Business Technology Roundtable

Has your organization prepared to compete in a world where Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn't just an IT tool, but the new operating system for digital transformation? Based on the findings from a Menlo Ventures market study, it's now clear that Generative AI (GenAI) has moved beyond the realm of experimentation and firmly established itself as a mission-critical imperative for enterprises across industries. The transformative power of this rapidly emerging technology is reshaping digital business strategies, enterprise workflows, and entire sectors at an unprecedented pace. The Numbers Tell a Compelling Story The surge in AI spending is nothing short of remarkable. In 2024, enterprise AI investments skyrocketed to $13.8 billion, a staggering sixfold increase from the $2.3 billion spent in 2023. This dramatic uptick in investment signals a definitive shift from pilot programs to full-scale implementation, with GenAI tools becoming deeply embedded in core business operations. T...

Business technology investment continues to evolve. During the last decade, I've had a front-row seat to the meteoric global rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its transformative impact across industries. The AI Consulting professional services market has emerged as a critical enabler of this transformation revolution, helping organizations navigate the complexities of AI adoption and implementation. The global AI consulting market is experiencing ongoing growth, with forecasts indicating it will reach $72.5 billion by 2025. This remarkable expansion is fueled by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.3 percent from 2020 to 2027, highlighting the insatiable appetite for broad AI expertise and proven experience. The AI Consulting Market Analysis One of the most striking statistics is that over 80 percent of AI consulting firms report increased demand for their professional services in the past year. This surge in demand is not limited to a single sector but spans across va...

More capable smartphones and media tablets are now joining a variety of highly portable netbook computers that have already invaded the workplace. Many are being combined with mobile apps that tap into cloud-based productivity solutions. According to the latest market study by ABI Research , healthcare is one of the most dynamic sectors for mobile technologies, and manufacturing is now the largest sector for mobile enterprise applications worldwide. By 2016, manufacturing will generate approximately 23 percent of the nearly $5 billion in mobile enterprise application service revenues. Mobile enterprise applications, also called mobile B2E applications, include dashboard apps, work flow approval apps, and line-of-business applications for both the smartphone and tablet. ABI's mobile services practice director, Dan Shey, says, "Manufacturing beats healthcare for B2E app adoption and revenues because of its large employment worldwide and the breadth of occupations ...

The healthcare and social services vertical marketplace is extensive. It includes companies that provide medical care and social assistance for individuals -- which includes ambulatory healthcare services, hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, and social assistance services. Healthcare has been a growth vertical in U.S. business markets. According to the latest market study by In-Stat , research supports a forecast of continued growth, with healthcare spending $518 million on Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) in 2015. Overall telecom spending by the healthcare and social services vertical was just under $16 billion in 2010. Wireless communications is the largest of the product categories, comprising about 40 percent of telecom spending in the healthcare and social services vertical. Cloud computing and managed services is the fasting growing component. Wireline data and wireline voice comprise the remainder of the telecom spend. Increased Demand for Man...

The hospitals in Talcahuano (Las Higueras), San Carlos and Linares have inaugurated Cisco TelePresence units -- the high-definition video technology that allows them to interact with their patients via tele-consultations, examinations and interviews. The TelePresence technology also helps them find solutions for cardiovascular pathologies, the main public health problem facing Chilean society that has resulted in great human and economic impact. This HD video communication solution enables the hospitals in Linares and San Carlos to connect with specialists in Las Higueras Hospital in Talcahuano and carry out remote specialized consultations -- as a result accelerating the process of attending to patients. As an example, now the time taken for a specialist's first response has been significantly reduced (from 12 months to 54 hours), as well as the time taken to resolve the problem that gave rise to the initial consultation (from as long as two years down to one month). Ena...

This week, the world's financial markets have been negatively impacted by continued concerns about the global economic outlook. There has been little good news about the economy lately, particularly regarding the U.S. jobs forecast. That said, enterprise related IT spending has apparently been one positive forward-looking market indicator -- particularly the current and planned use of managed cloud services . According to the latest market study by In-Stat , enterprise business spending on IT and telecom services -- which include cloud computing, wireless, wireline voice, wireline data, and business IP/VoIP -- will move in a positive direction in 2011, increasing by healthy 6 percent. "There will be positive growth across all 20 verticals with education and healthcare & social services leading the surge with growth of 10 percent and 9 percent respectively,” says Greg Potter, analyst at in-Stat. These forecast increases in spending are across all product groups e...

According to the findings from a global market study, the healthcare sector has a highly complex IT environment that's supporting a very diversified professional user population (i.e., clinicians) -- along with their patients in life-critical situations. The industry is currently facing growing economic and regulatory pressures that make its IT infrastructure primed for change. Therefore, all organizations will likely consider the potential benefits of migrating to cloud computing. Improvement in the quality of healthcare services is a key driver for managed cloud service adoption. Billions of dollars of federal incentives are provided for the delivery of quality healthcare services, and expanding the use of electronic health record (EHRs) systems -- as well as providing the basis for the exchange of information and data across and between the providers. These EHR systems are expected to be used extensively by 2014. Another significant opportunity is the consumer-oriented c...

Theoretically, all types of organizations should be predisposed to consider the transition to managed cloud services -- due to the numerous anticipated benefits. However, based upon the results of recent market research in the United States, it now appears that some sectors are much more likely to be part of the growing early-adopter movement. International Data Corporation ( IDC ) announced the findings of a new market study, which forecasts that from 2009 to 2014 the U.S. public IT cloud services revenue will grow 21.6 percent -- rising from $11.1 billion to $29.5 billion. According to IDC's market assessment and forecast, the professional services, communications & media, and discrete & process manufacturing sectors will drive the greatest market adoption -- generating the most public cloud services revenue. Broad Appeal of SaaS Offerings Will Continue IDC believes that the professional services market, in particular, will be the primary beneficiary of increased ...

Just as architecture has the power to transform a skyline, create new vistas and reshape the horizon -- so technology has the power to redefine healthcare, that's the theme of this year's HIMSS09 conference and exhibition in Chicago, Illinois this week. Cisco video technology was featured in the AT&T Telepresence Solution booth on the exhibition floor. Visitors to the live video demo described their perspective on potential new applications, and Wendy Bohling, Senior VP at Magpie Healthcare had a more profound point of view. She said, regarding the business impact, "Telepresence changes and differentiates a hospital." Quest to Improve the Patient Experience Enhancing communication capabilities in healthcare can be equated to the potential for productivity and cost-reduction benefits, which are clearly valued. However, perhaps the emerging opportunities will now also focus on patient safety and the overall patient experience. A recent study, conducted by Zogby In...

Healthcare is constantly in the spotlight as aging populations, technological advances and high-costs threaten the very fabric of the current system. Healthcare providers and insurers are under constant social, political and shareholder pressure to both improve quality of delivery and lower operational costs. To proactively evolve, forward-looking insurers and providers need to focus on: Access -- ensuring that patients are properly insured and the facilities are available to treat them; Affordability -- driving down costs across all parts of the system; Quality -- ensuring quality and successful treatment outcome; Sustainability -- focus on managing labor force resources and green issues. New Approaches to Technology Driven Transformation Despite being an industry heavily dependant on the use of the latest in medical technologies, healthcare has traditionally been slow to use information technology and services to improve their business processes. Healthcare has some of the most ...