How To Use AI to Get Ahead of Global Competition

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are deeply transformative technologies, poised to change customer-business relationships and create clear-cut business advantages. However, while we’re beginning to understand the possibilities of these technologies, it’s also clear we’re just scraping the surface — the broadest-reaching implications, advances, and economic impact of AI and machine learning are only now starting to take shape.

A recent Gartner analysis predicts AI-driven global business value will reach $1.2 trillion in 2018, a 70 percent increase year-over-year. That’s just the beginning. By 2022, Gartner reports, this number is expected to hit $3.9 trillion.

As organisations strive to become experience businesses, AI technologies will help them improve digital interactions and deliver more personalised customer experiences, transform their operations and compete at the top level.

How AI drives increased business value

Organisations committed to effectively leveraging these technologies are experiencing other, often unexpected, business benefits. Thanks to predictive capabilities, business leaders can make decisions in near-real time, increasing operational efficiency and improving decision-making. By 2021, Gartner predicts, AI will create even greater business value by adding new revenue opportunities, helping companies increase sales of their existing products and services and discover opportunities for new products and services.

AI in Asia Pacific

Some industries across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region have already adopted AI technology, but others remain skeptical and don’t yet see a compelling need to invest in artificial intelligence. That, very simply, is a mistake. This may be due to businesses thinking accessing AI capabilities requires a heavy investment in complex technology or hard to find skills. In fact, it’s the opposite; most advanced technology companies are building AI and machine learning capability into their products and making it readily accessible to everyday business users. Put simply, preparing your enterprise for the future requires fully embracing artificial intelligence.

Enterprises in APAC have an advantage when it comes to incorporating AI into their business processes. Because the market is small and competitive, companies must be more nimble in adopting new technology. Adopting AI, therefore, can help businesses differentiate themselves from their competitors.

An Adobe and Econsultancy study found that marketers in APAC surpass their global counterparts in terms of adopting AI and in the level of investment in digital skills training they provide employees. 53 percent of APAC marketers already use AI or plan to start using the technology in the next year.

The message that businesses need to make a strategic investment in AI to remain competitive, though, hasn’t reached everyone yet.

The lessons are clear; firstly, invest in the foundational technologies that enable you to label your data and content. Without investment in this foundation, you will quickly reach limitations in extracting value from AI. Secondly, explore how AI can play a role in the short term, enabling you to move faster, smarter and without a significant increase in resource, and deliver value in the long term. 

Read on here to find out more about how AI can give your organisation a distinct competitive advantage.