Explosive Gen AI Adoption set to Continue, Says Capgemini
Three in five organisations currently see innovative work as the largest benefit of generative AI (Gen AI), according to Capgemini research.
Software professionals have highlighted in the report, “Turbocharging software with generative AI: How organisations can realise the full potential of generative AI for software engineering”, that Gen AI will play an essential role in augmenting the software workforce, assisting in more than 25% of software design, development and testing work in the next two years.
Likewise, a large majority (80%) of software professionals believe that, by automating simple repetitive tasks, Gen AI tools and solutions will significantly transform their function. As a result, workers will have more free time to focus on higher-value-adding tasks.
Whilst Gen AI adoption is still in its infancy, it holds great promise across multiple industries as it reshapes areas such as operations, communications and customer experience.
Early-stage adoption helping team effectiveness
According to Capgemini, more than three quarters of software professionals are confident that Gen AI has the potential to boost collaboration within non-technical business teams.
Whilst nine out of 10 organisations yet to scale, the report found that organisations with active Gen AI initiatives are already being rewarded, with 61% of organisations surveyed able to foster innovation. Companies have also seen a marked improvement of between 7% and 18% on average in the productivity of their software engineering functions.
For certain specialised tasks, time saving was as high as 35%.
In response, organisations surveyed highlighted they plan to leverage the additional time freed up by Gen AI for continued innovation, which includes developing new software features (50%) and upskilling (47%).
Likewise, businesses are optimistic that Gen AI will bring about improved collaboration between technology and business teams, with 78% of those surveyed eager for the technology to improve communication and offering natural language explanations for code.
Gen AI a ‘strong enabler’ for employees
Also according to the survey, Gen AI tools are used today by 46% of software engineers for assisting them on tasks. Likewise, almost three quarters agree that Gen AI’s potential extends beyond writing code, with the tool able to assist in other software development lifecycle activities, such as code modernisation or user experience (UX) design.
Both senior and junior software professionals also report to Capgemini higher levels of satisfaction from using Gen AI (69% and 55%, respectively). They see Gen AI as a strong enabler and motivator, with its ability to generate human-like text, images and other content
“Gen AI has emerged as a powerful technology to assist software engineers, rapidly gaining adoption. Its impact on coding efficiency and quality is measurable and proven, yet it holds promise for other software activities,” says Pierre-Yves Glever, Head of Global Cloud & Custom Applications at Capgemini.
However, according to the report, 63% of software professionals declare using unauthorised Gen AI tools to assist them in tasks. This rapid take-up, without proper governance and oversight in place, exposes organisations to functional, security, and legal risks like hallucinated code, code leakage, and IP issues.
Successful Gen AI use does not come without difficulty. A recent report by Hitachi Vantara also suggests that, without clear governance, Gen AI can pose significant risks within a business context. Notably, in areas such as data privacy, security and ethical AI use.
More businesses are eager to harness Gen AI to gain a competitive advantage, but currently underestimate its power and responsibility. Currently, only a small number of organisations believe they have the right level of funding, culture and skills to support the technology’s rapid acceleration.
“We must remember that the true value will emerge from a holistic software engineering approach, beyond deploying a single ‘new’ tool,” Pierre-Yves cautions. “This involves addressing business needs with robust and relevant design, establishing comprehensive developer workspaces and assistants, implementing quality and security gates, and setting up effective software teams. The focus should be on what genuinely generates value.”
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