TALKING
‘‘ business
Up until recently, a problem faced by technical teams across industries has been winning the backing of the C-suite for AI projects, with executives often put off by high initial costs without a clear roadmap to ROI.
However, AI has quickly become a status symbol that signifies a firm’ s technical sophistication. Management
teams are now desperate to integrate AI solutions to prove they are ahead of the times and, crucially, ahead of competitors.
Recent research by Cisco revealed that 97 % of CEOs are planning AI integration – but fewer than 2 % feel fully prepared.
This raises a big question: are business leaders pursuing AI for AI’ s sake, without fully considering how this technology can best drive positive change within their organisation?
Artificial intelligence is more than just GenAI
GenAI has captured the imaginations of businesses on a global scale, but there are a myriad of AI tools we’ ve been using for years that have received nowhere near the same level of acclaim.
The primary benefit of AI is to automate processes and reduce the burden of administrative work, with traditional AI focused on performing singular tasks with optimal efficiency. For example, this technology can automate permissions on files, ensuring any information end-users are not allowed to see remains undisclosed.
While AI is the umbrella term, GenAI more specifically is able to function beyond a defined subset of rules, processing inputs to formulate original content. A common use case of GenAI is natural language assistants, which support users with finding information, summarising documents \ and even performing translations.
Recognising the importance of GenAI solutions, without becoming consumed by this technology, is an important element of the AI roadmap. AI tools that enable automation and boost efficiency – without the bells and whistles of GenAI innovations – can be just as valuable, so it’ s important to present the full spectrum of AI’ s capabilities to the C-suite.
Use cases are key
Management teams typically have a broad interest in the general concept of AI integration, with their vision less concerned with the specifics of an implementation strategy. Therefore, it’ s frequently the teams tasked with AI’ s deployment who are responsible for conceptualising the overarching goals of a project.
A tried and tested starting point is to ask the question: what can this technology actually do to improve the performance of the business? The answer centres on identifying tangible use cases that will become the bedrock of successful integration.
To ensure that the implementation phase is focused on activity that will add genuine value, an effective approach is to begin by fully understanding the challenges or opportunities the firm wants to address. This means looking for the problems or objectives first
Recent research by Cisco revealed that 97 % of CEOs are planning AI integration – but fewer than 2 % feel fully prepared.
www. intelligentcio. com INTELLIGENTCIO NORTH AMERICA 37