While I was working on our AI case study it just popped into my head that AI is a major factor of success for business nowadays. I did some research and found out that approximately 85% of all the customer interactions to be handled without humans by 2020. It’s a huge milestone and I was impressed because there are only two years left. Despite possible bias, the information is profoundly interesting and thought-provoking.

Robotics and AI – is a whole field of science that will soon serve as an extension to automation that already exists in a workplace. Evolution in IT created CRM, search engines, responsive websites, apps, social media, and many others. Business applications like Salesforce, G Suite and WorkDay have helped save precious time for workers to become more productive, creative and focus on ingenious and skillful activities. For example, cognitive analytics software can extract content, embed it into semantic models, evaluate hypotheses and interpret evidence, provide potential insights — and then continuously improve them.

But this was in the past. Today it is reasonable to expect AI and Data Science to be a driver of similar or even larger changes in various industries. For example, AI may help to obtain and sustain a competitive advantage for businesses. It can be a motivation for absolutely new business models and change the competitive structure of entire industries. The pressure to reduce costs will require organizations to use data science and AI features like data dashboards, advanced visualization, data warehousing and other technologies to achieve their strategic business goals.

Despite the fact that automation aims to eliminate humans from business processes in order to reduce costs, it created a huge demand for new professions like data scientists, data engineers, machine learning specialists, etc and created additional duties for existing ones. While calls, chats, emails, and social media comments are efficiently handled by automated systems, we still need decision makers, software engineers, human resources managers and strategic planning specialists who understand where and how AI can be applied. Even though largest information technology companies and universities spend hundreds of millions of dollars on educational programs I believe we still need from 5 to 10 years to close the gap in current demand for human resources with mentioned skills.

However, the need for a skilled labor force ready to create and fill the jobs of the future is not the only concern for businesses. Dipping your toes into AI can be a daunting task because of its potential impact on every aspect of business starting from management systems, manufacturing and maintenance to even market niche positioning. Business must be adapted to changes caused by AI in many dimensions. But as a result, you will be able to reduce costs and have a strategic competitive advantage. For example, in our recent project, an automated drone data management system is estimated to save around $200k annually. Data Science and AI are maturing as a core advantage necessary to keep your market position. Robots and AI-based software can automate manufacturing, and analytics plus AI allows you to better learn from the past to predict and get ready for the future, to learn from your historical data and information and to identify future opportunities and risks. As a matter of fact, AI and robotics are no longer a forward-looking solution for a company but an imperative part of a strategic business development plan. It is definitely going to be the key source of transformation, disruption and competitive advantage in today’s fast-changing economy. AI is a technology factor that must be on the radar of business leaders who are long-term oriented. All it takes to start is an open-minded attitude and a willingness to embrace new opportunities wherever and whenever possible.

Originally published at https://flatlogic.com/blog/why-ai-is-no-longer-a-luxury-but-a-strategic-necessity/
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