AI agents: augmenting, not replacing, human expertise in ICT professional services
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AI and Agentic AI are proving transformative in many use cases, but they aren’t a replacement for human expertise in the ICT professional services space.
This is according to Paul Field, Professional Services/Managed Services BU leader at CASA Software, a leading digital transformation and regional IT services organisation operating for over three decades.
According to Gartner, Agentic AI is at the Peak of Inflated Expectations in its hype cycle, with the 2026 Gartner CIO and Technology Executive Survey finding that only 17% of organisations have deployed AI agents, but more than 60% expect to do so within the next two years. But at the same time, reality checks are emerging. Businesses in South Africa and around the world are realising that Agentic AI comes with governance and risk challenges - and often at a far higher cost than expected.
