Learn from the SaaS choices of OneOffice™ leaders. Part five—AI or automation tools

The Situation: Enterprises valuing OneOffice™ outcomes are most likely to create business value through their software choices. They want their SaaS (software as a service) to deliver improved customer and employee experience, and they want to see how it makes outsourcing business processes easier. As part of our SaaS XXV research, we identified the SaaS choices made by these OneOffice enterprise leaders and compared them with those made by less mature tactical laggards. The focus in this instance is on artificial intelligence (AI) or automation tools.

How we identified the leaders and the laggards

We asked enterprise decision makers how SaaS is changing their business. We identified OneOffice leaders as those who agree or strongly agree with survey statements indicating SaaS improves employee experience, improves customer experience, and makes outsourcing business processes easier. These responses indicate the realization of outcomes indicative of greater maturity in the adoption and use of SaaS, thus a tighter alignment to the HFS OneOffice mindset.

In contrast, tactical laggards agree or strongly agree SaaS is changing how their business operates by improving the flow of information across the business, improving data and information access, improving security, encouraging the business to bypass IT, and making it harder to budget. These responses we identify as indicative of an enterprise that has not yet moved beyond the technical functionality of SaaS solutions and is missing how SaaS creates real-time “connections” between the company and its customers. We analyzed 411 responses and compared the strength of preference for the use of particular technologies by either leaders or laggards.

OneOffice™ leaders use more AI and automation tools than laggards, and Microsoft’s freemium model has attracted usage beyond the RPA big three

Our data—an enterprise customer subset of the overall SaaS XXV responses—shows the usage gap between leaders and laggards for Blue Prism, which leaders are 63% more likely than laggards to use. OneOffice leaders in Exhibit 1 are working with Microsoft AI or collaboration tools in 31% of our surveyed group, compared to 20% of laggards. The average increase in the likeliness of a leader selecting a specific AI or automation tool versus a laggard was 38%. After Blue Prism, UiPath and Microsoft stand out with 50% and 48% greater likelihood for usage, respectively.

Overall OneOffice leaders are most likely to be using Microsoft, Automation Anywhere (AAI), and Blue Prism. Laggards are making the same choices, but they are not committing to the same level. Microsoft’s freemium model for the Microsoft Power Platform set is setting volume standards. Of the RPA big three, AAI’s focus on cloud may be paying dividends from a SaaS point of view.

Exhibit 1: OneOffice leaders are more likely to use AI and automation tools than laggards

Sample: N=411 responses from enterprise leaders, January 2022 SaaS XXV survey. The total may not sum to 100% because there are enterprises where multiple AI and automation tools may be in use. In some cases, the sample (n) is too low to be statistically significant.
Source: HFS Research, 2022

OneOffice leaders in Exhibit 2 reserved their highest NPS (net promoter scores) for Microsoft and UiPath. In our graphics, net promoter scores range from -1.00 to +1.00, where 1.00 = 100%. Anything higher than 0.70 (70%) is usually regarded as outstanding, .50 to .69 (50%–69%) as strong, and .49 or lower as needing improvement. The average NPS across the AI and automation category in our survey was 0.24. The highest (0.47 on average) came from productivity and collaboration tools, and the lowest (0.07) was from the process intelligence providers.

OneOffice leaders indicate a greater preference for Automation Anywhere than laggards do. That’s reversed for all other contenders barring NICE, which both leaders and laggards gave an NPS of 0.0. UiPath is more likely to score a high NPS from laggards than from leaders by the largest margin.

Exhibit 2: AI and automation vendors should be targeting scores greater than 0.7, but they average 0.24 in this analysis; customers are looking for more value from the category in general

Sample: N=411 responses from enterprise leaders, January 2022 SaaS XXV survey
Source: HFS Research, 2022

In this OneOffice-focused part of the SaaS XXV survey, enterprise leaders indicated Microsoft is the clear winner when it comes to their spending plans for the next 12 months. We found 17% of OneOffice leaders ready to increase their investment with Microsoft’s AI and automation tools in the next year, yet far fewer laggards (9%) plan to follow suit. The gap between the groups is only likely to expand because, across tools, fewer laggards are ready to extend their investment. Investment plans for leaders and laggards are on closest to equal footing for Automation Anywhere. Intent to invest further in Blue Prism may have been impacted by its acquisition throughout much of 2022.

Exhibit 3: OneOffice leaders are increasing their investment in leading AI and automation tools more than laggards are, suggesting the gap between leaders and laggards is likely to widen

Sample: N=411 responses from enterprise leaders, January 2022 SaaS XXV survey. Only those with significant data are shown.
Source: HFS Research, 2022

The Bottom Line: OneOffice leaders have tried Microsoft’s Power Platform, and they are more likely to increase their investment in it than its premium rivals.

Cutting through the marketing noise and confusion has become notoriously tough in this sector of the SaaS world. If the guidance of OneOffice leaders points anywhere, it is toward growing confidence in Microsoft’s Power Platform offerings. Leaders have taken up its freemium model, and enough have liked what they have seen for 17% of them to be directing more investment at it, more than have committed to extra spending on premium rivals. The next year will prove how smart that plan is as enterprises learn the cost of living at scale with Microsoft products.

Read the results of our broader SaaS XXV survey here, and watch out for a series of SaaS XXV-based Snapshots coming soon.