Why will Agentic be any different from RPA when it comes to delivering on the hype?<\/span><\/h3>\nHFS\u2019 big question is, \u201cWhy now?<\/strong>\u201d\u2014what\u2019s really changed to allow GenAI and Agentic technologies to genuinely change how work gets done, how businesses can be more disruptive and competitive, and how the human experience in the workplace can be enriched?<\/span><\/p>\nMicrosoft\u2019s answer is agents and the ability to use them safely, orchestrate them, and govern them. It wants Copilot to \u201cbe the UI for AI\u201d \u2013 creating a \u201cconstellation of agents\u201d. Maybe, just maybe\u2026.for Microsoft products. \u00a0The big challenge now, similar to UiPath in the RPA days, isn\u2019t so much selling licenses tied to a corporate dream, it\u2019s getting leaders across the lines of business units to actually understand their real value and deploy them at any sort of meaningful scale.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/RPA-GenAI-Agentic-1024x578.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nClick to Enlarge<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nDon\u2019t confuse license sales with utilization<\/span><\/h3>\nMicrosoft Copilot hit general availability on November 1, 2023. It was a hell of an inaugural year with a massive proliferation of Copilot licenses as enterprises hoped to leverage \u201csafe\u201d AI in the secure cocoon of their Microsoft product ecosystems. We got Copilots for 365, GitHub, Power Platform, Dynamics, Windows, Stream, Azure, and more announced at Ignite this week. We also got Copilot Studio to help build custom AI agents. We\u2019ve seen a number of out-of-the-box agents announced at Ignite this week as well. From all this, Microsoft generated an estimated $1 billion in Copilot revenue within eight months of its launch, used by 70% of Fortune 500 companies. The speed is notable. The utilization is not.<\/p>\n
Copilot as the fast answer to the CEO question, \u201cWhat\u2019s our GenAI strategy?\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\nWhen ChatGPT3 was launched in November 2022, enterprises quickly stepped up to determine their path forward, commencing what HFS calls \u201cdeath by 1000 pilots\u201d. AI is not new, but determining how to best safely leverage, govern, and manage GenAI was a major challenge for all. And there were no planned budgets for GenAI in 2023, with most projects being funded through loose change from other present budgets.<\/p>\n
2024 brought planned budgets but also extenuating economic conditions that left discretionary IT spending very thin. Enter Copilot. As shown below, a recent HFS study of Global 2000 enterprises indicated that licensing GenAI software like Copilot rated as the number two option to drive AI use, behind data optimization and notably ahead of enhancing cybersecurity measures. But even if enterprises opted to buy versus build, all the hard work related to the other 11 options in the below chart are still required.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Activating-AI-in-enterprises-1024x577.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDespite all the hype, the value and outcomes of Copilot squarely point to productivity<\/span><\/h3>\nAt the event, Microsoft featured various enterprise leaders discussing their use and achievements with Copilot. What they all had in common was that they were, by and large, tech leaders. They were all rightfully proud of the exciting use cases they have developed, and they all, sort of regretfully, indicated that the primary benefit realized thus far is productivity.\u00a0 Examples include:<\/p>\n
\n- Blackrock has embedded Copilot into its Aladdin risk platform but indicated its \u201cprimary benefit today is productivity, but we are looking farther\u201d<\/li>\n
- Textron showcased its Textron Aviation Mechanic Intelligence (TAMI)<\/strong>, which is designed to help combat knowledge loss due to retiring mechanics and amp learnings with new mechanics. It is now in pilot mode with 1500 mechanics and yields about 93% accuracy.<\/li>\n
- Dow is working across \u201coffense and defense\u201d approaches trying to drive topline and bottom-line impact. Its latest and most exciting is tied to the payment revenue process tied to freight optimization, and it will save millions in its first year.<\/li>\n
- Bank of Queensland is using Copilot to drive productivity in software development and customer service. It is piloting in other areas like HR and commercial lending.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
RPA failed because it was focused entirely on productivity.\u00a0 CoPilot must avoid this blackhole if it\u2019s going to succeed<\/span><\/h3>\nIn all cases, these firms and many other examples shared anecdotally by Microsoft leadership point to exciting use cases, with some in production and all currently focused on productivity benefits. The challenge with productivity is that when it is expressed in saved hours<\/strong>, enterprises run the real risk of not reclaiming that time<\/strong>. It\u2019s incredibly hard to systematically guide human workers about what and how they should leverage extra time. We all state it should be used \u201cfor more strategic pursuits,\u201d but unless it\u2019s defined and prescribed, it\u2019s potluck. This was the issue with RPA where its value was tied to dollars gained through productivity savings, and if customers couldn\u2019t demonstrate real headcount reductions or actual monetary benefits from time \u201creinvestments\u201d, all CFOs got to see were the millions spent on licenses and little else of value to them.<\/p>\nThe progress so far is fast and exciting, but it\u2019s low-hanging fruit. The real promise of GenAI and agentic technologies is the potential to change how we do work, not just reduce manual toil. In HFS\u2019 vision of the next few years of technology innovation, we see a distinct blurring of lines between software and services. As we rapidly embrace agentic technologies, with rote manual processes getting automated, businesses will increasingly consume services as software. Copilots, other GenAI tooling, and assorted autonomous agents will combine to help enterprises work smarter. Read here for more on HFS\u201d \u201cServices as Software vision\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Microsoft\u2019s answer is agents and the ability to use them safely, orchestrate them, and govern them. It wants Copilot to \u201cbe the UI for AI\u201d \u2013 creating a \u201cconstellation of agents\u201d. Maybe, just maybe\u2026.for Microsoft products. \u00a0The big challenge now, similar to UiPath in the RPA days, isn\u2019t so much selling licenses tied to a corporate dream, it\u2019s getting leaders across the lines of business units to actually understand their real value and deploy them at any sort of meaningful scale.<\/p>\n
Click to Enlarge<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Microsoft Copilot hit general availability on November 1, 2023. It was a hell of an inaugural year with a massive proliferation of Copilot licenses as enterprises hoped to leverage \u201csafe\u201d AI in the secure cocoon of their Microsoft product ecosystems. We got Copilots for 365, GitHub, Power Platform, Dynamics, Windows, Stream, Azure, and more announced at Ignite this week. We also got Copilot Studio to help build custom AI agents. We\u2019ve seen a number of out-of-the-box agents announced at Ignite this week as well. From all this, Microsoft generated an estimated $1 billion in Copilot revenue within eight months of its launch, used by 70% of Fortune 500 companies. The speed is notable. The utilization is not.<\/p>\n When ChatGPT3 was launched in November 2022, enterprises quickly stepped up to determine their path forward, commencing what HFS calls \u201cdeath by 1000 pilots\u201d. AI is not new, but determining how to best safely leverage, govern, and manage GenAI was a major challenge for all. And there were no planned budgets for GenAI in 2023, with most projects being funded through loose change from other present budgets.<\/p>\n 2024 brought planned budgets but also extenuating economic conditions that left discretionary IT spending very thin. Enter Copilot. As shown below, a recent HFS study of Global 2000 enterprises indicated that licensing GenAI software like Copilot rated as the number two option to drive AI use, behind data optimization and notably ahead of enhancing cybersecurity measures. But even if enterprises opted to buy versus build, all the hard work related to the other 11 options in the below chart are still required.<\/p>\n At the event, Microsoft featured various enterprise leaders discussing their use and achievements with Copilot. What they all had in common was that they were, by and large, tech leaders. They were all rightfully proud of the exciting use cases they have developed, and they all, sort of regretfully, indicated that the primary benefit realized thus far is productivity.\u00a0 Examples include:<\/p>\n In all cases, these firms and many other examples shared anecdotally by Microsoft leadership point to exciting use cases, with some in production and all currently focused on productivity benefits. The challenge with productivity is that when it is expressed in saved hours<\/strong>, enterprises run the real risk of not reclaiming that time<\/strong>. It\u2019s incredibly hard to systematically guide human workers about what and how they should leverage extra time. We all state it should be used \u201cfor more strategic pursuits,\u201d but unless it\u2019s defined and prescribed, it\u2019s potluck. This was the issue with RPA where its value was tied to dollars gained through productivity savings, and if customers couldn\u2019t demonstrate real headcount reductions or actual monetary benefits from time \u201creinvestments\u201d, all CFOs got to see were the millions spent on licenses and little else of value to them.<\/p>\n The progress so far is fast and exciting, but it\u2019s low-hanging fruit. The real promise of GenAI and agentic technologies is the potential to change how we do work, not just reduce manual toil. In HFS\u2019 vision of the next few years of technology innovation, we see a distinct blurring of lines between software and services. As we rapidly embrace agentic technologies, with rote manual processes getting automated, businesses will increasingly consume services as software. Copilots, other GenAI tooling, and assorted autonomous agents will combine to help enterprises work smarter. Read here for more on HFS\u201d \u201cServices as Software vision\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/RPA-GenAI-Agentic.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDon\u2019t confuse license sales with utilization<\/span><\/h3>\n
Copilot as the fast answer to the CEO question, \u201cWhat\u2019s our GenAI strategy?\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nDespite all the hype, the value and outcomes of Copilot squarely point to productivity<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
RPA failed because it was focused entirely on productivity.\u00a0 CoPilot must avoid this blackhole if it\u2019s going to succeed<\/span><\/h3>\n