New Study: Autonomous AI is the Goal, Operational Context is the Barrier

SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- BMC Helix, a global leader in software solutions that help the world's most forward-thinking organizations reset the economics of IT, has published findings from a new study exploring the paths enterprises are taking in their adoption of agentic AI, and what enterprises must put in place to move from experimentation to governed, autonomous operations.

A complimentary copy of the report can be accessed here.

The study, conducted by independent analyst firm Omdia, surveyed 385 IT and data professionals across North America about their agentic AI adoption journeys. The findings show that agentic AI is rapidly evolving from early experimentation into a powerful driver of operational transformation. According to Omdia, enterprises that adopt agentic AI are rethinking IT, moving to new operational models where AI operates with real-time context, cross-domain coordination, and built-in governance to enable autonomy that scales.

According to the study, the biggest operational drivers for adopting AI for IT operations (AIOps) are the need to navigate complex infrastructures (47%), reduce operational costs (44%), and improve efficiency (44%). Adoption is already broad: most organizations are applying AI, either in production or in pilot, across all major ITOps subdisciplines. 56% report AI in production for both ITAM/SAM and knowledge management, with roughly 25% more in pilot. Applying AI across IT operations creates the shared context needed to move from isolated efficiency gains to system-wide outcomes.

The report also found that enterprises are moving towards meaningful adoption of agentic AI for autonomous ITOps, with guardrails to help address areas of concern: security and privacy risks (36%), skills gaps for IT staff (26%), and regulatory/compliance mandates (20%). Guardrails can include promoting AI skill development among IT staff and adopting agentic AI solutions with built-in governance protocols. Responses show that working towards autonomy with AI is an important goal, with 42% of respondents reporting that the success rate of the autonomous actions performed by their AIOps systems is a key performance indicator (KPI).

"The path to autonomous AI isn't about deploying more models, it's about embedding AI into the fabric of IT operations," says Ryan Manning, CPO at BMC Helix. "Without shared context across systems and coordinated workflows, autonomy breaks down. Organizations that succeed will be those that unify ITSM and AIOps into a ServiceOps model, where AI can act with context, coordination, and control."

Overall, findings indicate that agentic AI is moving beyond early-stage experimentation and becoming an increasingly established component of enterprise IT operations. Operational context is the remaining barrier to overcome in the race towards autonomous ITOps, and companies that manage to coordinate across domains and build in governance will have an edge.

Additional Resources

• Download the report
• Register for the upcoming webinar with Ryan Manning on Wednesday, April 22: From Complexity to Control: Analyst Research on Agentic AI in ITOps
• Read more in the blog

About BMC Helix
BMC Helix helps the world's most forward-thinking IT organizations reset the economics of IT — bringing IT services, AIOps, and agentic AI together so busywork disappears, incidents are prevented, and compliance just happens. With an industry-leading, open-first platform, BMC Helix's dynamic fleet of AI agents augment work across enterprise IT service and operations management to accelerate outcomes for ServiceOps. Learn more at www.helixops.ai 

Helix and other Helix marks are exclusive properties of BMC Helix, Inc. and are registered or may be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

BMC, BMC Software, the BMC logo, and other BMC marks are the exclusive properties of BMC Software, Inc. and are registered or may be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

^©Copyright 2026 BMC Helix, Inc.

Editorial Contact:
Madeline Bien
BMC Helix, Inc.
[email protected] 

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SOURCE BMC Helix