PegaWorld iNspire 2024: The Rise of the Autonomous Enterprise

What an extraordinary experience! I've just returned from three incredible days fully immersed in AI and low-code in Las Vegas at PegaWorld iNspire 2024 . The Pega event was a hub of energy, with over 10,000 online and 4,000 in-person attendees from more than 50 countries eagerly anticipating the unveiling of Pega 's latest technological innovations. The impact of this event is undeniable, and the insights and knowledge gained from the 200+ product demos are invaluable.?

This was more than just an event; it was a testament to AI’s transformative power and a glimpse into Pega 's role in this revolution. So, what grabbed my attention? Here are my top five highlights from this tech extravaganza.?

My five key highlights from PegaWorld iNspire 2024.?

1. To Infinity and Beyond - The Toolkit for AI Success.?

AI is no longer a buzzword; it's a game-changer for businesses. For example, by harnessing AI for sales , businesses can dramatically enhance their sales performance. By better predicting customers’ needs and streamlining sales processes, businesses can deliver superior sales and much more efficient and cost-effective sales operations.? However, to implement AI effectively, you need a digital toolkit that provides insights into business opportunities, potential obstacles, and more.??

Earlier this year, Pega introduced the Pega Infinity ’24.1 ? range of products, and I got a close look at each while in Las Vegas. As the name suggests, this toolkit opens infinite possibilities for businesses. How? The Infinity toolkit significantly simplifies the traditionally time-consuming manual processes that run a business, regardless of its scale. That frees up employees from tasks such as customer onboarding, data integrations, and persona mapping, allowing them to focus on more productive tasks. Those are just the surface-level processes that can be optimized; each tool in Pega ’s portfolio is designed to address specific challenges businesses face.??

The toolkit also includes Pega Platform ? ,?Pega Customer Decision Hub ? ,?Pega Customer Service ? , and?Pega Sales Automation ?. Each tool has been purpose-built with specific business outcomes in mind. The Pega Infinity '24.1' toolkit is designed to assist every department within your business, whether they are employees in sales, operations, marketing or software development developers.?

While most businesses deploy marketing stacks to derive better outcomes, they often don’t achieve the outcomes they want. Why? Most marketing stacks aim to promote products rather than address customer issues. What guarantees success is building relationships with customers by engaging them one-on-one, anticipating their needs, and delivering tailored experiences across channels. That’s where the Pega Customer Decision Hub ? comes in.???

For example, when the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) looked to build deeper, more meaningful relationships with each of its 10 million customers (about half the population of New York), they deployed the Pega Customer Decision Hub ? . By leveraging Pega’s omnichannel AI marketing solution, CBA created a Customer Engagement Engine. This enabled them to intelligently suggest and personalize the next best conversation to have with each customer, whether they are in the branch, on the phone, online, or on a mobile device.??

Today, with over 50 million next-best conversations , CBA has achieved a 12-point lead in Net Promoter Score over their competitors. ?This approach has delivered the results CBA was aiming for and more.?

2. Minimum Effort, Maximum ROI with a Low-Code Approach.?

Businesses must undergo continuous digital transformation to survive in the current market. They must constantly look for ways to outpace their competitors in terms of efficiency, productivity, innovation, and revenue growth. So, how can businesses maintain speed and agility??

The answer: By using AI-infused low-code solutions that drive automation and innovation. Low-code solutions offer multiple advantages for developers, from quicker time to develop and deploy even the most complex applications to increased efficiency and cost savings.??

At the iNspire event , Pega showcased how they enable businesses to deliver more value for their customers while simultaneously helping their employees and developers be more productive and efficient using AI and Low-Code solutions. For example, Pega Infinity ’24.1 ? provides a low-code, all-inclusive development environment for AI and automation. It includes capabilities such as Next Best Action, Case and Process Management, Natural Language Processing, Voice Analytics and Robotic Process Automation.???

Companies recognize the benefits and are increasingly requesting more AI and Low-Code technology. For instance, when Siemens wanted to digitize customer and employee touchpoints and bridge systems, processes, and people, it turned to Pega. The problem Siemens faced was that their international databases and local SAP systems operated independently, and it required labour-intensive, manual procedures to manage and clean data from disparate systems across the globe. To achieve the desired solution, they needed to integrate business-critical infrastructure on a global level.?

What was the solution??

Siemens created a data management application using Pega 's low-code app development platform. The integration of data and infrastructure using Pega 's low-code solution resulted in a 65% decrease in customer onboarding time and an 80% standardization of their common business processes.?

Pega 's low-code approach, powered by AI, helps businesses increase retention through better customer engagement. It's a perfect blend of intelligence and automation. When businesses deliver great experiences and make their products easy to use and seamless, increased revenue and decreased costs happen naturally.? That’s key nowadays because customer expectations are higher than ever. In a market where personalization is the norm, businesses that fail to adapt risk being left behind.?

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3. Pega Blueprint – Supercharging Workflow Design.?

?When building applications, what aspect of the process do you wish could be accelerated? For me, it is getting stakeholders to align around an optimized workflow design. Let us face it: different stakeholders have different demands, suggestions, and requirements.

Yet, to build a successful application, it is important to understand each stakeholder's viewpoint and then get them on the same page. This is a blocker most businesses face when building applications. Because teams are scattered across geographies, building an application becomes a massively time-consuming process.?

To solve this issue, earlier this year Pega?introduced the Pega GenAI Blueprint? .? At the iNspire event, I got time to take a close look at its capabilities. It is safe to say that the Pega GenAI Blueprint? is going to revolutionize app development. ?

This platform enables businesses to rapidly convert ideas for apps into interactive 'application blueprints , resulting in far better understanding among stakeholders.?This will revolutionize the app development process because it streamlines the traditionally time-consuming process using Gen AI. Nailing down an app design used to take weeks. Pega GenAI Blueprint? helps teams align on a vision in hours, accelerated by GenAI and built-in industry expertise.?

How does the Pega GenAI Blueprint? work??? ?

Describe your goals, and Blueprint? will suggest optimal designs instantly, based on GenAI and a vast repository of workflow best practices.

1. Industry Selection: Choose an industry—whether it be banking, media, telecommunications or whatever. ?
2. Process Design: Select a specific process for which you want to design a blueprint, such as a claims process or new client onboarding. ?
3. Workflow Customization: Using a mix of best practice workflows from Pega’s extensive database and a business’s existing workflows, Pega GenAI Blueprint? crafts a?brand-new workflow. ?
4. Data Integration: Connect the system with existing business data sources. ?
5. Role Definition: I created distinct personas for distinct roles within the process, such as reviewers or approvers. ?
6. Deployment: Within just 5 to 10 minutes, a new Blueprint? is operational and ready for use!? ?

Unlike other Generative AI app development tools that create more code, Pega GenAI Blueprint? focuses on delivering optimized workflow designs while staying true to its low-code approach. That is exciting as it will save businesses massive amounts of app development time.? In just 10 weeks, over 30,000 new blueprints have been created, marking the fastest tech adoption in #Pega 's 40-year history. Having used the technology in Vegas, I am not in the least but surprised by its success.

4. Socrates – learning as it should be.?

At PegaWorld? iNspire Pega launched Pega GenAI Socrates? – a first-of-its-kind generative AI tutor that dynamically teaches core Pega skills to clients and partners. ?

Most people crave learning new skills nearly as much as they loathe the boring methods by which corporations usually teach them. Students suffer through tedious lecture-based courseware that puts more value on memorization than understanding concepts. Rather than engaging with you, traditional courses talk at you with one-size-fits-all lessons regardless of skill level. The content is usually 90% forgotten within a month, resulting in severe skills gaps throughout the organization.?

Pega GenAI Socrates? ?fosters an interactive dialogue that constantly adapts to each student’s industry, skill level, and learning needs. This helps users learn Pega faster and more effectively while retaining more knowledge, resulting in a more deeply skilled workforce.?

How does Pega GenAI Socrates? reimagine corporate learning??

• It more deeply ingrains new skills with students:?Pega GenAI Socrates? ?teaches and assesses students by prompting them to analyze real-life scenarios in their own words instead of hiding behind passive multiple-choice answers. This immediate application of new skills leads to deeper understanding and retention. ?
• It meets students at their unique skill levels:?Pega GenAI Socrates? ?tailors lessons to students' skill levels by analyzing their responses and adapting the content level in real time. This helps students focus on knowledge gaps while skipping concepts they know. Content is also tailored to students’ vertical market experience through industry-specific examples.?
• It’s ready whenever students want to learn: Socrates allows students to learn at their convenience while avoiding exhausting binge learning for hours or days at a time. This on-demand, non-linear approach enables students to engage whenever they want, for as long as they want, on any topic they may need help in the moment.?

By uniquely applying generative AI,?Pega GenAI Socrates?? tutors students in new ways. It educates students through a two-way conversation interspersed with open-ended questions on each learning objective – just as an engaged human teacher would in a classroom- instantly personalizes lessons to address students’ weak spots while also helping them better grasp and internalize their newfound knowledge.?

The result: more impactful learning, more satisfied employees, and more skilled organizations. Now that is learning worth celebrating!?

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5. Beyond the Talks: Networking??

Yes, tech is fun, AI is super fun, and all the latest tools are fun, but what makes events like Pega World iNspire 2024 all the more exciting are the people with whom we meet and network.?To spend time talking to experts about these latest, exciting AI and low-code tools, and the tech industry in general, is truly a nerd’s paradise.

Meeting Francis Carden , my friend, automation mentor, and podcast co-host, was wonderful. I also got to meet my friend, Pascal Bornet , with whom I work quite closely.?I saw Mike Hobday and Sarah Burnett for the first time in ages, and we five got time to bond over our liking of generative AI and the need for businesses to focus on the human side of artificial intelligence, i.e., responsible AI.?

If we are to maximize the benefits of AI for everyone, then we need to develop AI responsibly, combining the best of technology and the best of humanity. What fun.?

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The Pega AI Advantage: Empowering Businesses and Enhancing Experiences.?

We cannot overstate the importance of AI as businesses attempt to navigate an increasingly digital world. As such, PegaWorld iNspire 2024 was a testament to the transformative power of AI and Low-Code tech. Pega 's vision for the future of business is clear: to empower businesses with AI infused Low-Code tools that help businesses deliver tangible results. Their focus on low-code solutions democratizes AI, making its benefits accessible to all with Pega GenAI Blueprint? , in particular, a game-changer for app development.?

However, what truly sets Pega apart is its unwavering commitment to its customers. Pega understands that AI is not just about technology; it is about people. As such, Pega 's AI solutions prioritize human experiences, augmenting rather than supplanting our human capabilities. The result is a blend of intelligence and automation, efficiency, productivity, user and customer satisfaction.?Now that is something to celebrate!?

#PegaWorld2024 #AI #Innovation #PegaWorld #AILiteracy #PegaiNspire2024 #KieranGilmurray ?