, IT teams can change the KTLO status quo and bring in unseen levels of productivity and business continuity.

Download the full State of AI in IT - 2024 report to access more of these trends and equip your team for success in the AI-driven future.