Building Intelligent Enterprises with AI and Data Analytics

Is your company leading from the forefront? The answer to this question is one that progressive companies must constantly reassess; it is also one that the best of companies have had to contend with since the outbreak of the coronovirus crisis. Nothing could possibly have prepared the most prescient of companies to tackle an event so unexpected and unprecedented, at such a scale. Understandably, most have responded by reducing costs, halting investments, slashing operational expenditures and so on.

However, McKinsey points out that these measures are far too inadequate to thrive in the ‘Next Normal’. Instead, companies need to make changes that can transform their business at its most foundational levels. In its Top 10 Trends report, Gartner pointed out that “Data and analytics combined with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will be paramount in the effort to predict, prepare and respond in a proactive and accelerated manner to a global crisis and its aftermath."

The intelligence behind the Intelligent Enterprise
An Intelligent Enterprise is one that can respond quickly to changes in the marketplace,  swiftly course-correcting to move towards desired outcomes. When Analytics and AI powered intelligence become the core value of an organization, it is empowered to not just collect data but to connect it.

Companies will be able to forecast their revenues more accurately, improve their overall business and operational processes, redirect resources to areas where it is likely to have maximum impact, and make better decisions about investing into new products. It would also add value to employees by automating the boring and routine, and helping them become more customer-focused, flexible and responsive.

Above all, Analytics and AI would help companies create better customer experiences. Modern consumers living in a digitalized world are likely to expect the same level of service from the companies they interact with. AI and data analytics can help companies accomplish this by engaging customers at a granular level. 

Competitive edge with AI and Data Analytics

Wipro is collaborating with enterprises worldwide to leverage our technology solutions in Data, Analytics & AI to help build innovation roadmaps that will empower them to face the challenges of today and emerge stronger tomorrow.

For instance, we delivered a predictive analytics solution for a public healthcare provider in UK to forecast demand for medical infrastructure such as ventilators, beds, and other medical equipment in the fight against COVID-19.

Similarly, a leading UK bank could reduce operational costs by 70% leveraging our intelligent automation solution, making the bank 100% regulatory compliant.

Leveraging AI-based data science models, a telecom giant transformed forecasting processes to serve customers across 180 countries. As low as 2% and a maximum of 10% variation in forecasting led to improved revenue across multiple product lines for both consumer and enterprise brands.

Moving towards AI and Data analytics maturity

While the journey towards becoming an Intelligent Enterprise is not a ‘difficult’ one, it does call for consistency and adaptability. Intelligent Enterprises are not one-time efforts resulting in definite products, but strategies that rapidly transform zettabytes of data into actionable insights.

Wipro’s survey of organizational use of AI indicates that while 95% of business leaders surveyed see AI as being critical to Intelligent Enterprises, only 17% of respondents are using it across the entire organization. The level of AI maturity also varies across departments with 41% of respondents stating that their organization’s IT department was the most likely to be completely mature. Only a quarter of respondents felt other departments were mature in their AI usage. This indicates the wide scope and impact that AI could have if implemented across the board.

The report also focuses on the point that while IT has had high rates of AI adoption success compared to the last year, departments like finance, HR and marketing still lag behind with less than 30% reporting an increase in AI adoption.

But what can companies that have previously looked over their shoulder at Data Analytics and AI do? Would entering the world of AI now be too little, too late? The good news is that by its very nature, AI/ML models work on a plug and play paradigm. They are easier to adopt than traditional technologies and can therefore help clients make the most of their infrastructure investments..

Is your business ‘intelligent-ready’?

Wipro’s research on the State of Intelligent Enterprises endorses the adage that new problems cannot be solved using old methods. Tomorrow’s enterprises will be built on a foundation of AI, Analytics, ML, deep learning and automation. The ability of your organization to make productive decisions rests on its ability to generate accurate, fast and actionable intelligence.

Where is your organization on the IE journey? What would be the implications of adopting intelligent technologies across the enterprise? If you have already started implementing AI, how can you leverage it better for greater impact? Read the report here to find out.

Jayant Prabhu, Global Head and VP, Data, Analytics & AI, Wipro Limited