AI Will Transform One of Corporate Tech’s Biggest Cost Areas—Actual Savings TBD
Generative artificial intelligence promises to make setting up and integrating new corporate software systems much faster, and the contractors companies typically pay to do the job could see huge efficiency gains. However, some chief information officers fear these contractors, called systems integrators, will see bottom-line savings from tools such as coding assistants—which contractors say can speed up some tasks by 50%—while charging the companies the same rate. “Am I getting those savings? Are they just getting a better market?" said Marc Kermisch, chief digital and information officer at agricultural machinery and construction equipment provider CNH Industrial.
Kermisch said systems integrators are a large expense for the business. Systems integrators are called in when companies make big software purchases. They are responsible for setting up the systems and integrating them with other company software—a complex task that can take months or years.
Certain parts of the process, including writing code and data mapping, could be significantly sped up with the use of generative AI, said Brian Woodring, CIO of nonbank mortgage provider Rocket Mortgage. Research provider International Data Corp. forecasts that worldwide systems integration services spending will reach $153.8 billion in 2024, a 6.4% increase over 2023, and $183.42 billion by 2027.
Integrator costs are typically as expensive as the software itself, said Anil Malhotra, who served as a CIO consultant before founding Safebox, a company that provides due diligence and other services for tech mergers and acquisitions. Malhotra said CIOs can respond by putting pressure on consultants for more transparency about their teams and challenging them on pricing. How
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