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By Ambit on July 22, 2019

The Digital Workforce: Are You a Leader or a Laggard?

The IDC FutureScape’s digital transformation predictions for 2019 present a list of implications for New Zealand and global businesses.

In the study, IDC predict that “By 2023, 40% of New Zealand workers will start working with bots or other forms of AI, requiring company leaders to redesign operational processes, performance metrics, and recruitment strategies.”

This highlights the need for Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven digital employees to become a standard part of the workforce in the near future. That’s why it is important that every New Zealand business be aware of the benefits AI can deliver.

The IDC report states “businesses that do not think about adopting AI will be at a disadvantage. AI leaders experience double the benefits of followers, and these improvements will be more pronounced by 2023.”

This is particularly relevant for sectors with large customer bases: Financial Services, Retail, Utilities and Telco in particular need to take note. Adopting AI into communication processes will ensure you stay ahead and survive in a rapidly changing business environment. You’ll benefit from:

  • Automated customer service and advice at scale – 24/7.
  • Freeing up staff from repetitive mundane tasks, to add more value to your customers.
  • Managing peak loads resulting in higher customer satisfaction.
  • Automated 24/7 lead and revenue generation.
  • Being where your customers are on whatever digital messaging channel they prefer.



“75% of New Zealand businesses have either already adopted or have plans to adopt cognitive systems within the next five years.” - IDC



Digital employees are being used by many businesses to increase productivity and handle excess workloads; for example Alan the virtual mortgage squirrel for Squirrel. These digital employees can automate many different processes and provide exceptional customer experiences while reducing the need for human input. This frees up time for human workers to produce more meaningful, complex and sophisticated work, adding more value to the business.

In today’s business, the landscape of digital transformation is becoming ever more significant. In recent years there has been a continued rise in “digital transformation as a strategy, not a project” across innovate players in all sectors.

Due to the accelerating pace of change in the digital environment, your digital transformation strategy and associated projects need to be a paramount focus. Digital transformation is fundamental for developing powerful and innovative business processes which in turn creates effective competitive advantage and success. Make sure your business isn’t left behind and relegated to the digital dustbin!

Our question to you, dear reader… Are you a leader or a laggard in establishing a digital workforce?

If you want to shift your business in a digital direction, Artificial Intelligence-powered digital employee's are the way forward. To find out about how businesses like yours are using digital employees to improve their customer and employee experience, contact us here.

Digital customer service


Reference: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Digital Transformation 2019 Predictions (IDC #US43647118, October 2018)

Published by Ambit July 22, 2019