Ricoh on ‘lack of technology adoption'
Simon Isaacs, national sales director for Ricoh UK has commented on UK productivity levels
Shining a spotlight on the industry
Wednesday, 17 Jan 2024 09:37 GMT
Ricoh UK has highlighted that 85% of businesses are not embracing AI technology enough
Ricoh UK has weighed in on the current conversations taking place in government and businesses regarding productivity and innovation, especially regarding AI technology.
The comments come after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt stated: "If we combine our start-up culture plus the productivity found in Germany and the US we could really smash it."
Speaking on the Rest is Money podcast, Hunt added: “We are about 15% less productive than Germany, not because Germans work harder than us, it’s because they invest a lot more in plant and machinery around every single worker, so they are able to physically produce more, and they can, of course, be paid more as a result of that.”
In response, Simon Isaacs, national sales director for Ricoh UK has highlighted the UK’s lack of tech adoption as one of the reasons businesses in the UK are lagging.
Findings from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on the state of AI adoption in the UK show that 85% of businesses were not utilising AI in December 2023, and 83% had no immediate plans to adopt AI in the coming months.
Isaacs says: “We saw in November 2023 the UK host the first AI?Safety?Summit at Bletchley Park as it looked to position the UK as a leader in AI innovation. These figures however raise doubt on the UK’s pace of AI integration in the business landscape. While the summit aimed to drive advancements, the gap between the actual adoption of AI in businesses appears substantial.”
Ricoh Europe research shows a notable misalignment between employee expectations of workplace technology and the reality provided by employers. 46% of UK and Irish employees believe their employers are lagging when it comes to adopting technology that would benefit them.
In Ricoh UK’s recent report The Automation Gap research found that 77% of the printing industry wanted to automate to improve efficiencies, yet 52% of businesses are still running on legacy or manual systems.
Isaacs concludes: “For organisations within the UK professional print sector, which is worth over £14bn to the economy, this is not about replacing people but rather listening to employees who are calling out for innovation to boost productivity.
“Neglecting to invest in innovative technologies risks decreased productivity, possible loss of employees, and hinders their chances of further growth, and leveraging process automation holds the key.”
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