AI has reached an inflection point. Once a futuristic ambition, it is now embedded into our daily lives, powering everything from predictive text to smart applications, through to fraud detection. Businesses, too, are rushing to embrace AI tools, with adoption soaring to 72% in 2024, and the global market set to hit $1,771 billion by 2032. Yet, despite the surge, the role AI plays within most organizations remains confusingly small.
For all the ambition, most businesses aren’t using AI to its full potential. Many deployments focus on essential applications such as chatbots, digital assistants, and isolated automation tools. While these tools are valuable, they often fall short of providing the game-changing transformation that AI is truly capable of, such as redefining operations, enhancing decision-making, and driving innovation.
But between fluctuating business confidence and rising costs prompting companies to increase prices, many are treading cautiously. Some hesitate to invest in large-scale AI projects amid financial uncertainty, while others struggle to identify the right starting point for meaningful adoption.
SVP Solution Consulting International (EMEA & APJ), Infor.
The drive to AI-dopt
With industry pressure to adopt and ‘have AI’, businesses risk rushing to implementation without a clear strategy. It’s easy to be swept up in the momentum, to see competitors rolling out AI-driven features and assume you must do the same. But how often is AI being introduced with a clear, long-term purpose?
On an industry-specific level, it should be about embedding AI deeply into business functions to unlock real value and drive sustainable growth. Take supply chain management, for example. AI could be the ultimate strategic tool; dynamically optimizing logistics, predicting disruptions, and identifying and automatically resolving bottlenecks before they escalate.
While retailers, if they aren’t already, could use AI-driven supply chain solutions to anticipate product shortages before they occur, adjusting production schedules accordingly. In logistics, AI-powered route optimization can help transportation companies minimize fuel costs and reduce delivery delays. Meanwhile, manufacturers can apply AI to monitor equipment performance, predicting failures before they disrupt production.
Yet, despite these possibilities, adoption remains fragmented. The UK Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan reinforces AI’s role in national competitiveness, pushing for wider adoption. But rather than focusing on whether businesses should invest in AI, the real question is, how they should invest to make it truly transformative.
A shift in mindset
To shift beyond basic AI adoption to full-scale transformation, businesses need to move away from the idea that it is simply another tool to be layered onto existing processes. Instead, AI should be treated as a strategic driver to rethink how work gets done entirely.
That means building AI into strategic planning from the outset and avoiding retrofitting it to existing processes. This requires upskilling employees to collaborate with AI in a wider business culture where AI is a real co-pilot in decision-making. And, most importantly, it demands a long-term commitment where AI initiatives that create lasting business impact are prioritized over chasing quick wins.
One of the biggest misconceptions about AI is that its benefits should be immediate. Businesses looking for instant return on investment (ROI) often implement AI at a topline level, like AI chatbots or fraud detection, but miss out on embedding it into processes where its true value compounds over time.
AI’s biggest gains come from long-term strategic integration, so it’s crucial to pinpoint the areas where the technology can really propel growth and create meaningful change. For instance, businesses should examine how it can be harnessed to elevate customer experiences, streamline operational processes, or spark innovative developments in products and services.
The challenge is that these applications require ongoing refinement and investment, but the businesses that commit to AI as a core part of their strategy will see lasting advantages.
The data double-down
Alongside these opportunities, there’s an essential need to acknowledge data privacy. Implementing clear policies on data collection, storage, and usage, is ‘a must’ to ensure transparency in how AI systems make decisions. Especially as societies become more aware of how their data is used and businesses that fail to demonstrate accountability risk facing a loss of customer confidence and maybe even legal repercussions. Safeguarding customer data needs to make up a key part of the foundation for building and maintaining trust. Not just a compliance tick-box.
By balancing the potential for growth with a strong commitment to data protection, businesses can confidently integrate AI into their strategies and know that they’re not just following a trend. Quick wins won’t deliver lasting results, this technology’s power lies in how it transforms operations and decision-making over time. This thoughtful approach to AI ensures that it serves as a valuable tool, providing a competitive edge and fostering lasting growth.
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