4 things management boards should know about AI

AI will make significant changes in how businesses operate but management boards need to understand how this technology fundamentally functions.

Artificial Intelligence, or AI as it’s famously called, is impacting businesses across industries significantly. AI, along with Machine Learning (ML), Data Analytics, and Augmented Reality (AR), forms the backbone of the Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0. But there’s a catch!

Management boards don’t necessarily know how AI can help them reach the top. Although you don’t need a professional degree in computer engineering to understand the ins and outs of AI, you must know the business impacts of this technology. Gartner CIO survey reveals that more than half of technology executives will implement AI by the end of 2020, a sharp increase of 14% from today. 

This article sheds light on 4 things management boards should know about AI and why it’s necessary.

1. AI is more Maths and less Magic.

Management boards have to remove from their mind that AI is a high-tech technology that can only be understood by technical professionals. That’s true on one plane but not on all. Remember that you are not a scientist who is trying to improve upon the existing technology. Instead, you are someone who understands the market well and needs critical data to make better estimates. 

Once you know the purpose of implementing AI in your business, you will be much more confident about what you need to understand and what you can brush off.

Also Read: Role of AI Guided Content in Predictive Analysis

2. Understand why you need AI in your business.

As described in the last point, you need to know why implementing AI is essential for your business. Hold long discussion sessions with your vendor to get a 360-degree perspective of the need for AI and how it can improve your productivity. A critical parameter to check the vendor is to see whether they can explain the benefits of AI in your business in simple English. If they fail to do so, you should scrap their name from the list and search for another vendor. 

Ask the following questions from the vendor:

a. The economic implications of AI.

b. The timeframe in which you will start repeating the awards.

c. How will it integrate with your existing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software?

d. The relevant stakeholders in the business.

e. What will the barriers to compliance and IT?

3. AI doesn’t always mean getting business insights.

Remember that AI isn’t data analytics. The latter is all about gathering business-critical data and finding patterns that can help gauge the market better. Tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Apple are already doing that to understand customer behavior and create strategies to entice them. Moreover, much of social media data is worthless and doesn’t provide a 360-degree perspective of the market and your target segment. Instead, AI will help you refine older business models and build new ones. These models will help you better estimate the market and you can also change them as per your liking. 

4. AI is not a one-time investment.

The biggest mistake that management boards commit is that they think AI to be a one-time investment. There isn’t any doubt that AI will help companies maximize their productivity, increase their revenues, and cut operational costs. But that can only happen when it is a dynamic technology that continuously transforms with micro and macro factors. Other parameters like changes in market data and new government policies also play a significant role in how AI functions. So AI isn’t a one-time investment thing. Instead, it requires regular capital investment to help you stay at the top.

Also Read: How Artificial Intelligence is shaking up the ERP Landscape

At Sage Software Solutions (P) Ltd., we are home to world-class ERP software and CRM software that will solidify your business tech support fundamentals and enable you to build a customer-centric organization. To know more about it, SMS SAGE to 56767. You can also write to us at sales@sagesoftware.co.in

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