Australian enterprises gear up for AI agent integration push

A recent report by SnapLogic has provided insights into the readiness of Australian IT infrastructures for integrating AI agents into business operations.

The "AI Agents: The Final Frontier of the Enterprise" report surveyed over 250 decision-makers in Australia as part of a global analysis focused on how AI agents can streamline IT and business processes.

One of the notable findings is that 84% of Australian IT leaders trust AI agents either equally or more than humans, with 39% expressing more trust in AI agents compared to human abilities for effective performance. Additionally, 93% of respondents believe AI agents will deliver meaningful business outcomes in the next 12 to 18 months.

The report indicates that Australian enterprises recognise GenAI's business value, which enhances employee productivity and optimises internal processes. A significant 93% of respondents are confident that AI agents will offer considerable business benefits within the next 12 to 18 months.

"GenAI technology is continuing to evolve rapidly and has reached near ubiquity in supporting the strategic innovation initiatives of organisations across the spectrum of Australian business," said Brad Drysdale, Principal Solutions Engineer at SnapLogic. "While it is continuing to extend its reach deeper into many of these enterprises, the ability to create AI agents capable of operating autonomously, reasoning, and performing specific actions to complete an objective is critical in GenAI's ability to deliver meaningful business value."

Further details reveal that IT teams currently dedicate an average of 16.3 hours per week to integrating or fixing AI technologies, and expect to save an average of 20.7 hours weekly with the assistance of AI agents.

Investment in AI agents is a priority for 74% of survey participants, with 92% planning to allocate over USD $1,000,000 towards AI agents in the next year. Furthermore, 68% of organisations anticipate deploying twelve or more AI agents within this timeframe.

Despite the high level of confidence in AI agents, the report identifies several barriers to adoption. About 58% of respondents cite data security and privacy as concerns, while 42% identify legacy technology and lack of integration as challenges. A smaller percentage indicated issues such as a lack of employee understanding (23%) and fear of AI-related errors (17%).

"With increasing trust from IT teams, AI agents have the potential to transform the enterprise. However, challenges such as data security, data governance and compliance, access control, bias and fairness, legacy systems, and lack of data integration are hindering teams from entirely maximising the value of AI agents," Drysdale remarked. "As organisations develop and refine their AI strategies, overcoming these gaps with an efficient infrastructure setup is critical to ensure the safe, effective, and impactful adoption of AI agents."

The report highlights that IT departments stand to gain the most transformation from AI adoption, with 82% of respondents recognising potential benefits.

SnapLogic is positioning itself at the forefront of this shift towards an "agentic enterprise", where AI agents are deployed across a vast array of systems to enhance human capabilities and streamline complex workflows. The company's AgentCreator platform aims to provide a scalable solution compatible with existing and emerging technologies, enabling businesses to harness AI-driven value effectively.

These findings form part of a broader survey encompassing 1000 IT decision-makers in organisations with over 250 employees from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. This report offers critical insights for firms looking to integrate AI solutions into their operational frameworks.