By Bhavin Shah, Senior Consultant
Seven years ago, when I led artificial intelligence (AI) efforts at Oracle Cloud, I saw the power of AI and the impact that it can have. Once you put it in place, it does the work for you. It’s mind-boggling! It’s not surprising that for a number of years now, everything from chatbots to spam filters has been successfully powered by AI.
In November 2022 ChatGPT was introduced, and suddenly generative AI became the big new technology. Today some of the most visionary CEOs in the country are investing billions of dollars in generative AI infrastructure, applications, security and more, all with the goal of using generative AI to drive business value with top- and bottom-line growth. You can bet these CEOs would not be spending such huge sums of money if they did not have a very high level of confidence that these investments will pay off.
As Bill Gates has stated, “Generative AI has the potential to change the world in ways that we can’t even imagine. It has the power to create new ideas, products and services that will make our lives easier, more productive and more creative.” Elon Musk believes that “Generative AI is the most powerful tool for creativity that has ever been created. It has the potential to unleash a new era of human innovation.”
Where do you stand on this topic?
If you’ve been holding back, afraid to dip your toes in the generative AI waters, what’s holding you back? From what we’re seeing, the time to implement – or at least explore – generative AI is now.
Generative AI has applications in nearly every field
At the high level, generative AI is already being used for:
- Product innovation and design – developing new ideas, designs, concepts, prototypes
- Marketing Content for Demand Generation – creating text, images, audio, videos, code
- Customer experience – personalizing the experience and enhancing customer engagement
- Discovery – speeding drug discovery and development, assist in surgical process
- Education – interactive and engaged training for students and employees
- Productivity and Efficiency – automation, assisting in decision-making and solving complex problem
If you are unsure of the business value that an investment in generative AI can create, the answer here is that the sky really is the limit. If you’re worried about the AI hype cycle, keep in mind that introducing generative AI is really no different than introducing any new technology.
Generative AI can be transformational. But you’re not going to reap the benefits if all you’re doing is watching others put it to use.
Start with a close look at your goals and challenges
As with any new technology, when analyzing which potential use cases make the most sense for your business, the best place to start is with your organization’s strategic objectives and ongoing challenges.
- What are your pain points?
- Where can you innovate in terms of your products or services?
- Which of your strategic objectives would be the best fit for leveraging generative AI to create substantial business value?
Choose something that is a high-business-impact item that can make a measurable difference for the organization, such as higher margins, improved customer satisfaction, lower risks, strong competitive advantage, etc.
Next, monitor the innovation that is happening in the industry. Look at the generative AI space to see what’s being done and how you can best take advantage of this technology.
Invest in proofs of concept
Once you have studied your options, create a strategy and road map, and invest in proofs of concept (POCs) for the most relevant business use cases.
Even if you don’t want to be a pioneer and are not ready to implement generative AI at scale, doing some POCs for your business today will ensure that if and when you decide to follow the crowd, you can do so quickly.
Get started now
According to Gartner®, between 2023 and 2027, $3 trillion will likely be spent on AI, with generative AI representing a significant portion of these investments.
With things moving incredibly quickly in this field, our advice to business leaders and Boards of Directors is that now is the time to act. Identify the use cases that have the best chance of creating significant business value, and get started. The longer you wait, the further your company will fall behind against competition.
Need help getting started with generative AI? Give us a call. We can help you develop your strategy, roadmap and governance to ensure your efforts actually do drive business value.
About Bhavin Shah
Bhavin Shah is a big-picture thinker and visionary global technology executive whose expertise in driving technology innovation, digital business model transformation and enablement of revenue and business capabilities creates value for customers, opportunities for employees and growth for shareholders.
About CIO Professional Services
Based in the San Francisco Bay area, CIO Professional Services LLC is a top-rated Information Technology (IT) consulting firm focused on integrating Business and Information Technology. Our consultants are all hands-on executives who are veteran CIOs and Partners of Big 4 consulting firms. Companies come to us seeking assistance with their information technology strategy as well as for interim or fractional CIO / CTOs, and negotiation and program management/project rescue assistance.
