CIOs want to solve IT problems faster without adding headcount, and many are considering AI as a solution to their operations.
For years, they’ve been addressing this with things like automation and self-help portals to help teams resolve issues quickly. AI is now involved, and many companies are looking to leverage it for IT support. There’s a lot of talk, but leaders want proof that it actually works.
SolarWinds investigated how these new tools are working. The company analyzed a large amount of information and 60,000 pieces of data from more than 2,000 IT systems collected over a one-year period from August 2024 to July 2025.
For the study, SolarWinds checked out AI features that make your job easier, such as automatically suggesting answers to tickets, finding helpful articles, and creating problem summaries. The results show how much efficiency companies can improve.
How much more efficient can AI make IT operations?
The key finding from this report is that once companies start using AI, the time it takes to resolve IT problems will be significantly reduced.
Before AI, it took about 27.42 hours to solve a problem. After that, it decreased to 22.55 hours. This is about 17.8% faster and saves about 4.87 hours per problem. This allows your IT team to spend more time on thorny tasks rather than worrying about day-to-day issues.
This saves companies a lot of money. This report describes a medium-sized IT team that handles 5,000 issues per year. Saving approximately 4.87 hours on each task would give you back 24,350 working hours per year. Considering help desk personnel earn $28 an hour, that’s more than $680,000 in savings.
But it’s not just about saving money. According to the report, IT departments can now use that time to work on important projects and resolve issues before they occur. This allows IT professionals to go beyond just solving problems to actually improving company performance.
The report also shows significant differences between companies that are using AI and those that are not. Companies using AI fix tickets in about 22.55 hours, while others take about 32.46 hours. That’s about a 30.5% difference, which means you’ll save almost 10 hours per problem when using AI.
But it’s not just about AI
This report makes clear that AI is not a magic solution for IT operations. This only works if you have good processes and are prepared to make broader company-wide changes.
The best example is a group called “Top 10 AI Adopters.” These 10 companies stand out as having the fastest resolution times. The journey time went from approximately 51 hours to 23 hours, saving more than half the time.
Their secret lies not in special software, but in how to use it. These companies had one thing in common. That means I didn’t just try out AI as a side project. They have made helping solve problems part of their daily work. The report basically says that AI works best when there is a willingness to make changes to processes and make things better.
The report also says it helps to have a culture that is already committed to things like self-service portals and automation. These teams are already ramping up their support desks to ensure they’re ready for anything. With these in place, AI will function better.
What would you do if you were in charge?
The SolarWinds report shows that AI in IT support operations is not just a possibility, but a real possibility. Reducing resolution time by approximately 18% is a major challenge for leaders. Here’s what they should do:
Check the current situation: Before you spend money, figure out how long it will take to resolve the problem. The average for companies not using AI is about 32.46 hours, according to the report. Knowing your numbers will help you decide if it’s worth it. Make it part of your job: Top users show that using AI every day is better than just trying it out on the side. This means changing the way we work and focusing on making things better. AI is a tool, not a miracle. AI can be very helpful in speeding up your work, especially if you already have good IT practices. Check out our knowledge base and automation rules. AI works best when there are clear processes in place. Understand how much you can save: Reports provide an easy way to show your team how much time and money AI can save you. Simply multiply the number of incidents that occur per year by the average time savings of 4.87. This makes it clear how much efficiency can be achieved.
The gap between companies that are leveraging AI and those that are not is widening. Leaders must leverage AI to set up their operations so that IT departments can become true partners in the company’s success.
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