The power of AI

In today’s age of vast connections in which the Internet of Things is flourishing, it is safe to assume that companies that have mastered AI and big data related technologies have adapted to the technology of the future

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the talk of the town over the past couple of years and is becoming increasingly relevant for companies seeking to retain a competitive advantage. According to a recent survey undertaken by McKinsey to understand the state of AI in 2020, 20 per cent or more organisations from a variety of industries attributed their earnings to AI and these companies have planned to invest even more in AI in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its acceleration of all things digital.

It is often said that people you work with are the pillar of every successful business. Even the government plays a significant role in boosting the sector by supporting the companies in the adoption of innovative ways to grow business. The UAE government has set a great example to support businesses through its appointment of a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, the first in the world, and later with the appointment of a Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs. These two appointments by the UAE government have opened doors for new business ideas and fast-tracked the implementation of AI initiatives across mainstream industries – a commendable job in accelerating digital transformation in the country. In line with the fourth industrial revolution, the UAE aims to be the capital of AI in the next decade and is cooperating with friendly countries and international partners to achieve this goal. According to recent studies, artificial intelligence is expected to contribute $320bn to the Middle East’s GDP by 2030, with $57.6bn spent on AI globally by 2021.

The sharp increase in computing power, big data and machine learning is allowing us to reach new heights through the power of AI, as it is also accelerating the deployment of deep data application services in the era of big data.

FOUR REASONS TO IMPLEMENT AI IN YOUR BUSINESS

It is essential for companies to realise and understand the importance of investing in AI and the benefits associated with it.

01

Increasing revenue

AI involves the use of hyper-intelligent algorithms that enable machines to learn, understand and act accordingly. This results in more accurate lead sourcing, presents products differently by providing a unique experience, and manages sales better to ultimately drive more positive outcomes.

02

Improving efficiencies

AI enables companies to provide customers with 24/7 uninterrupted service, helps extract meaningful information from a very large sum of data, automates complex services that support developers to get rid of tedious tasks giving them an opportunity to focus on more vital tasks, and enhanced security for the most critical information of the business regardless of the platforms.

03

Lowering operational costs Intelligent automation and the actionable insights through AI drive high volume of workflows, significantly reducing the probability of a human error. Intelligent actions allowed by AI can be used to further refine how they function, and deep learning is now a progressive tool for perception that provides the highest level of accuracy.

04

Improving overall customer experience

The information gathered by AI and machine learning techniques helps organisations understand their customers better. More accurate understanding of the customer’s history and behavioural data gives an opportunity to take real-time decisions and hyper personalisation of content and offers. AI-based chatbots are among the most successful tools as they can respond to customers immediately, accurately and are consistent. They even collect important data and also learn from the data collected, a win-win situation for both customers and businesses.

Bosch established a centre dedicated to AI in 2017 with an aim to deploy AI technologies across its products and services. By using data from various business divisions, Bosch conducts novel research that focuses on designing and implementing AI for smart, connected and autonomous technologies.

In today’s age of vast connections in which the Internet of Things is flourishing, it is safe to assume that companies that have mastered AI and big data related technology have adapted to the technology of the future. AI has the potential to completely reshape and redefine the way we live and work, how we move and what we do on a daily basis. Autonomous cars, facial recognition, medical diagnostics, human-like robots, and digital assistants are only a few examples of AI in action, and its potential is immense. These AI and machine learning tools can help create innovative user experiences with better results.

During the pandemic it became clear that being digitally savvy was no longer just an advantage; it was a necessity. Companies rushed to create digital strategies and implement software that could not only keep their lights on but could help them meet immediate customer and employee needs. According to the

Digital Transformation in the UAE 2020 report, 9.84 million people in a population of 9.94 million are internet users. The UAE has also ranked first in the Middle East and 8th globally in the Online Services Index (OSI), which measures the evolution of governmental smart services, proving that the country highly values its ability to access needed services through online platforms.

As the pandemic forced companies who did not provide online services to adapt, organisations attempted to adjust their service offerings overnight, whether through employee- or customerfacing platforms. While some have been using legacy applications that remain outdated, others have quickly built software that is bound to face challenges in terms of efficiency and adaptability to changing business needs and requirements. Both practices will ultimately hinder growth and cause the slow erosion of the organisations’ efficiency, innovation, and effectiveness. The cost resulting from these complications is coined “technical debt”.

For years, technical debt has been tossed around with dozens of definitions and connotations. But simply put, technical debt is the coding you have to do now because of the shortcuts you took in the past. It’s the technologies and time spent maintaining old, bad and broken code, rather than developing new ideas and innovations.

PAYING THE PRICE OF TECHNICAL DEBT

The price occurs when companies prioritise rapid repairs over scalable solutions in their design and development processes. Instead of retooling and modernising flawed solutions, companies have applied a band-aid which ultimately incurs technical debt. OutSystems polled over 500 IT

leaders worldwide in June 2021 to further delve into the topic. We discovered that technical debt consumes about one-third of a company’s IT budget on average, and it accounts for 41 per cent of a company’s IT expenditure for enterprises. Technical debt destroys much of a company’s budget in verticals such as healthcare, which ranked first in terms of financial damage, with banking and finance following closely behind.

Many factors might contribute to technical debt. Too many development languages/frameworks (52 per cent), turnover within the development team (49 per cent) and accepting flaws to reach release dates (43 per cent) are all cited by IT leaders in the research. All these factors make it hard for businesses to maintain and rework critical systems – and won’t disappear on their own. In fact, the increased demand for digital tools that businesses experienced during the pandemic will persist in 2021 and beyond, threatening to exacerbate the problem for companies of all sizes.

CUTTING STRINGS LOOSE

The first step in addressing technical debt is to avoid adding to it in the first place. We know that IT departments are under more pressure than ever before to manage current systems while also planning for the future. That’s one of the reasons companies are rushing to adopt no and low-code solutions. However, many of these tools are developed for speed and aren’t designed to alter or scale.

The results of our research suggest two solutions to relieve the problem: reducing development staff turnover and limiting the number of new programming languages and frameworks an organisation embraces. Other approaches include inventorying assets to determine the presence and impact of legacy technologies. Organisations must rethink and reorient their strategy away from simply sustaining historical dependencies and addressing and replacing them with current styles. By carefully aligning modern application development platforms, organisational structures and team priorities, any company is capable of steadily chipping away at their debt without compromising the timelines of their current projects.

Cutting technical debt takes time and strategy, just like paying off financial debt. This necessitates a shift in emphasis from short-term benefits to long-term success and the development of instruments that support both. This is the first step towards developing a culture of innovation and acknowledging the organisational need for change. Freeing themselves off technical debt allows businesses to flourish and thrive moving forward, much like paying off that last home mortgage payment.