The study, called “The State of AI in Engineering,” surveyed 163 senior engineering leaders from multinational enterprises in the United States and Europe. Monolith is calling the study a “first of its kind” in the area of engineering product development. It represents an exploration of the challenges and priorities engineers face during the development workflow, and how AI can help.

According to the study, over two thirds (67%) of engineering leaders reported feeling pressure to integrate AI into their operations to stay competitive. “As data from this study shows, engineering leaders are at a fork in the road to innovate in new ways as pressure to stay profitable and competitive rises,” said Dr. Richard Ahlfeld, CEO and founder of Monolith.

In this age of increased competitiveness, 71% of those surveyed said accelerated product development was the key to success. “With AI, engineering domain experts can quickly understand and instantly predict complex physics, allowing them to test less, learn more and get to market much quicker,” said Dr. Ahlfeld.

Compounding the challenge is the fact that 55% of engineering leaders feel they lack the tools necessary to enact change — especially in the realm of virtual validation and simulation, which help engineers push products to market faster. Without which, the study further revealed, a one-month delay in product launch could potentially cost businesses millions, if not billions, of dollars.

In response to the challenges identified by the study, Forrester also found engineers who already adopted AI into their technology. The study found that those engineers are 43% more likely to experience increased revenue, profitability, and competitiveness compared to their counterparts who have not implemented AI.

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Despite this promising statistic, less than one fifth (19%) of engineers reported using unsupervised learning algorithms to analyse historic or current test data. With less than half using their engineering test data at all.  

“The new insights we have uncovered via the Forrester study underline just how crucial the widespread implementation of technologies such as AI has become. The industry now needs to take the necessary steps to prepare itself for a data-driven future,” said Dr. Ahlfeld.