Ep. 28 - From AI Hype to Operational Reality: Insights from Gartner IO&CS25

Enterprise IT continues to evolve rapidly as organizations look for effective ways to use AI and other automation tools to streamline their processes. In this episode, Dan Twing and Tom O'Rourke discuss Tom's learnings from December's Gartner IT Infrastructure, Operations & Cloud Strategies Conference. Topics include the emerging pragmatism around AI, continuous operations, managing the automation portfolio as a platform, and the importance of communicating automation value in business terms. The episode reinforces the need for automation leaders to focus on business outcomes and maintain reliability as the technology landscape changes.Key PointsTop-down pressure to adopt AI is solution-driven rather than problem-focusedReal autonomy in agentic AI remains elusive, with many solutions underperforming or costing much more than projectedPlatform-centric I&O represents the next maturity stage for infrastructure management, automation leaders should adopt this approach as they evaluate which tools belong in their portfolioWhile AI tools continue to improve rapidly, I&O leaders should anticipate that costs will rise to reflect the large amounts of money being invested. Takeaways for Automation LeadersAI is automation, as the hype dissipates the operation of these tools will wind up in the automation center of excellence.Addressing tech debt must be framed in business enablement, enabling faster delivery of new capabilities, while improving reliability and resilience.AI will transform expectations around automation, increasing demand and requiring more agility to satisfy business needs. LinksEpisode 8 - Five Key Trends from Gartner I&O 2024: https://em360tech.com/podcasts/episode-8-five-key-trends-gartner-io-2024-ai-automation-and-evolution-technical-leadership EAE Podcast Home: https://em360tech.com/podcast-series/enterprise-automation-excellence Feedback & Questions: mailto:[email protected]