Alteryx Report Outlines the Challenges Facing the Enterprise of the Future

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The rapid rise of AI, especially generative AI, has transformed how organizations operate, and most companies are expecting more changes to come. The AI regulations, changing customer behaviors, and the threat of sophisticated cyberattacks are just a few of the many challenges that businesses face. Understanding the trends and strategies can help us prepare for the future. 

Alteryx, an analytics and automation platform, released a report highlighting some of the latest research on AI regulations, essential future skills, emerging new roles, and the future of enterprise organization culture. The findings of the report provide insights on how business leaders plan on navigating the ever-changing enterprise landscape, especially with the unstoppable rise of AI and ML.

The Alteryx report was based on a survey conducted by Coleman-Parkes targeting 2,800 line of business leaders, IT decision makers, and data analytics from around the globe. There was equal representation of the public and private sectors and included respondents from companies of all sizes. 

The findings of the report show that organizations have a strong appetite for standards and policies that regulate the use of AI. Almost nine out of ten (89 percent) of respondents say that regulations and standards should be developed for the use of AI, including GenAI, within their sector. They believe this would enable their organization to use AI responsibly. 

As businesses strive to find ways to harness the transformative power of AI, they are also conscious about mitigating the risks of using such technology. The leading concerns for organizations are about data privacy (50 percent), transparency (41 percent), and data governance (41 percent). 

While AI technology has led to some anxiety in the labor market, there is optimism in envisioning the skills needed to create the workforce of the future. The report shows that there is a growing appreciation for skills that are distinctly human, such as creativity (61 percent), emotional/relatability (43 percent), and critical thinking (38 percent). Machines will be mostly commonly used for complex problem-solving (42 percent), accuracy (40 percent), and speed (36 percent). 

The Alteryx study predicts that hard skills that will be most in demand in the future include expertise in emerging technologies (28 percent), computer software knowledge (24 percent), and data analysis and data mining (23 percent). 

In terms of emerging roles, the positions that need to be urgently filled include AI application engineer (40 percent), software engineer (34 percent) and AI/ML engineer (32 percent). Businesses are also expecting to need to hire for specialized AI roles such as chief AI officer (CAIO), prompt engineers, and AI trainers/educators. 

“While the future tech stack will require many emerging technologies, it will only be as good as your workforce’s ability to use and benefit from it,” said Trevor Schulze, CIO at Alteryx. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution to help businesses understand customer needs, drive efficiencies, and find their competitive edge. Only by empowering the entire workforce to take full advantage of the technologies to harness the data, compute, and automation resources available will you unlock full ROI potential and business value.”

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A key finding of the Alteryx report is that a combined approach of people, policies, and culture, rather than just technology alone, will empower enterprises to survive and thrive in the ever-changing business landscape.

Forty-two percent of companies plan to invest more in understanding customer needs to make informed decisions, while 34 percent cite their organization’s need to demonstrate better environmental responsibility and ethical practices. 

Research indicates that the majority of organizations (51 percent) believe that in the future, teams will be decentralized. The advantages of a decentralized model include better speed and the ability to develop expertise in a single business function. 

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the Alteryx report is the renewed focus on how humans can work alongside sophisticated GenAI technology. While machines are superior in terms of speed and accuracy, humans can add elements of creativity and a moral perspective. Organizations that are able to build a culture of harmony between humans and machines will be well-placed to be the leaders of the future. 

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