The CIO AI and data: Using AI and machine learning to make data useful?
“When discussing AI implementation with organisations. My advice is always the same: focus on the data you have now, and grow from there.” Avon Puri of Rubrik discusses the role of the CIO AI and data.
Unless you’ve had your head under a data centre, you’ve likely heard the industry continue to usher in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), touting both as the new messiahs at the feet of which all CIOs should be kneeling. But should the CIO really be worshiping AI and data?
We can start with what hasn’t happened. AI hasn’t become sentient and enslaved us just yet. It has matured though, with applications increasingly harnessing AI as it enters the mainstream.
As AI-enabled technologies continue to emerge, CIOs across the globe will forge their own understanding and view of AI and what it means to them. For me, AI allows technology to simulate something a human would typically do. ML, then, is when technology goes beyond simulating and begins to learn for itself.
Of course both AI and ML are only as good as the data they have access to. The more data, the more intelligence provided. The cleaner the data, the more precise the prediction. They can also help to make that same data incredibly useful.
AI can be used as a tool to collect additional information from the huge amounts of data every enterprise has and, used correctly, can assist organisations in analysing and automating data, allowing for incredibly intelligent business insights.
AI has far too often been considered as a standalone component, not a company-wide tool. However, businesses that have had the most success from AI are those incorporating it in every aspect of their digital transformations.
Sales teams, for example, can leverage predictive modelling to predict which product will sell best, in what region, and when. Those dealing with customer, on the other hand, may use AI to analyse customer data and anticipate product issues before even the customer notices, offering an unprecedented level of proactive customer satisfaction.
AI has a place in every corner of a business and CIOs implementing new and improved applications would be wise to first ensure they are equipped to leverage their business intelligence.
For a business’ IT suite to run well it’s no longer enough to have an eye on the here and now: CIOs also need to know what’s around the corner. From predicting if your infrastructure will go down, a specific web server will face an issue, or you’re likely to be targeted in a cyber attack, AI and ML can give businesses the best fighting chance to tackle these issues head on, instead of being caught in the dark.
