Critical issues are occupying the thoughts of CEOs and other C-Suite executives, such as escalating inflation, labor shortages, supply chain disturbances, and shifts in consumer behaviors. According to a 2022 Gartner® CEO Survey of CEOs’ greatest priorities, “workforce” has moved up in the ranking of priorities since 2020 by 32%. As we roar back from a pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding the workforce, this number is probably higher.
When you layer priorities with the rapid evolution of AI technology, the sense of urgency is palpable. It reminds me of the days when every executive was worried about the impact of mobile. The only difference is back then, even consumers were slowly adopting mobile technology. There was ample time for companies to figure it out. With AI, the transition will feel seamless to the consumer but highly impactful for organizations. Occasionally, they will wonder: Is this a human or AI chatbot?
Some companies have multiple groups experimenting with AI technologies but need a roadmap or expertise to effectively execute and enhance existing processes or create AI-powered customer experiences to drive business value. A best practice used by today’s most successful companies is the creation of a Center of Excellence (CoE) or an Innovation Lab. Both models deliver results and can be a great way to organize the chaos by creating designated hubs for fostering innovation, standardizing best practices, and driving transformational initiatives.
The reality of creating a CoE or Innovation Lab is one thing, but to see it make a meaningful impact on the business is another. For this reason, I want to share an AI Transformation Blueprint that will help you set yourself apart from competitors, enhance processes, and gain unique insights into your company’s AI journey.
Our AI Transformation Blueprint is an exhaustive 3-5 year roadmap for AI Transformation and adoption within enterprise organizations. Whether you are creating CoE or Innovation Lab, our approach offers a structured pathway to evaluate your organization’s readiness for AI implementation, identify high-impact use cases, validate AI solutions, and seamlessly integrate AI into your operations, paving the way for accelerated growth.
A CoE or Innovation Lab won’t be enough to transform your business into making the most out of AI’s potential. Depending on your organization’s AI journey maturity, the approach will look different but we can help accelerate your journey to get you to where you need to be.
1. Unleash the power of AI in your organization by establishing an AI Culture
AI is poised to impact all aspects of life and business. We advocate everyone’s involvement for successful AI integration in company operations. Our strategy includes customized training for various roles, fostering understanding of AI’s potential. This training covers promoting creativity, ethical AI use, and inclusivity. Exclusive groups like CoE’s or Innovation Labs can alienate employees. Inclusivity (and diversity) is key, with cultural transformation as our initial focus for organizational change.
Cultivating an ethos that intertwined human and artificial intelligence, can help:
- Enhance an understanding of AI across the organization
- Encourage the use of data and AI in decision making
- Encourage collaboration between technology and business teams on AI projects
- Establish guidelines for responsible and ethical AI use
- Cultivate creativity and experimentation of AI
2. Empower your organization with AI Capabilities through rapid enablement
This is the learning phase of AI. You simply want to get the tools and technologies in the hands of employees but with parameters. There are many concerns about IP, security and reliability of data so we suggest you do a pilot first with new technologies. Collect the data and apply the knowledge based on the insights. This is where you encourage people to set working parameters and break things apart. At Dialexa, we did our own internal ChatGPT pilot where a small select group of cross-functional team members tested ChatGPT as part of their job. We had 35 pilot volunteer participants, 8 pilot leaders and 24 additional participants in the control group. The pilot lasted a little more than a month but we found that employees were saving approximately 1 hour per workday and we discovered 128 novel use cases.
By embracing rapid enablement of AI technologies, organizations can outpace their competitors in the market by:
- Getting the technology in people’s hands
- Exploring tools, frameworks and platforms that align with business needs
- Assembling cross-functional teams with diverse set of skills to encourage knowledge sharing and collaboration
- Moving fast and collecting data along the way
- Creating new value metrics
- Harnessing the power of AI to solve problems in new and efficient ways
3. Refine AI use cases and drive iterative improvement through analysis
It is important to actively seek feedback, integrate insights, and continuously refine AI models, algorithms and processes. This is what drives the development of new AI algorithms, models and techniques. Also, business needs change and AI is well-positioned to adapt the more you feed and train the models. One way to validate the data is through proof of concepts as this can help determine feasibility and effectiveness of the solutions you design. By validating AI solutions against real-world scenarios, organizations gather data that drives iterative improvement to these use cases and applications.
The fastest way to get started on continuously applying what your team is learning is to:
- Identify and prioritize suitable use cases
- Assess and leverage data assets effectively
- Drive continuous learning and knowledge management
- Validate and verify the AI solutions
- Achieve iterative improvement and optimization
- Respond to market shifts quicker (be proactive vs reactive)
4. Integrate AI into core operations and workflows with AI Operationalization
Implementation of AI technologies into the core operations and workflows of your organization can feel overwhelming but by now your team has prioritized the use cases, experimented with new technologies and solutions, tested and collected data and learned from a proof of concept. This is where AIOps bring efficiency to the integration process. By leveraging advanced algorithms and real-time data analysis, AIOps streamlines the deployment of GenAI or other AI tools, ensuring optimal performance, scalability, and rapid adaptation to the company’s unique ecosystem. Through proactive monitoring, anomaly detection, and automated incident response, AIOps guarantees a seamless rollout of GenAI or other AI tools, minimizing downtime and maximizing user satisfaction. This synergy empowers the company to harness GenAI’s transformative capabilities with confidence, positioning it for enhanced operational excellence and sustainable growth.
By bridging the gap between AI capabilities and practical business applications and skills to support the end-to-end AI lifecycle, companies can:
- Enhance efficient and automation of customer and employee’s journeys
- Improve decision making by responding to data more quickly
- Predict maintenance and reduce downtime of software, equipment or processes
- Personalize customer experiences by analyzing customer data and behavior
5. Leverage AI for strategic growth and expansion by evolve the organization:
To effectively address the imperative of staying ahead in a dynamic market landscape, businesses must proactively identify and capitalize on opportunities for expansion and innovation. By leveraging the power of AI, companies can redefine traditional boundaries and broaden their offerings, leading to the creation of new revenue streams. AI-enabled products open doors to novel business avenues, allowing organizations to cater to evolving consumer needs while driving growth. Embracing these strategies ensures that businesses not only keep pace with market trends but also gain a competitive edge by leading the charge in innovation and continuously reimagining their market presence.
AI enabled customer and employee journeys may feel like an existential threat but in reality, the right implementation of AI with the right (tested and tried) solutions can future-proof the organization from competitors. AI is the way to unlock new revenue opportunities, expand into new segments, challenge existing product experiences and rethink the impact a company can make. Evolving the organization with the right processes, tools and mindset can help executives:
- Respond to market threats more quickly
- Rethink the boundaries of an organization and how employees work
- Increase market share through new, improved experiences
- Mitigate risks of falling behind
- Leverage capabilities with the right governance structure in place allowing AI to revolutionize the business or product(s)
- Identify capability gaps and plans to fill gaps
Our AI Transformation Blueprint is not a mere glimpse into the future; it serves as a comprehensive guide throughout your journey. It equips your business with the tools to harness the true potential of AI, navigate potential roadblocks, and ensure a smooth transition from adopting AI to seamlessly integrating it into your operations. With our approach, AI goes beyond being just a buzzword—to your strategic ally in achieving business success.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeanette Cajide is a senior strategy and operations executive with experience leading teams to create, launch, and scale new ventures. Before Dialexa, she worked at Goldman Sachs, Accenture, and Merrill Lynch and has launched several technology startups. She has an MBA from Northwestern, an MPA from Harvard, and a Bachelors from The University of Texas at Austin.
