AI and Digital Transformation: Convergence of Potential and Impact

By Saju, Director of Strategy and Innovation, Searce ANZ

Digital transformation has undergone many incremental iterations since its inception in 2013. Post-pandemic, we are now in the era of Digital Transformation v2.0, where customer 360 and employee 360 both play important roles. It has moved from being a strategic imperative for organizations to the foundational pillar not just to excel but to survive in this digital era.

The set of actions during a compelling event about 3 years ago showcased the agility business could experience through the adoption of technology. We have clearly seen the amount of innovation experienced through the virtual explosion of startups and industry segment traversals during this time (Uber Eats for example).

The transformation imperative, though covers multiple facets including business models, operating structures, experiences, and platforms, can be distilled to 3 basic sets of behaviors:

Refine: This involves continuously optimizing existing processes and systems to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
Grow: This involves expanding into new markets or developing new products and services to grow the business.
Reimagine: This involves completely rethinking the way the business operates to create new opportunities for growth.
To succeed in today's digital economy, businesses need to focus on all three of these behaviors. They need to continuously refine their existing operations, grow into new markets, and reimagine their business models.

Traditional strategy built on people, processes, and technology continues to be the pathway for most businesses today. However, technology is compounding its march of late to tackle problems and simplify experiences. The core innovations in the disruptive streams around cloud, AI, and data clearly bear testament to the rapidly improving interactions we have with organizations both as consumers and as employees.

The newer continuous stream of improvements requires businesses to explore, assess, refine, and adopt the changes to maintain its crucial edge within the digital transformation journey. It is absolutely crucial to associate with talent either through organic (internal) or inorganic (group of partners) to assist the organizations.

The evolution of this talent needs to be nurtured through exposure to diverse communities and through a culture of continuous learning. For example, Searce has built a community of practice to assist people from all backgrounds to collaborate on the what and why to build on their experiences. We use the same model in all engagements to ensure knowledge sharing is a mandate in our differentiating pillar.

It is no secret that geopolitical situations often lead to talent crunch that stalls crucial initiatives. One pathway to resolve this challenge as observed locally within ANZ is to look at blended operating models to extend the lifespan of intrinsic value based projects.

In addition to talent, we also need to have a strong understanding of the technology that powers our experiences and none has been impactful this year than AI with its groundbreaking impact to society in general.

As AI continues to develop, it will become an even more important enabler of digital transformation. Businesses that embrace AI will be able to automate tasks, improve decision-making, personalize experiences, develop new products and services, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations.

Business are in the conceptual stages grounded by these initial principles

Gain a competitive advantage: AI can help businesses to gain a competitive advantage by automating tasks, improving decision-making, and personalizing experiences. For example, AI-powered chatbots can provide 24/7 customer service, which can help businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Reduce costs: AI can help businesses to reduce costs by automating tasks and improving efficiency. For example, AI-powered predictive maintenance can help businesses to reduce the cost of unplanned downtime.
Improve safety: AI can help businesses to improve safety by automating tasks and identifying potential hazards. For example, AI-powered video analytics can be used to identify and track people in a warehouse, which can help to prevent accidents.
Overall, AI is a powerful tool that can help businesses to transform their operations and achieve their strategic goals. Businesses that embrace AI will be well-positioned for success in the digital economy.

We are now witnessing board room discussions around how AI is being used to drive digital transformation in some of societally important segments :

In the healthcare industry, AI is being used to develop personalized treatment plans, diagnose diseases, and provide remote patient monitoring.
In the retail industry, AI is being used to personalize product recommendations, optimize inventory management, and prevent fraud.
In the manufacturing industry, AI is being used to automate production processes, improve quality control, and reduce waste.
These are just a few examples of how AI is being used to drive digital transformation. As AI continues to develop, it is likely that we will see even more innovative ways to use this technology to improve the way we live and work.

To summarize, technology on the shelf only showcases the potential but knowing the effective use and driving the right adoption does add value. All the disruptive capabilities on standby no longer represent choice for organizations. It is now a must-have, and organizations which embrace these digital transformation imperatives will emerge ahead of the curve in the post-pandemic world.

Continue to expand horizons by understanding the art of the possible. Be it next generation cloud, data capabilities, or advanced AI. Let's not forget, talent is crucial and they are the ones who execute all the initiatives either through training or leveraging external expertise to accelerate the needed outcomes. Talent is what defines culture for organizations and businesses must be willing to nurture them to create, iterate, and preserve the elements of change that deliver most value driven by customer feedback loops.

To sum it up, famed creator of the digital transformation law George Westerman states "Companies don't need a digital strategy, What they need are the capabilities for digital to thrive within the business, which powers the strategy".

I hope you found this blog post helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Searce Australia Pty Ltd
Suite 1, Level 11, 66 Goulburn Street, Sydney NSW 2000.

Contact:
Saju Daniel
saju.daniel@searce.com

Searce is a modern technology consulting firm that helps organizations futurify their businesses, leveraging cloud, AI & analytics. They are a niche cloud consulting business with futuristic tech in their DNA, focused on "realizing the Next in the Now" for their clients. Specializing in cloud data engineering, AI/ML, and advanced cloud InfraTech such as Anthos and Kubernetes, Searce is one of the top partners for Google Cloud globally, with 3,000+ clients successfully moved to cloud.
Searce is headquartered in Pune, India, and has offices in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

Searce's mission is to help organizations futurify their businesses through the adoption of cloud, AI, and data. They do this by providing consulting services, training, and managed services. Searce's clients include some of the world's leading organizations, such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft.

Searce is a fast-growing company, and has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing cloud consulting firms in the world. They have also been recognized as a Google Cloud Premier Partner, and an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner.

Searce is committed to helping organizations futurify their businesses through the adoption of cloud, AI, and data. They believe that these technologies have the potential to transform the way businesses operate, and they are passionate about helping organizations realize this potential.

This release was published on openPR.