The outlook for the technology industry is brighter than it was 12 months ago, with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) emerging as the biggest opportunity in 2024, EY said on Thursday.
After a tough start to 2023 for the technology sector, characterized by macroeconomic weakness and cost reductions, corporate strategies centered on GenAI have sparked a recovery in confidence, the consulting firm said in a report.
It is against this backdrop that implementing GenAI into digital transformation strategies debuts in the annual EY rankings poll of the top 10 opportunities for technology companies in 2024.
According to an EY report, the top 10 technology opportunities for 2024 are:
1. Introduce GenAI into your digital transformation strategy and establish a “control tower”
2. Experiment with GenAI in targeted front-office and back-office use cases
3. Invest in new forms of digital infrastructure in the fast-growing “edge economy”
4. Establish additional supply lines in emerging markets
5. Develop your company’s investment strategy based on your AI roadmap
6. Leverage platform business models to industrialize and scale advancing technologies.
7. Establish a proactive and comprehensive response to new and future tax burdens
8. Environmental initiatives that prioritize data center energy efficiency
9. Invest in advanced risk tools and rethink tradeoffs between cost, risk, resiliency, and agility.
10. Deploy advanced technology to reduce current and future cyber risks
However, the report warns that most organizations (90%) are still in the early stages of AI maturity, and urges companies to create an “AI command center” that supports safe, human-centered, and ethical AI deployments. We encourage the establishment of
“In 2023, the technology industry built broad expectations for the potential of AI while navigating global economic headwinds and geopolitical tensions,” said Ken England, EY Americas TMT leader.
“The opportunities for next year are clear.
“By putting AI at the center of their strategies, technology companies can not only accelerate their transformation journey, but also stay ahead of the curve by repositioning their operations to take advantage of rapidly emerging technologies and business models. “We will be able to leapfrog our competitors,” he added.
Opportunities to experiment with GenAI in front-office and back-office use cases are a new entrant into the top 10, ranking in second place, according to the report.
The report states that rather than leveraging GenAI for every use case, companies should target high-impact, high-value use cases and transformation opportunities.
An example is the use of GenAI in software coding (front office). Deploy AI to attract and retain talent (back office).
In fact, Joongshik Wang, EY Asean Technology, Media & Entertainment, Telecommunications Sector Leader, observes that technology companies are experimenting with GenAI in targeted front-office and back-office use cases.
Specifically, many technology companies are experimenting in areas where they already have a proven track record, such as customer care, IT development, marketing, and sales.
More advanced companies are attempting more ambitious technological breakthroughs, such as enterprise order fulfillment, digital twins, supply chains, energy efficiency optimization, and self-healing networks.
“GenAI offers significant opportunities to accelerate, supplement, or replace some traditional white-collar tasks, but the outcomes of GenAI-based solutions are less predictable due to the diversity of answers and pose additional risks. There is a possibility.
“Therefore, careful solution design and additional controls are required to achieve the desired level of product maturity,” Wang said.
According to the report, industry leaders are keenly aware of the potential of AI to help streamline their businesses, with 65% of technology CEOs interviewed saying they are looking to avoid giving a strategic advantage to competitors. say organizations need to act on GenAI now.
Wang shared that across Southeast Asia, leading technology companies are exploring GenAI-based transformation strategies to replace previous digital transformation. However, the lack of skilled human resources is a major challenge.
“There is a shortage of skilled GenAI talent across Southeast Asia.
“Technology companies are investing in GenAI training and reskilling programs for executives and staff, but it will take time for people to become proficient with GenAI before organizations can reap the benefits of the technology,” he said. Stated.
But he noted that having a trained workforce is only part of the equation.
“The key to successful implementation is full board and management buy-in to the GenAI strategy,” he added.
In this context, it's no surprise that forming a corporate investment strategy around an AI roadmap is in this year's top 10 (5th place).
The use of AI and large-scale language models (LLM) is advancing rapidly, and acquisitions, deals, and partnerships are helping companies overcome challenges such as hardware demands, expensive training, and recruiting the talent needed to deploy. and speed up development.
“Despite the regulatory hurdles associated with AI transactions, significant potential remains,” said Olivier Wolfe, EY-Parthenon Global TMT Leader.
According to him, the platform nature of today's technology businesses means there are many attractive companies with business models based on existing AI ecosystems.
“Perhaps the best way to expand is through a combination of small and medium-sized acquisitions, corporate investments, and partnerships, which give companies access to the intellectual property and skills they need to rapidly develop new propositions. “It will be,” he added.
To address the growing demand for GenAI, Wang is observing the growth of the “talent” ecosystem across Southeast Asia.
“Some technology companies are partnering with professional services organizations to form ecosystems where they can jointly invest in, recruit, and train large talent pools.
“Such an ecosystem allows technology companies to leverage economies of scale to better meet talent needs,” he added.
Lenovo survey: 94% of ASEAN+ CIOs believe AI will be critical to their business in 2024. Only 11% invest in GenAI
