Eightx8, Inc. (NASDAQ : EGHT), an industry-leading provider of business communications, customer experience and CPaaS platforms, revealed today that AI is the top priority for IT leaders and CX leaders addressing the future of the workplace and changing work environments over the next six year.
In the new report Future of Work: 2030 Vision Report we surveyed over 400 IT and CX Leaders from organizations around the world. The report examines the projected composition of the global workforce by 2030, the technological priorities of organisations between now and 2030, as well as the challenges that they will face in the present and future.
Jamie Snaddon commented on the report: “Two year after the previous report we can see distinct changes in attitudes, as AI has grown. Priorities and concerns also vary across regions. The UK leads the world in single-vendor clouds and is best prepared to face the complex and multifaceted challenges of the future. “It is the most pessimistic in regards to AI replacing human workers.”
The Rise of AI
AI is now the UK’s joint top tech priority, along with cloud communications (65%) Cloud communications are ranked seventh in the US, where they rank 37 %).
UK leaders cite AI (88%), Big Data (85%) and Cloud Communications (82%) when it comes to future CX employee experiences (EX).
UK leaders are the most cynical about AI taking jobs from humans. Sixty eight per cent of respondents believe AI will create more jobs than it will destroy, and only 20 percent think AI will actually be a job creator. Globally, the average is 57%.
UK leading on cloud communications
Only 12% (or fewer) of UK organisations’ communications and contact centers remain on-premises. In two years, the average global figure was more than half (42%).
The UK leads the world in adopting cloud environments that are solely provided by a single vendor. 24 percent of companies have fully migrated to the cloud and consolidated their systems, while the global average stands at 15 percent. Nearly two-fifths of global firms (39%) plan to follow the UK’s example.
The majority of people prefer four days or less
Sixty four per cent of UK IT leaders and CX experts believe that the average number days an employee must work by 2030 will be either three (33%), or four (31%). Only 20% of UK IT and CX leaders see the current five-day work week continuing.
In this environment, UK leaders will use video meetings as their number one communication method (66%) – just like all other regions (69%). Virtual reality is a much more popular tool in the UK (61%) than it is in other regions (50 %).).
UK leaders are confident they will be well prepared to face the challenges ahead
Cybersecurity (68%), Digital Transformation (60%), and Digital Disruption (60%), are the top three global challenges for IT leaders and their readiness to face them. The UK has a preparedness level that is 10 percent above the global average, at 78%, 70% and 69%, respectively.
The UK also has a higher preparedness level than the global average when it comes to the top three CX leader’s challenges: retaining talent (65%), adapting customer expectations (75%), or reducing operational cost (62%). The global average for all three is 60 %.
78% of leaders in business report having a strategy for the future of their work. This shows that they are prepared. It is a much higher percentage than in North America where only 67% of US business leaders and 48% of Canadians have a strategy for the future of work.
To view the Future of Work: 2030 Vision Report go to https://www.8×8.com/docs/future-of-work-report
About Eightx8 Inc.
8×8, Inc., (NASDAQ: EGHT), is a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) provider of 8×8 XCaaS, an integrated contact center, voice communications solution, video, chat and SMS built on a global cloud communication platform. 8×8 eliminates silos between Unified Communications as a Service and Contact Center as a Service to power communications needs of employees worldwide as they collaborate to deliver differentiated experiences to customers.
8×8 (r), 8×8 XCaaS 
and Experience Communications as a Service is a trademark of 8×8, Inc.
The original HR news article 65 per cent of UK organizations are prioritising AI, as the five-day week is becoming a minority view amid AI replacement anxiety.
