Global business value derived from artificial intelligence (AI) is projected to total $1.2 trillion in 2018, an increase of 70% from 2017, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). AI-derived business value is forecast to reach $3.9 trillion in 2022, adds the research group.
The Gartner AI-derived business value forecast assesses the total business value of AI across all the enterprise vertical sectors covered by Gartner. There are three different sources of AI business value: customer experience, new revenue, and cost reduction:
° Customer experience: The positive or negative effects on indirect cost. Customer experience is a necessary precondition for widespread adoption of AI technology to both unlock its full potential and enable value.
° New revenue: Increasing sales of existing products and services, and/or creating new product or service opportunity beyond the existing situation.
° Cost reduction: Reduced costs incurred in producing and delivering those new or existing products and services.
“AI promises to be the most disruptive class of technologies during the next 10 years due to advances in computational power, volume, velocity and variety of data, as well as advances in deep neural networks (DNNs),” says John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner. “One of the biggest aggregate sources for AI-enhanced products and services acquired by enterprises between 2017 and 2022 will be niche solutions that address one need very well. Business executives will drive investment in these products, sourced from thousands of narrowly focused, specialist suppliers with specific AI-enhanced applications.”
AI business value growth shows the typical S-shaped curve pattern associated with an emerging technology. In 2018, the growth rate is estimated to be 70%, but it will slow down through 2022. After 2020, the curve will flatten, resulting in low growth through the next few years, according to Gartner.