An excellent read for anyone in leadership roles. Peter sets out clearly the tenants and enablers for ‘sensing and seizing’ the opportunities with AI. A must read for all those ambitious to create more impact, and a better society.
- Dr Roxane Heaton, CIO – Macmillan Cancer Support
The recent significant expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is certain to redefine business operations for years to come, but unresolved questions remain around whether organisations truly possess the digital agility and integrated strategies required to manage the implications and extract the value of these developments.
In his new book AI for Business: A practical guide for business leaders to extract value from Artificial Intelligence, data and AI integrations expert Peter Verster delves into how AI has the power to transform business practices if organisations invest in the key cultural foundations required to ensure effective implementation.
A recent report by Cisco found that as many as four in five companies’ networks were not fully prepared for AI tools impacting infrastructure, data governance, and talent. Research from Forbes Advisor has also revealed that 59% of Brits have concerns about the use of AI.
When the cultural, technical and regulatory concerns of businesses and the wider public are acknowledged and mitigated, the potential for AI to improve existing capabilities is vast, spanning sectors including financial services, healthcare, retail, entertainment, and more. The ability of AI to reduce false positives in fraud detection, false negatives in mammography systems, increase conversion rates for websites, productivity in the workplace and lowering maintenance costs are just some of the ways AI is currently being used creatively.
Throughout AI for Business, Verster underscores how organisational culture is the pivotal lynchpin either facilitating or stunting the successful implementation of digital initiatives. Combining AI and human ingenuity can redefine the contours of business excellence, but only when the organisational culture is grounded in agility, trust, customer orientation and innovative thinking.
By demystifying the common organisational challenges to successful AI implementation, Verster offers readers practical solutions to creating an achievable AI transformation roadmap through a five-step process. Verster outlines that a successful strategy must begin with understanding where value lies, before subsequently deciding how to track and measure progress. Choosing initiatives and informing stakeholders is then pivotal to ensuring success, with the final step in the roadmap being engagement with staff at all levels to build trust and increase organisational agility. Vision, transparency, and leadership alignment are mission-critical throughout.
It is not a matter of if, but of when AI will dramatically reshape the marketplace, so establishing a conducive organisational culture where AI is weaved through wider business strategy is crucial. AI for Business is the essential guide for business leaders looking to implement and extract tangible, strategic business value from AI to streamline business operations, reduce costs and identify new revenue streams.
With over 20 years’ of both academic insight and tried-and-tested practical expertise in AI and big data, Verster’s pragmatic and business-focused solutions enable leadership teams, employees, and company cultures to flourish in an AI-driven future.