Deriving business value from AI means moving data out of a vacuum

Digital transformation has been a business priority across the Middle East and Africa for many years before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organisations have made growing investments in tech tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) in MEA for more than a decade now.

In fact, Microsoft and EY’s Artificial Intelligence in Middle East and Africa Report from 2019 tracked this trend and found that the region had spent $9.07 billion on AI transactions between 2008 and 2018. With AI opportunities close to home pushing companies into totally new domains in the future, it is perhaps not surprising that AI is receiving attention as a key topic for executive management. Around 80% of companies that responded to the survey noted that AI was considered an important topic at the executive management level, however only 37% of Board of Directors had reported that AI was important to their board.

Now, as we’ve seen digital transformation accelerate at a rate not yet seen before as a result of high levels of disruption, empowering staff with the right and relevant information at the edge of an organisation will be the next competitive advantage in a world where developing new products, improving on customer experience, and driving costs down while driving innovation forward is critical. AI solutions are enabling business to gain these on-the-edge insights into areas previously not identified.

But, the driving force of relevant and correct insights is your data, and the success of your AI journey will depend on placing a proper set of data at the front and centre of your organisation. With an overwhelming majority expecting AI to impact the core of the current business, it is vital that businesses get data right. 

Creating a culture of data

Many business leaders will agree that data is an invaluable resource. However, despite significant investments in this area, organisations have said culture remains a major problem. Featured Gartner research in Microsoft’s latest paper, You and Your Data Dividend, has found that it’s very rare that organisations make decisions where data is a determining factor. Many organisations treat data as a supportive element and secondary, as opposed to it playing an integral role in decision making.

Inspiring a change in culture is no easy feat, but the first step is for leadership teams to ask whether they have a data-driven decision-making culture within their organisations. If not, they need to acknowledge that this element is missing. This admission is important in building a ‘from’ and ‘to’ statement. An example of this kind of statement would be: our organisation wants to change from our current decision style to one that is data-driven. Start by outlining the current decision-making culture with the help of company surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews with employees.

With this picture in mind, the next step is to determine what it means for the organisation to be data-driven, completing the ‘from’ and ‘to’ statement. It should inform a new vision and mission statement; one that provides purpose, takes stock of what sets the organisation apart from competitors, and describes its value to customers and stakeholders.

Enabling a data-driven culture in organisations has the potential to lead to true digital transformation allowing organisations to achieve more. Igniting this mindset shift is achieved through small, intentional moves towards a larger goal. It’s the little and consistent achievements that will help build sustainable change. 

Making sure you use the right data

Many organisations maintain a belief that they need massive amounts of data to build successful AI models, but that’s just not true. If datasets are of quality, then a reasonable amount should be sufficient to get the most out of your AI solutions. Essentially, the quality and relevance of your data should take precedence over volume.

So what is the right data? Well, Gartner research showcased in Microsoft’s new paper, Realizing Business Value Through Intelligent Technology, observes that the correct data is that which is relevant to the business problems that you want your AI models to address.

Additionally, when choosing the data that is right for you, organisations also need to have a clear understanding of the sustainability of those datasets. This is determined by considering how often this data can be obtained (daily, weekly, bi-annually, etc.) as well as where it is coming from (information received by listening to the market or through analysis of all possible studies on a specific topic).

We’ve all heard the phrase that data is the new oil, and as overused as it is to describe the importance of data in what is fast becoming an increasingly digital society in the Middle East and Africa, it is an accurate description. Data is an invaluable commodity when it comes to organisations’ AI strategies and solutions, but only if it used in the right way and drives successful decision making.