Business Technology Roundtable

The generative AI (GenAI) wave that began with ChatGPT's arrival in late 2022 has already started to feel like yesterday's story. A recent TBR research report on the Applied-AI and GenAI market landscape makes one thing clear: the industry is pivoting fast, and the companies that fail to adapt to agentic AI will find themselves playing catch-up in a market that rewards those who move decisively. For the uninitiated, agentic AI refers to systems that don't just respond to prompts but actively plan, execute, and iterate across complex multi-step workflows with minimal human intervention. This is no longer a futurist talking point. It is reshaping how enterprises think about automation, how IT service firms price their work, and how hyperscalers compete for the next trillion dollars in technology spending. A Market Growing at Breakneck Speed The numbers alone make a compelling case for attention. TBR estimates that combined AI and GenAI revenue across major hyperscalers, inclu...

We have now entered the AI Agentic era, according to the latest series of reports by Google's artificial intelligence (AI) researchers. The shift from passive generative AI models to autonomous AI agents that can plan, reason, and act on our behalf is the most profound digital transformation in decades. As  Applied-AI Initiatives replace deterministic code, a significant challenge has emerged. Building an AI agent is easy; however, trusting it is complex. The current AI market momentum reveals a stark last-mile gap. While a developer can spin up an AI prototype in minutes, roughly 80 percent of the effort required to reach production is consumed by the work of safety, validation, and infrastructure. The reason is simple: AI agents are non-deterministic. They can pass 100 unit tests but fail catastrophically in the field because of a flaw in their judgment, not a bug in the code. Core Architecture and the Problem-Solving Loop An Applied-AI agent is defined by the synergy of four co...

The global transition toward artificial intelligence (AI) has reached a critical juncture, marking a fundamental move from theoretical exploration to the large-scale implementation of Applied AI Initiatives . Applied artificial intelligence refers specifically to the practical deployment of AI technologies and methodologies to resolve discrete real-world challenges and generate measurable organizational value.  Unlike theoretical AI research, which prioritizes the advancement of fundamental science and the exploration of hypothetical machine intelligence, Applied-AI is strictly purpose-driven and practical implementation-oriented. Success in this domain is no longer measured by academic citations or AI lab breakthroughs, but by business impact, operational efficiency, and tangible societal outcomes. Between 2023 and 2025, Applied-AI consistently maintained the highest innovation scores among emerging technologies and ranked in the top five for global investment activity. As the ind...

If your AI investments are still in pilot mode, you're falling behind. The latest research data shows 42 percent of retailers have moved AI into production, revenue leaders report 20+ percent lifts, and 97 percent are increasing budgets next year. The question is no longer whether to scale AI, but whether you can scale it fast enough to maintain a competitive position. As an advisor to the C-suite, I see retailers and CPG firms shifting from experimentation to scaled deployment, with AI moving from the innovation lab into core P&L ownership. This latest "State of AI in Retail and CPG" study from NVIDIA reveals a critical inflection point: AI is now a broad-based transformation lever, driving revenue, compressing costs, and reshaping how retailers compete across digital, store, and supply chain operations. The Adoption Reality Check Nine in ten companies are either actively using AI or assessing it through pilots, that's up from 82 percent in 2023. But the spread t...

This report is the first in a series of research-based editorials that profile the leading artificial intelligence "AI Stack" advantages, from the large enterprise senior executive perspective. Your Strategic Advantage in The AI Era The enterprise AI market is not just growing; it's exploding, with projections reaching hundreds of billions of dollars by 2030. For large enterprises, the strategic implementation of Applied-AI is no longer optional — it is the new frontier for long-term competitive advantage. The core challenge has shifted from AI experimentation to deploying scalable solutions that deliver tangible business outcomes, such as significant cost savings, new revenue streams, and superior customer experiences. However, hurdles like data silos, talent shortages, and proving value are significant. This advisory guidance makes the case for a strategic Applied-AI Initiative built on the Google AI stack. Google Cloud has established itself as a "Full-Stack Inno...

The artificial intelligence transformation sweeping through the financial services sector has reached a critical inflection point. What began as cautious experimentation with machine learning models has evolved into a wholesale reimagining of how banks, asset managers, and fintech companies operate. The latest NVIDIA survey report reveals an industry no longer asking whether to adopt AI, but rather how quickly it can scale deployment to maintain a competitive advantage. Moreover, recently reported Applied-AI outcomes from industry leaders validate this analysis. This shift represents a fundamental restructuring of financial services around data-driven intelligence. The numbers tell a compelling story of an industry that has moved decisively past the proof-of-concept phase and into aggressive implementation mode. The Generative AI Breakthrough Perhaps the most striking finding is the explosive growth of generative AI adoption. In just one year, the percentage of financial services firm...

The OECD’s latest report, "Governing with Artificial Intelligence: The State of Play and Way Forward in Core Government Functions", is an indispensable blueprint for public sector digital transformation. The analysis confirms what many leaders already suspect: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer an optional add-on but the definitive next frontier in the digital government journey, offering the potential to fundamentally reshape how the state operates, delivers value, and maintains fiscal integrity. The imperative for modern governance is clear: deliver more value to citizens with greater efficiency and impeccable integrity. Applied-AI offers the transformative power to move beyond incremental improvements and achieve systemic, high-impact public sector transformation. The Productivity and Prudence Dividend The most compelling case for embracing AI in government centers on its potential to unlock unprecedented employee productivity and cost efficiency levels. Public ser...

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 emergence of Generative AI (GenAI) represents a pivotal moment in business technology evolution, with early enterprise adoption showing promising results according to PwC's latest Global CEO Survey . While much attention has focused on potential future impacts, concrete productivity, and revenue gains are already materializing across industries, suggesting we're at the beginning of a transformative wave in how organizations operate. Current State of Enterprise Adoption The PwC research findings, drawing from 4,701 CEOs worldwide, reveal encouraging early returns from GenAI tools and associated use case investments. Notably, 56 percent of CEOs report that GenAI has improved employee time efficiency, while about one-third have seen increased revenue (32 percent) and profitability (34 percent). These performance metrics, while slightly below initial expectations, demonstrate that organizations are finding practical ways to extract value from the latest technology. Perhaps most...