There is no doubt that good use of AI can contribute to providing more comprehensive, timely and high-quality decision-making support to managers. The technology also opens many exciting possibilities for predictions and simulations. Therefore, it is positive to see that the authorities are aware of strategies and visions for the use of AI. But are companies ready to exploit the great potential of technology?
The database is often very poor
Introducing AI will have limited benefit if the database is very poor. By this I mean that the data is scattered and unorganized in different places, inside and outside of work. At a minimum, you should be able to give the AI a “cookbook recipe” for what good management is and what data should be compiled into good management information. With extensive experience and time in most business management processes, I would say that many companies need to make a strong improvement in describing their management models well. So they have to create a solid “cookbook recipe” before they let the AI escape the controls. Otherwise, it quickly becomes more management-controlled.
Little knowledge of existing technology
In my experience, it’s surprising how few companies realize the potential of the technology solutions they already have.
You might be surprised to know how many companies, for example, run their security or portfolio management in Excel. Many companies realize that they are too poor to use technology to get help. They spend valuable time collecting data and turning it into management information, rather than spending time analyzing the information and in actual decision-making processes. Do you recognize yourself? Then perhaps you should consider making an effort related to digitization and management before you consider bringing AI into the equation.
Manual effort in spreadsheets simply cannot replace good digital solutions in our complex daily lives – and as digital maturity in business management declines, there is every possibility that the database for machine learning and AI will be very poor in many places.
By releasing management data and linking it to platform or integrated technology solutions in a comprehensive manner, many of you may be able to extract surprising amounts of strategic value from the systems. Then AI can also be a huge catalyst and provide a lot of added value.
Three pieces of tips
If you want to make the best decisions for today and the future, I recommend these three tips for business managers:
- Set an ambition for what you as a business manager want and need from decision support. This is necessary to have the technological expertise and management expertise to evaluate the opportunity space and prepare the necessary integrations and solutions for you.
- Conduct a feasibility study that examines management models and data against the opportunity space in deriving incremental business value from the company’s current technology solutions. Here, there must be someone with good knowledge of combining end-to-end business management, data governance and technology/solutions in the field, otherwise it is easy to reinforce old silos or even build new ones.
- Then think about how AI can contribute as a catalyst and provide added value. However, you need to consider whether the AI has enough data to build on. Here, quick access or lack of access to data in cloud solutions will become a question. Some companies will likely have better starting conditions, depending on the sensitivity and availability of the data.
Walk before you run
There may be good reasons to adopt AI immediately. But from a management point of view, my absolute recommendation is to walk before you start running, otherwise you may get stuck quickly. However, if you stack the legs in the right order, the potential is huge.
The above advice is important, as it is the first step on the way for companies that want to navigate information clutter and manage well. Good digital governance with AI is also likely to be a successful combination to find the forward-looking and comprehensive solutions that society so desperately needs.
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