Businesses Still Dream of Using AI to Replace Enterprise Apps

We’ve been hearing for years about the theoretical threat AI poses to enterprise software apps like Salesforce, ServiceNow and Workday. While a disaster scenario for these firms hasn’t happened because AI generally isn’t reliable enough to duplicate what they do, some customers are still trying to use the latest AI models to replace those apps to save money.

For instance, some customers of Databricks, which sells a data lake, a type of database for storing different types of corporate data, are developing AI agents that automate some IT help desk tasks, such as responding to employees’ requests for technical help and automating software maintenance, according to a current Databricks sales manager. This software industry segment is known as IT Service Management, or ITSM. 

The Databricks sales manager also sees customers developing agents to manage customer service and human resources functions, such tasks related to recruiting new employees. These AI projects are designed to handle parts of existing enterprise apps and aren’t yet full-blown replacements, this person said.

Another example is Lakeside Software, which sells software that helps IT departments continually monitor the applications and devices their companies use to track the apps’ performance and spot potential problems early. Lakeside has its own data lake for customers to store data its software collects, and some customers are experimenting with AI that can use that data to automate IT helpdesk functions, said Tal Klein, the company’s chief marketing officer, on the sidelines of Microsoft’s Ignite conference in San Francisco. 

In at least one instance, a Lakeside customer went even further by using software from UiPath, a provider of task automation software, to train an AI model to mimic how its employees used HR software from Workday, Klein said. That customer, which he declined to name, has now moved off Workday and is using the bespoke AI model to handle HR functions like assisting new employees, he said.

Of course, it’s one thing to hear from enterprise vendors about customers pulling off such feats than it is to hear from the customers themselves! Some companies we talked to that previously said they would do it, like a midsize software firm we quoted here, still haven’t done so.