A New Framework for Innovation

Jeb Horton
Senior Vice President, Global Services

June 12, 2024

In today's business landscape, organizations face a delicate balancing act. Business leaders must invest time in innovation and adopt new tools to stay competitive and deliver value to their customers. At the same time, they need to manage the risks associated with these innovations while adhering to budgets and regulatory requirements. This balancing act is sometimes a challenge, but it also presents a significant opportunity for building operational efficiencies that are resilient to change.

Although AI for commercial use is still in its early stages, business leaders are incorporating AI innovations into daily operations more than ever before. While some sectors, such as the health and finance industries, have developed more advanced use cases for these innovative tools, others are still experimenting. This means that enterprises are at different stages of embedding AI into their operations.

This highlights the challenges organizations face in adopting advanced AI capabilities and emphasizes the need for robust frameworks and strategies, one that bridges strategy and execution. The recent Hitachi Vantara Exchange event in New York delved into this discussion and explored some frameworks that organizations could adopt.

Impact of AI Across Industries and Society

Innovation plays a crucial role in making organizations more effective and efficient. In larger organizations, this is even more complex because different lines of business need to adopt AI capabilities and invest in the necessary infrastructure.

One common challenge organizations face in deploying new AI solutions is the struggle to upskill the entire organization to utilize advanced capabilities without disrupting workflow. It is sometimes challenging to convince different lines of business to embrace the potential returns offered by AI, particularly with technologies like generative AI.

Developing a robust business case to gain buy-in from various departments is essential, not just for building AI capabilities but also for ensuring that the investment translates into tangible benefits for the entire organization. Start by clarifying your unit’s strategy. What are your goals? What needs to change to achieve them? This step is crucial because innovation should be purpose-driven. By aligning projects with strategic objectives, you create a roadmap for success.

Read Our Insights Article to learn about Building an Unbreakable Data Infrastructure in the Age of AI and Hybrid Cloud.

Fostering a Culture of Innovation and Employee Engagement

Innovation is a top priority for businesses looking to stay relevant and competitive. Innovation should not be a standalone initiative but rather a core element woven into the fabric of the organization. Creating forums for employees to learn about and adapt to emerging technologies is vital.

One panelist cited an example of a financial services firm that successfully integrated innovation into its culture. By fostering employee engagement and encouraging bottom-up ideas, the organization achieved significant advancements. The application of AI, specifically natural language processing (NLP), in tasks such as summarizing documents and generating investment signals, showcased tangible outcomes, including increased efficiency by 50 to 75%. This real-world example underscored the transformative power of embedding innovation within an organization's DNA.

AI on Customer Experience and Security

AI is reshaping the customer experience and addressing security challenges, and panelists at the Hitachi Vantara Exchange 2023 event were able to outline concrete examples from their respective domains. With customer experience for instance, AI has been instrumental in handling support-center queries, with over 40%-50% of cases resolved through AI before any human intervention. This has led to improved response times, case resolution, and accuracy, significantly enhancing customer satisfaction.

On the security front, the integration of AI and telemetry data has enabled proactive anomaly detection, sentiment analysis, and pre-emptive measures against service degradation. It is important to harnessing innovation securely, emphasizing the need for talent development programs to upskill the workforce for the era of gen AI. Read Our Blog to learn How AI Can Turbocharge Your Business.

A New Way forward

The Hitachi Vantara Exchange series panel discussion shed light on the evolving landscape of AI-driven innovation. Key takeaways included the imperative of developing solid business cases for AI adoption, embedding innovation into organizational culture, and leveraging AI to enhance customer experiences and security. As businesses navigate the complexities of AI, budgets, and regulations, they must also embrace the transformative potential of strategic innovation. By weaving digital foundations and flexible frameworks, companies can build resilience, adapt to disruptions, and thrive in an ever-evolving landscape.

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