Organizations generate and collect unprecedented amounts of varying data, such as customer information, product details, client interactions, competitor moves, and so on. But, such troves of data need the assistance of the right technologies like data analytics, AI, and ML to extract actionable insights. AI plays an active role in the digital transformation of enterprises, automating the routine, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks. A survey said that “47% of digitally mature organizations, or those that have advanced digital practices, said they have a defined AI strategy.”

However, some concrete obstacles hold back organizations from implementing AI at work. Without an in-depth knowledge of how AI helps their business, companies can often end up having an uncoordinated application of AI. As CIOs are responsible for strategically deploying data and technology together, they must identify how to implement AI at work so that the employees and the organization can all grow.

The approach to implement AI at work

Yesterday’s CIOs were only accountable for organizing the technological infrastructure of the company. But today, CIOs are also responsible for finding innovative ways of using new technologies, aiming to enhance the productivity of their business.

However, as per a research conducted by Gartner, only 4 % of CIOs have successfully deployed AI at work. As AI is a realtively new technology, and is still is in its infancy stage, it is quite understandable that most CIOs will not have an in-depth knowledge of the technology. Hence, before a widespread adoption of AI becomes possible, CIOs need to use this time to learn and acquire a thorough understanding of the technology. It is also essential that CIOs start and aim for automating the back-office and manual processes first ,rather than attempting to automate all the business processes at once. Learning slowly with pilot AI projects will help CIOs to experiment and prepare for far more significant AI projects in the future.  But the key lies in making the first move. Only organizations that start thinking in the direction of AI, today, will be able to gain competitive advantage.

A CIO’s guide to successful AI implementation

The list below is a simple outline for CIOs to ensure successful application of AI at work. CIOs should:

• have in-depth and complete knowledge of AI’s ascribed role in their organization
• team up with analysts to identify the key areas AI can prove meaningful in their business
• replace the necessary tasks and processes with appropriate AI programs

Hence, it is the right time for CIOs to embrace AI and its wide range of capabilities to replace all manual and time-consuming tasks. However, it is not easy to change the entire ecosystem at once, and a CIO’s role is critical in this regard.