An Introduction To The Autonomous Enterprise
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This February, SSON was delighted to host the 2024 Autonomous Enterprise Virtual Summit. The event provided viewers with insights on how to harness the power of AI and automation to remain competitive within the increasingly digital landscape.
To kick off the summit, SSON was joined by Sarah Burnett, Chief Technology Evangelist at kyp.ai, and the author of “The Autonomous Enterprise.” In her session, “An Introduction to The Autonomous Enterprise”, Sarah discussed the success that comes from combining AI, automation, and data analytics.
The Power of AI-Enabled Automation
Sarah opened the session by discussing AI-enabled innovation, providing the example of a healthcare mobile app. The small startup allowed users to be connected with a General Practitioner (GP) via virtual consultations. The business leveraged AI by programming the application to link appointments to suitable GPs based on their experience and background, as well as analyzing symptoms to provide automated advice to patients.
Sarah then homed in on the power of AI-enabled process automation, as AI can help identify similar opportunities for automation. This added guidance ensures organizations have more impactful automation projects, with benefits such as:
- Increased compliance and risk mitigation.
- Stronger data collection.
- Agility when dealing with demand fluctuations.
- Improved productivity and engagement.
The Rise of Generative AI
Sarah then provided a comprehensive overview of both the potential and limitations of generative AI. Currently, generative AI has a range of capabilities, such as:
- Answering questions.
- Summarizing or translating information.
- Generating content: text, video, images.
Although organizations are increasingly leveraging these capabilities, Sarah noted that “by no means is it yet perfect...” For example, generative AI is widely limited to the digital, and cannot carry out physical actions such as controlling devices. Another key concern surrounding generative AI is imperfect understanding, leading to misinterpretation is some AI outputs.
Despite the room for development, the future of generative AI is bright. McKinsey & Company estimates that on average, the technology will contribute $3 trillion annually to the global economy.
From Intelligent Automation to The Autonomous Enterprise
But what makes an autonomous enterprise? Sarah explained:
“You then reach the point where 70% of transactional accounting processes are automated. You might have 90% of all your procurement processes automated, 80% of recruitment […] What do you get? Well, the answer is you get the autonomous enterprise…”
Beyond automated processes, the autonomous enterprise is data-driven, innovative, and adaptable. This high level of automation means proof of concepts can be developed quickly, with managed risks, and large scalability potential. By achieving an autonomous enterprise, organizations can leverage data-driven investments, making initiatives move smoothly and rapidly.
The Autonomous Enterprise and The Workforce
Sarah concluded the session by addressing how AI impacts the existing workforce, that currently sits “in the heart of the organization.” Sarah assured viewers that this would remain the case, even as automation solutions develop.
In the future, the model of work may change as AI capabilities grow, with workers maintaining existing AI capabilities, enabling business growth, and overseeing communications. So, despite these changes, “the autonomous enterprise is not going to be without people.”
Instead, the workforce will be more focused on knowledge capture, curation, stewardship, and the maintenance of infrastructure. Overly relying on technology is a pitfall organizations should avoid, as “legacy systems are notoriously difficult to integrate with anything new.” In addition, if machines or technologies malfunction, organizations will need the skills of their workers. So, “it is about making sure that the skills remain, and that succession planning is in place for this highly automated world of the future.”
Ready to continue driving the discussion about the autonomous enterprise? Join us at the in-person Autonomous Enterprise Week (AE Week) conference this June in Dallas and be a part of this brand-new community dedicated to the evolution of the enterprise. Click here to access the AE Week Event Guide: https://bit.ly/3VsaNXl.
