A featured contribution from Leadership Perspectives: a curated forum reserved for leaders nominated by our subscribers and vetted by the Construction Tech Review Advisory Board.
Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise
The Artificial Intelligence Revolution: Where Everyone Wins
Pierre Samson
AI will touch everything. I believe it will simplify and automate our home lives. It will change how we interact in the real world with smart assistants and autonomous vehicles. And, it will revolutionize how enterprises operate and interact with each of us, across industries including; healthcare, hospitality, transportation, education and government.
AI will impact networks and communications in different ways. If we look at the network side of the equation, the influx of Internet of Things (IoT) and sensors are creating real and significant challenges. Securing, configuring and managing elements will need to be based on user and device profiles.
On the communications side, I am excited about new advanced offerings such as location-based services that will help enterprises benefit from operational efficiencies, reap the rewards created by new business models, and improve their customer ’s experience.
Where do bots and AI fit in?
Without question, smart bots are changing our lives. These software applications can run automated tasks over the network and free us from repetitive and mundane activities, and in many cases do them faster and more accurately than either you or I could. They can be accessed on fixed and mobile phones as well as PCs and tablets. And, they can share information using text, instant messaging, voice, as well as bot-to-bot communications.
The beauty of the bot is that it can search and find information on virtually any topic and then provide the information to the requestor almost instantaneously. In the case of enterprises, these smart bots can streamline workflows by providing immediate answers to questions and solve problems faster than ever before.
Smart bots can leverage AI to learn about behaviors and preferences, and over time they can incorporate data to predict needs and expectations. Guided by AI, smart bots can anticipate user needs, based on context.
A human touch for today’s challenges
Bot functionality is available today, however, we may not always be aware of it. It’s in our communications systems and it touches us everyday in our online activity. While bots can replace repetitive tasks, they can’t, on their own, provide the intelligence that communications systems require. My team and I, working in partnership with IBM, are at the threshold of what bot and AI integration can mean for technology, solutions, and business models. We believe that combining communications capabilities with a cognitive engine can open a world of possibilities to address today’s real-world challenges. Industries clearly stand to benefit from the opportunities and efficiencies this technology will bring. For example in a smart city solution new cloud-based services can address citizen security, and intelligent communications can provide improved emergency response management for complex situations.
Together, with IBM, we are taking those capabilities to the next level by leveraging the IBM Cloud and IBM Watson to deliver cognitive communications. These capabilities include smart bots, advanced natural language interaction, and facial/video pattern recognition to provide cloud-based services that will improve your customer experience. We believe that together with IBM’s cognitive engine, we can deliver a smarter, more personalized approach to productivity and collaboration, all with a human touch.
Moving forward
We know that digitalization and transformation doesn’t happen overnight, and one size doesn’t fit all. Enterprises come in a variety of shapes and sizes, they can be simple or complex, and with that comes the need for flexibility. That’s where a hybrid solution can come in. Working with your existing infrastructure, until costs have been recuperated, and augmenting your business with consumption-based cloud services presents a low risk, winning solution.
We also know that security remains at top of mind for most enterprises. While bots and AI contribute to improve business processes and customer experiences, it is imperative to ensure that security and privacy are maintained along the way. A robust security strategy ensures user and device profiles are defined at the access level. This guarantees that the right policies, including departmental and applications access, as well as quality of service (QoS) and performance levels, are assigned for users and devices.
As we move into a human-centric era, cognitive communications will be able to adapt to behaviors, expectations, and preferences. Successful implementation will require removing barriers to adoption, and ensuring that everyone in the enterprise is onboard, involved, motivated and trained. Natural language interaction will help ensure workers are quickly understood by new tools. Voice commands will interact with natural language bots to help people with daily needs and issues. Advanced services will revolutionize campus, stadium and healthcare environments, airports and train stations, as well as the hospitality industry. Streamlined processes and improved efficiencies will let enterprises do more with less, respond quicker, and win against the competition.
