Business Technology Roundtable

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the business technology arena at breakneck speed, a fascinating paradox emerges: the more sophisticated our AI tools become, the more crucial human skills become in determining organizational success. The latest Fortune AIQ Advisory Board survey reveals that forward-thinking companies are investing in AI tools and fundamentally reimagining their approach to talent acquisition, employee development, and organizational culture around AI capabilities. This shift represents more than a technological upgrade; it's a fundamental transformation in how businesses conceptualize competitive advantage. The companies that will thrive in the AI-driven economy are those that recognize AI proficiency as a core competency, not merely a nice-to-have technical skill. The New Enterprise Hiring Paradigm The survey data paints a compelling picture of this transformation. An overwhelming 69 percent of respondents consider AI skills either "very important...

The democratization of artificial intelligence (AI) has created an unprecedented opportunity. Are you prepared to skillfully apply this digital transformation catalyst? While enterprises invest millions in proprietary information technology (IT) solutions, readily available free Generative AI (GenAI) tools now match or exceed many corporate capabilities — enabling dramatic productivity gains across functional groups and business units. The strategic advantage lies not just in the tools, but in their skilled application. Experienced practitioners can rapidly deploy these technologies within appropriate risk boundaries, neither compromising intellectual property nor exposing proprietary content. This combination of powerful capabilities and pragmatic governance creates immediate value without traditional enterprise IT constraints. It presents a strategic imperative for executive decision-makers. The Business Technology Landscape The artificial intelligence technology market has evolved ...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools evolved and the inevitable outcome has arrived. The emerging Generative AI market demand has rapidly grown from initial hype and pilots to full-blown strategic implementation. The Wharton AI Report for 2024 reveals a nuanced picture of how the leading firms integrate this groundbreaking business technology into their operational frameworks. Key Insights and Market Dynamics The most striking statistic is the surge in generative AI adoption: 72 percent of decision-makers now report using generative AI at least once a week, compared to just 37 percent in 2023. This represents a dramatic shift from curiosity to active experimentation across multiple business functions. Spending has matched this enthusiasm, with generative AI budgets increasing by 130 percent since 2023. However, the growth trajectory is showing signs of stabilization. While 72 percent of respondents plan to increase AI budgets in the next year, a majority (57 percent) anticipate more mod...

How can applied technologies advance digital business growth and unlock strategic competitive advantages? Here's a proven approach. In the rapidly evolving commercial landscape of artificial intelligence apps, Generative AI (GenAI) tools have delivered unprecedented results. As a C-suite executive, understanding these innovative GenAI technologies can empower you to act decisively. Why now? It's a leadership imperative. A recent comprehensive study of GenAI Prompting techniques offers valuable insights that can be directly applied to enhance your organization's AI strategy. Strategic Importance of Structured Prompting At the core of interacting with Generative AI tools lies the concept of Prompting - the art and science of crafting inputs that guide GenAI tools to produce desired outputs. The study reveals that well-structured prompts consistently lead to improved results across a wide range of tasks. This finding underscores the critical need for organizations to develop ...

We have reached the tipping point for business technology investment. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the economy is a transformative force that executives can no longer ignore. The Stanford HAI's " Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2024 " provides invaluable insights into the economic impact of AI, highlighting both opportunities and challenges that demand strategic action from today's business leaders. The AI Investment Race: America Sprints Ahead The United States has emerged as the undisputed leader in AI investment, outpacing China and the European Union by a substantial margin. In 2023, American companies invested a staggering $67.2 billion in AI, nearly 8.7 times more than China, the next highest investor. This investment surge underscores the immense strategic importance placed on AI by U.S. enterprises, positioning them as frontrunners in the race to harness this game-changing technology. Job Market Dynamics: AI's Transformative Im...

As founder of the Business Technology Roundtable, I can advise senior executives on rapidly emerging technologies and their potential impact on digital business transformation. One of the most significant and potentially disruptive technologies today is Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). Powered by advances in machine learning, this technology refers to AI systems that can generate new content, such as text, images, audio, video, and more in response to prompts from humans.   The pace of advancement in Generative AI has been astounding. Since the public release of ChatGPT in November 2022, tool capabilities have continued to grow at breakneck speed. Business interest has followed suit – attracted by the vast potential to drive efficiency, productivity, innovation, and digital business growth. However, along with the enthusiasm, important questions remain regarding effective adoption approaches, risk management, workforce retraining, and ethical implications. To better...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption is accelerating globally, transforming business and government. However, a new study by Cisco Systems reveals that while intentions to adopt AI are rising sharply, actual abilities to effectively leverage these technologies continue to lag. An overwhelming 97 percent of business leaders state that the urgency to deploy AI technologies has increased significantly or somewhat at their organizations in just the past six months. This mounting urgency is coming from the top-down, with over 50 percent saying it is being driven by their CEO and board of directors. Meanwhile, the C-suite is being tasked to prepare for action. As a result of this mounting pressure, 95 percent of organizations now have an AI strategy in place or under development. Looking ahead, 84 percent believe AI will have a major impact on their business operations. New AI Deployments Underway Many organizations have already started an AI deployment, prioritizing IT infrastructure and d...

Business technology can be the great enabler that differentiates an enterprise from their mainstream peer group. Make no mistake, delivering digital business value at scale can be achieved. The essential change management process begins with fearlessly embarking on a bold initiative. Granted, implementation has many steps and takes time. In fact, successful business transformations can take several years to complete. According to Boston Consulting Group ( BCG ) latest research findings, they require drawing on three key enablers: ensuring C-Suite alignment, developing the necessary capabilities, and maintaining always-on execution. Executive leaders who establish these key enablers will scale digital business solutions successfully and also embed digital transformation approaches and ways of working into their operating models. They will become the established market leaders in their sector to benefit from superior value creation. Leveraging Cloud Computing Services for Digital Growth ...

Multinational enterprise CEOs, and others within the most forward-looking progressive organization C-suite, look to their CIO to inform and guide them on digital transformation best practices. The global COVID-19 pandemic, and the associated economic impact, have provided CIOs the opportunity to increase their influence on strategic planning. According to the latest research by Gartner Inc. , CIOs now have the attention of the executive leadership team in a very compelling way. The enterprise's path to the future is made possible by IT-enabled innovation, and both boards of directors and CEOs now acknowledge the role that business technology has on Digital Growth. Building on Strategic Digital Business Initiatives These key strategic relationships have given CIOs the platform to address their next big challenge in the coming weeks and months of 2021 -- digital business acceleration. Savvy CIOs can convince senior business leaders to modernize their IT and network infrastructure to ...

Now more than ever, CEOs and their leadership teams must counter the threat of digital disruption. Within the evolving global economy, debate and analysis about business technology adoption must result in purposeful action. Even the trailing organizations are prepared to learn something actionable from their trailblazer peers. The following statistics and insights are excerpts from the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) Global C-suite Study (19th edition). IBM’s latest worldwide study draws on input from 12,854 respondents across 6 C-suite roles, from 112 countries. The C-suite is evenly divided on whether the focus in the future will shift from established markets to new ones. In two areas, however, C-suite executives stand in close agreement: how they will change their value propositions and scale their value chains. Sixty-eight percent of C-suite executives expect organizations to emphasize customer experience over products. Sixty-three percent believe that most organizat...

Digital technologies have altered how people and businesses interact. The potential for dislocation from ongoing digital transformation has created unprecedented levels of C-suite discussion. The decisive market leaders have heeded the warnings and taken bold actions. That said, if you’re one of those Chief Technology Officers (CTO) who previously responded to this scenario by making small incremental adjustments to your IT agenda, then you’re potentially at risk. Any relief from those prior tweaks tend to be short-lived. The same issues will likely resurface. An Introduction to Digital Reinvention Back in 2013, the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) introduced the concept of ‘Digital Reinvention’. Why is that concept noteworthy? Markets had evolved from organizational centricity, in which manufacturers and service providers defined a predictable state, into a radically different environment described as the everyone-to-everyone (E2E) economy. The E2E economy has four dist...

Are you open to new ideas, and given a compelling choice are you really prepared to change? That’s what informed CEOs are asking their C-suite leadership team. The context of those questions is about determining who is most qualified to guide the organization’s digital transformation journey. It’s also about setting expectations for C-level executives to partner. IT and business leaders must acknowledge that they’ve likely reached a significant turning point. Business technology advances are disrupting the legacy status quo and bringing huge market turmoil in their wake. Industries are converging, and unfamiliar competitors are surfacing. Granted, that convergence is creating opportunities for growth by shifting from products and services made by solo entities to new cross-sector customer experiences built via strategic partnerships. But it’s also intensifying market competition. One company’s convergence can become another’s encroachment. So, how do you navigate through this laby...

What's disruptive innovation, and why does it matter to leaders in the C-suite? It's how the savvy non-conformist will target market opportunities. How does this happen, when established companies seem to have the advantage? Creative software developers can quickly apply new technologies and digital business models to capture untapped demand. Moreover, the most disruptive new companies will eventually reshape entire industries, swiftly pushing aside the legacy incumbent players -- it's a form of Digital Darwinism. The Global Networked Economy will blossom, thanks to the pervasive Internet, while the adaptive entities will survive and prosper. Over the next five years, global digital transformation will continue to have a significant impact on the demands and requirements of Internet Protocol (IP) networks, according to key findings from the latest Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI). Over the forecast period, global IP traffic is expected to increase three-fold rea...

Forging a viable business technology strategy for today’s Global Networked Economy is a high priority for most forward-thinking CEOs across the globe. Their guidance to CIOs is to create the fusion between existing IT infrastructure and modern cloud services. Moreover, the shift to a Hybrid IT model must support the organization’s key commercial expansion objectives. The savvy leaders who have a superior approach can extract greater value from their legacy IT investments, and launch new initiatives based upon public and private cloud computing services. This is the new normal -- CIOs must create the optimal blended environment for purposeful technology-enabled innovation. Primary Motivation A global study of 500 hybrid cloud decision makers revealed that organizations are increasingly integrating cloud computing and storage resources with traditional IT infrastructure to accommodate dynamic needs and specific business priorities, according to a market study by the IBM Center for...