The results are in: Companies report AI bringing huge positive impacts to their business

Companies that adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies to improve their finances and operations have accelerated annual profit growth by 80%, according to new research by Enterprise Strategy Group and Oracle. 700 managers were interviewed in 13 countries to carry out this survey entitled Emerging technologies: a competitive weapon for finance and operations. 

The results show that emerging technologies (AI, Internet of Things [IoT], blockchain, digital assistants) have passed the adoption stage, surpassing the expectations that they may constitute real competitive advantages.

AI and digital assistants improve financial accuracy and efficiency

Companies adopting emerging technologies to manage their finances see benefits far greater than they could have anticipated:

• Errors within the finance departments were reduced by 37% on average.
• 72% of companies using AI have a better understanding of their overall performance.
• 83% of executives are convinced that AI will be able to fully automate the accounting closure processes in the next five years.
• Digital assistants increase productivity by 36% and speed up financial analysis by 38%.

AI, IoT and blockchain improve responsiveness of supply chains

AI, IoT, blockchain and digital assistants allow companies to improve the accuracy, speed and analysis of their operations as well as their supply chain. Respondents anticipate other operational benefits with the upcoming widespread use of blockchain applications.

AI, IoT, blockchain and digital assistants make it possible to innovate faster, create decisive competitive advantages and improve the profits of companies that adopt these technologies more resolutely than their competitors. This study shows that these technologies have become commonplace and that companies that ignore them are endangering themselves. To help our customers master these changes and therefore stay ahead of their competitors, we are constantly injecting emerging technologies directly into operational processes, to help them exploit their full potential.

Juergen Lindner, Senior Vice President, SaaS Product Marketing, Oracle

Companies using AI in their supply chains see an average decrease of 6.7 business days in order processing times - similarly, leveraging IoT data in supply chain processes can reduce order processing errors by an average of 26%. And AI itself can reduce order processing errors by 25%, stockouts by 30%, and manufacturing stoppages by 26%.

Digital assistants come in regarding supply chains: they employee productivity by 28% and speed of analysis by 26%.

Blockchain, another popular contender in digitalization, sees 87% of companies using it reaching or exceeding their expected ROI. Another 82% plan to reap substantial benefits in the coming year.

78% of executives are confident that using blockchain to verify supply chain oversight will reduce fraud cases by 50% or more over the next five years.

68% of respondents consider that improving operational analysis (business intelligence) is a key advantage of emerging technologies in the functioning of supply chains.

This study clearly shows that emerging technologies have passed their trial period and that they are now entering a phase of generalization. The benefits of these technologies in areas such as finance or operations are becoming more and more apparent, and in most cases the benefits obtained exceed expectations. Our survey also shows that emerging technologies complement and amplify each other's benefits, which highlights the importance of taking a holistic approach.

 

John McKnight, Director, research, analysis services, Enterprise Strategy Group