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EDITOR’S QUESTION
SAM TAHA,
COO FOR KUWAIT, SAP
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cross Kuwait’s industry verticals,
from automotive dealerships
to manufacturers and retailers,
organisations are rapidly adopting Artificial
Intelligence (AI) to enhance customer
experiences, optimise costs and drive digital
revenue. AI and Machine Learning (ML) were
major topic of discussions at our recent SAP
NOW Kuwait event and integrating these
technologies into organisations’ business
plans continues to drive new business value
Worldwide, on average 68% of organisations
are using ML – to at least some extent
today – to enhance their business processes,
according to the recent survey Making the
Most of Machine Learning: 5 Lessons from
Fast Learners, conducted by the Economist
Intelligence Unit with SAP.
It’s no surprise that AI investment continues
to skyrocket, with the global business value
from AI growing by 70% to US$1.2 trillion in
2018, according to a recent industry report.
ML uses sophisticated algorithms to
enable computers to ‘learn’ from large
amounts of data without being explicitly
programmed. The more data the algorithms
can access, the more they can learn. This
enables software to adapt and improve
the execution of tasks and processes
autonomously and continuously.
More so than other technologies, AI and
ML are set to transform Kuwait’s economy,
society and environment. AI can provide the
‘brains’ for autonomous vehicles to enhance
traffic, for utilities providers to predict and
manage energy peaks, and for banks to
gauge loan payback.
Every organisation’s line of business
is being impacted by ML, including
contact centre services, legal, finance
and accounting, data processing and
analytics, human resources, research
www.intelligentcio.com
and development, physical infrastructure
management, logistics, marketing,
procurement and unique processes.
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MENA’s digital leaders adopt AI
three times faster than competitors
In the Middle East and North Africa, more
than 70% of digitally-leading organisations
are investing in AI and ML in 2018, more
than triple the rate of all organisations in
the region, according to the recent SAP and
Oxford Economics’ Digital Transformation
Executive Study. These digitally-leading
organisations are seizing opportunities,
expecting 23% more growth by 2019 and
already having 85% of market share and
80% of profitability versus competitors.
What makes a digital leader? C-level
leadership and support is vital. Kuwait’s
organisations that are starting with AI
projects that can show quick ROI drives
home business benefits – including increased
profitability and revenues, more competitive
differentiation and faster, more accurate and
more cost-efficient processes. About two-
thirds (64%) of organisations expect to find
increased profitability.
But what holds organisations back? Lack of
external and internal AI and ML expertise,
lack of clarity on strategy and lack of funding
are cited among the greatest challenges.
In discussions with our customers in
Kuwait, c-suite executives understand
the importance of tying in AI and ML
projects to organisation-wide Digital
Transformation agendas. Worldwide, while
84% of organisations say that Digital
Transformation is critical, only 3% have
completed Digital Transformation, according
to the recent SAP and Oxford Economics
Digital Transformation Executive Study.
Indeed, our customers that see the biggest
benefit are those that integrate AI and ML
on one digital platform, such as our SAP
Leonardo digital innovation system, which
can integrate these technologies with fellow
emerging technologies such as Blockchain,
cloud and the Internet of Things.
Still, the transformation from a regular
enterprise to an intelligent enterprise is not
just about the technology and strategy.
Organisations need to develop partnerships
with the public, private and academic sectors
in order to train their staff in how to optimise
AI and ML. Not every employee needs to
be a data scientist crunching AI data. But
employees do need to have basic data
science skills.
With Kuwait’s digital innovation market
approaching KWD 300 million this year,
and with New Kuwait 2035 coming closer
to fruition, Kuwait’s organisations need to
prioritise their Digital Transformation in Q4
2018. AI and ML should be at the core to
unlock intelligent enterprises. n
INTELLIGENTCIO
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