BMC Helix, a global leader in IT software solutions, has released the results of a new study exploring how enterprises are transitioning from AI experimentation to governed, autonomous operations. Conducted by independent analyst firm Omdia, the research surveyed 385 IT and data professionals across North America to identify the drivers, barriers, and benchmarks of the burgeoning agentic AI era.
The Study: Survey of 385 North American IT and data professionals.
Production Status: 56% of organizations have AI in production for both ITAM/SAM and knowledge management.
The "ServiceOps" Shift: Success is increasingly defined by unifying ITSM and AIOps into a single, coordinated model.
Key Drivers: Navigating complex infrastructure (47%), cost reduction (44%), and efficiency (44%).
Performance Metrics: 42% of respondents now use the success rate of autonomous actions as a primary KPI.
Risk Management: Security/privacy (36%) and the IT skills gap (26%) remain the top concerns for scaling autonomy.
The research indicates that agentic AI is no longer a fringe technology but a core driver of operational transformation. Enterprises are moving away from isolated efficiency gains toward system-wide outcomes by applying AI across multiple IT subdisciplines. This "shared context" allows AI agents to operate with real-time domain coordination, ensuring that autonomous actions are both relevant and effective.
"The path to autonomous AI isn't about deploying more models; it's about embedding AI into the fabric of IT operations," said Ryan Manning, CPO at BMC Helix. "Without shared context across systems and coordinated workflows, autonomy breaks down."
While adoption is broad—with an additional 25% of organizations currently piloting AI—significant hurdles remain. To move toward fully autonomous operations, IT leaders are focusing on building "guardrails" to mitigate risks. These include:
Security and Privacy: The most cited concern (36%) regarding autonomous agent deployment.
The Skills Gap: 26% of leaders are prioritizing AI skill development for existing IT staff to manage new workflows.
Compliance: 20% are focused on regulatory mandates to ensure AI actions remain within legal frameworks.
A major takeaway from the Omdia report is the emergence of the ServiceOps model. By unifying IT Service Management (ITSM) and AIOps, organizations can provide AI agents with the necessary context, coordination, and control to act autonomously without human intervention for routine tasks. This transition is becoming a competitive necessity; companies that successfully coordinate across domains and build in governance are seeing higher success rates in their automated incident prevention and compliance efforts.
BMC Helix helps forward-thinking IT organizations reset the economics of IT by bringing IT services, AIOps, and agentic AI together. The company’s open-first platform utilizes a dynamic fleet of AI agents to accelerate outcomes for ServiceOps, ensuring incidents are prevented and compliance is maintained automatically.
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