Unlocking value from artificial intelligence (AI) requires organizations to not only push the technological envelop but to prioritize the people behind their initiatives.
Conducted with ESI ThoughtLab, our recent benchmarking study of 1,200 senior executives from multiple industries across 12 industries and 15 countries revealed that even though ROI remains a work in progress for most companies, there are ways to achieve outsized returns on AI if they follow the ways and means of leaders.
In our analysis, leaders have:
- Moved from basic to advanced levels of data management — shift to using data lakes and the cloud from simply managing data (i.e., with databases and storage).
- Ensured a people focus at the core of their AI initiatives.
- Shifted from basic to more advanced AI technologies, such as machine learning, deep learning, computer vision and natural language processing.
We recommend that companies follow five steps to lay a strong AI foundation:
- Begin with pilots, but then scale AI applications across the enterprise.
- Use a hybrid organizational structure to scale AI initiatives.
- Get your data right.
- Solve the human side of the equation.
- Adopt a culture of collaboration and learning.
