Riverbed Survey Reveals IT's Autonomous AI Paradox: 90% Plan…

Event summary

90% of organizations plan to pursue autonomous IT operations using agentic AI within two years.
77% of respondents require human approval for AI-driven operational decisions.
Only 19% of IT operations are currently automated, despite 91% of AI investments meeting or exceeding ROI expectations.
92% of respondents believe AI observability and governance will become a critical new IT domain.
Survey polled 1,200 business decision-makers, IT leaders, and technical specialists across seven countries.

The big picture

Riverbed's survey highlights a critical inflection point in IT operations, where the push for AI-driven autonomy clashes with organizational hesitancy around trust and governance. The findings underscore the broader industry shift toward AI observability as a foundational domain, with significant implications for IT efficiency and digital employee experience. The scale of the challenge is evident in the disparity between high AI investment returns and the low current automation rates, suggesting a long runway for vendors like Riverbed that can address visibility and governance gaps.

What we're watching

Governance Dynamics: How the tension between AI autonomy and human oversight will evolve as organizations balance efficiency with trust.
Execution Risk: The pace at which companies can bridge the gap between AI ambition and operational readiness, particularly in data quality and multi-domain visibility.
Market Differentiation: Whether Riverbed's focus on unified observability and AI governance will position it as a leader in the race to autonomous IT operations.