AI software market posts huge growth amid digital transformation boom

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An AI robot with a humanistic face, entitled Alter 3: Offloaded Agency, is pictured during a photocall to promote the forthcoming exhibition entitled "AI: More than Human", at the Barbican Centre in London on May 15, 2019. - Managing the health of the planet, fighting against discrimination, innovating in the arts: the fields in which artificial intelligence (AI) can help humanity are innumerable, as an exhibition in London attempts to show. Entitled "AI: More than Human", the exhibition brings together more than 200 installations, projects by artists and scientists from around the world. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images)
AI is now the fastest-growing segment of the software market

Revenue from AI software soared more than 63 per cent to $846m (£664m) last year amid a surge in firms investing in the new technology.

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Robotic process automation (RPA), which provides AI tools for businesses, is now the fastest-growing segment of the enterprise software market, with revenue set to reach $1.3bn in 2019, according to research firm Gartner.

“The RPA market has grown since our last forecast, driven by digital business demands as organisations look for ‘straight-through’ processing,” said Fabrizio Biscotti, research vice president at Gartner.

“Competition is intense, with nine of the top 10 vendors changing market share position in 2018.”

The top five RPA vendors controlled 47 per cent of the market in 2018, though the vendors ranked sixth and seventh posted trip-digit revenue growth in a sign of heightening competition.

North America continued to dominate the market, but its share dropped by two percentage points year-on-year. Western Europe held the number two position with a 23 per cent share, while Japan surged into third place.

While AI software is being adopted in all industries, the biggest uptake came from banks, insurance companies, telecoms firms and utility companies, the report revealed.

“The ability to integrate legacy systems is the key driver for RPA projects,” Biscotti said.

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“By using this technology, organisations can quickly accelerate their digital transformation initiatives, while unlocking the value associated with past technology investments.”