Data, strategy and people key to scale AI efforts: SK Sahu, Accenture

Today, organizations are scaling up to leverage AI for achieving their growth objectives. Saurabh Kumar Sahu, MD and Lead, Applied Intelligence, Accenture in India, tells us more. Excerpts from an interview:

DQ: Accenture released a study that shows businesses will face big losses if they do not scale AI. What are the prerequisites when it comes to scaling AI across the business?

Saurabh Kumar Sahu: Today, most organizations realize the need to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to achieve their growth objectives. However, they are struggling to scaling AI across the business. To successfully scale AI efforts and maximise return on investments, organisations needs to focus on three key elements: data, strategy and people.

As data is the foundation to scaling AI, organisations need to ensure that the right and relevant data assets are in place to underpin their AI efforts. Another key factor in their scaling efforts is embedding multi-disciplinary teams with AI throughout the organization in addition to having sponsorship from the top.

Having a clearly defined strategy and operating model for AI, explained process and owners for measuring value from AI, clearly defined accountability, appropriate levels of funding, flexible business processes with embedded AI, and packaged or custom-built AI applications ensure success, while scaling AI.

DQ: How is Accenture helping companies progress on their AI journey?

Saurabh Kumar Sahu: At Accenture, we help companies in scaling their AI efforts by embedding data, analytics and automation capabilities into business workflows to accelerate time to value. Our expertise in defining end-to-end strategy, combined with deep data infrastructure capabilities, cognitive services and industrialized accelerators help clients’ maximise return on their investments.

We also collaborate with a powerful global alliance, innovation and delivery network to help clients deploy and scale AI within any market and industry. We have a strong team focused on both strategy and implementation.

DQ: What do you think will happen in the AI space in the year 2020?

Saurabh Kumar Sahu: Organizations are looking at the next maturity level of analytics leading to AI initiatives that can unlock new growth opportunities. According to Accenture research, 41% percent of business and IT leaders report that AI will have the greatest impact on their organizations over the next three years.

Moreover, companies that are strategically scaling AI report nearly 3X the return from AI investments compared to companies pursuing siloed proof of concepts. As AI continues to move deeper into organizations, we will see more companies shifting from the experimentation phase to creating an organization powered by robust AI capabilities.

DQ: Elaborate on intentional AI. Can you throw more light on the future here?

Saurabh Kumar Sahu: Driving intentional AI refers to creating value from AI which requires companies to anchor AI in C-suite objectives. Our research shows that top performers are more intentional, with realistic expectation in terms of time and work required to scale their AI efforts responsibly.

To successfully scale, companies need structure and governance in place. Having defined processes and owners with clear accountability and established leadership support with dedicated AI champions.

Scaling AI with digital platforms across the enterprise is not a destination, but a journey. Organisations that manage to seamlessly fuse business strategies with analytics, leverage a re-usable data foundation, and scale through platforms will manage to achieve industrialized growth in everything from organizational effectiveness to brand perception and trust.

DQ: Can you share some examples where clients have adopted AI, and which are the key sectors in India for AI?

Saurabh Kumar Sahu: Organisations across the world and almost in every sector are adopting or at least thinking of adopting AI. In India, AI is gaining traction in industries as diverse as banking, industrial equipment, oil and gas. We work with a range of clients to deliver value using AI, data and analytics.

Verizon Communications collaborated successfully with Accenture to take advantage of AI and intelligent analytics to help Verizon customers resolve issues more quickly and easily. The implemented solution helps proactively steer customers to an AI-powered digital assistant that uses interpretive AI to provide an enhanced, consistent and personalized customer-service experience. Using machine learning, the digital assistant has been designed to become smarter over time.