The new State of IT report from Salesforce has highlighted that many organisations are excited to find a ‘new use’ for AI.
Agentic AI is beginning to crop up more and more as not only a useful tool but a critical one for organisations as they navigate the ever-changing working world. Defined as the technology that powers AI agents so they can act autonomously without human oversight, a core focus for agentic AI is in creating a framework that allows companies to simplify AI development and deployment.
US-based cloud software company Salesforce recently released the State of IT report, which has shown that a wide range of organisations, leaders and developers are excited about agentic AI’s prospects and its potential to positively impact careers.
Salesforce surveyed more than 2,000 people in IT decision-making roles from various countries, including Ireland, the US, the UK, Australia, Germany, Singapore and the UAE, as well as nearly 250 frontline developers from the US.
A key figure to emerge is that 92pc of developers believe that agentic AI is key to career advancement. Significantly, 96pc of respondents expect that agentic AI is likely to reshape the developer experience for the better, as new technologies tackle laborious, time-consuming tasks, leaving more time for high-value and rewarding work.
Essential or nice to have?
New and innovative technologies are being introduced into the workplace so frequently that they may be seen as a passing or over-hyped fad, for example Google Glass tech.
So far it appears that agentic AI is not moving in that direction, as 86pc of surveyed professionals based in Ireland said they believe AI agents will become as essential to app development as traditional software tools. Additionally they are enthusiastic about using it for oversight, optimisation and writing new code, in particular.
More than half (56pc) of Irish developers predicted that AI agents will improve application development quality, with other areas such as creativity and problem-solving (54pc), business reliance and adaptability (50pc) and the employee experience (50pc) also improving by virtue of AI agent adoption, in their view. On a global scale, operational efficiency, strategic planning and a competitive advantage are also noted as being potential areas that AI agents could improve.
“AI agents are revolutionising the way developers work, making software development faster, more efficient and more enjoyable,” said Alice Steinglass, the EVP and GM for platform, integration and automation at Salesforce.
“This powerful digital workforce streamlines development by assisting with writing, reviewing and optimising code, unlocking new levels of productivity. By automating tedious tasks like data cleaning, integration and basic testing, AI agents free developers to shift their focus from manual coding to high-value problem-solving, architecture and strategic decision-making.”
Infrastructure needs
According to the report, the rising popularity of agentic AI comes at a time when a large proportion of developers are looking to measure their productivity based on impact, rather than output. By introducing new technologies, there will be more opportunities for professionals still developing their skills.
For example, low-code/no-code tools can enable developers to work effectively and quickly even if they are lacking in coding skills. With 79pc of Irish respondents utilising such technologies, there is a belief that this will work towards democratising AI development, as it widens the net for people of all skill levels looking to improve and excel.
With that in mind, updates to infrastructure will be critical to maximising opportunities for organisations and individuals. In Ireland, 84pc of those surveyed are of the opinion that companies have to further develop their infrastructure if they are serious about building and deploying AI agents.
Furthermore, nearly half (42pc) of Irish developers believe that the quality of data and its capacity for accuracy isn’t sufficiently advanced enough for the successful development or implementation of agentic AI and 46pc say their testing processes aren’t fully prepared to build or deploy.
When it comes to skills and knowledge, nearly 70pc of developers in Ireland stated that AI education will soon be a baseline skill for their profession, despite 54pc being of the opinion that their current skillsets are not fully prepared for the agentic era.
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