EDITOR’S QUESTION
HOW DO BUSINESSES
ENSURE THEY
EXTRACT THE
MOST VALUE
FROM ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE?
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93% of UAE organisations identify AI as one of the
most important technologies in 2019, yet 98% of them
concede that their organisation has work to do if it is to
get the most out of AI.
A
lmost half of businesses in the UAE
are struggling with a knowledge gap
when it comes to adopting Artificial
Intelligence (AI), according to a survey of
business leaders in the UAE, conducted by
Vanson Bourne and sponsored by Avaya
Holdings Corp.
That gap can be attributed to the confusion
between ‘real AI’ and ‘TV/movie AI’ as
cited by 44% of UAE respondents, higher
than the global average of just 30%. And
those organisations that have successfully
navigated this potential stumbling block
are held back by resource constraints; 40%
of UAE organisations claim to lack the
in-house skills to facilitate adoption. Given
these challenges, it isn’t surprising that
98% of UAE businesses concede that their
organisation has work to do if it is to get the
most out of AI.
However, UAE organisations are keen
to overcome the challenges around
adopting AI. The majority say that failing
to get on-board with AI now will cost
their organisation for the next decade.
And because of this worry around being
left behind on AI, nearly half of UAE
30
INTELLIGENTCIO
organisations (46%) want to adopt more
solutions integrating AI-based technologies.
“While it is encouraging to see the strong
appetite for AI in the UAE, the fact that
organisations are still struggling to separate
the AI fact from fiction validates the guidance
and approach we have been offering our
customers,” said Yaser Alzubaidi, Senior
Director – Digital Engagement Solutions,
Avaya International. “We have often stated
that organisations do not need AI; they need
solutions to business issues. Applying AI for
the sake of AI can be tempting. However, the
main focus of any CEO looking to deliver best-
in-class customer and employee experiences
should be on utilising AI, if – and only if – it
solves a business issue.”
Just 25% of UAE businesses have a fully
implemented AI strategy, according to the
research, with the remainder still weighing
up use cases. With customer experience
more important than ever before, Alzubaidi
suggests focusing on those applications
of AI that can have a measurable positive
impact on the customer journey as the best
place to start. This means integrating AI into
the contact centre.
UAE businesses agree on this point; 92% of
UAE respondents said that effective AI can
transform the performance of their contact
centre. Indeed, over half (51%) are at least
half-way through their strategy for rolling
out AI in the contact centre.
“AI can be so much more than chatbots;
for example, First Call Resolution (FCR) is a
perfect use case for AI that demonstrates
this. AI can support the customer service
agent by collating all relevant information
on the customer, in real-time, and presenting
it in a format that allows the agent to easily
view, interpret and action the customer’s
query without the need for multiple touch
points,” said Alzubaidi. “Practical applications
like these will offer the fastest route to
success in implementing AI.”
As AI becomes more prominent, 87% of
UAE organisations say they’ll need to look
for more third-party support.
Recognising this, Avaya has in recent years
evolved its product portfolio and partner
ecosystem to offer its customers the easiest
path to implementing AI into their business.
Acknowledging that AI has the potential
to give regional businesses a competitive
advantage and enhance the happiness and
well-being of citizens, the UAE government
aspires to establish the country as a global
hub for AI innovation and investment as is
evidenced by the UAE AI Strategy 2031.
www.intelligentcio.com