AI - It's not just "Artificial Intelligence" anymore; It's about being "ALL IN"

Last week I took some time off with family, and took an overnight train journey to our destination which also gave me some time to reflect on work, family and beyond in the confines of the railway cabin. It has been years since we had been in a train, and the slow pace is, I believe, really relaxing or as I say is a true form of "UNTRAVELLING". Small chit-chat, local snacks, readymade tea and coffee, soaking in countryside views, catching some episodes of OTT series offline, some games (of the offline type like cards), and a bit of nostalgia with family pics is how we spent our journey.

Since the last few months, there have been many successes, a few challenges, some unforeseen circumstances in family and many other things that you being a part of my network are already aware of. This was a short window after my kid's exams were over and before the next session started. So, I took a couple of days off and combined this break with a weekend.

As we set up our berths for the night, I pulled out a book that I have been reading (or trying to find time to read ☺️) for some time. This one was referred by Thrishya Ramachandran and she had shared her copy with me to read. The book is titled- The Hungry Tide (2004) authored by Jnanpith award winner, Amitav Ghosh . I am madly in love with the book, and reading it at a very slow pace to absorb the story, explore the characters, visualize the landscape, and draw the lives through a description of the tidal country as the characters pop up across time, locations and situations - yet the story and characters get connected several times.

I cuddled into my berth, laying down with the reading light on the side and started reading. There is a portion where the main characters Fokir, his son Tutul and Piyali end up on a small boat. They come from different worlds, don't understand each other (language) and have different reasons for being there. Yet, there is a beautiful story that unfolds, connects the lives of the characters and brings the realities to the fore. In the story, there is an undertone which continues throughout. Well, I will stop here else this will become a book review😉

Somewhere behind the beauty of the story, the reading light piercing the darkness of the cabin, the rattling of the train over tracks - the story of this novel got connected in my head with AI. There are "Fokirs" of the world, viz. the hyperscalers, who are working hard to ensure they catch more crabs and earn more. There is "Tutul" (the customers, prospects) who is in the same harsh environment, worried and afraid and yet in a way being taken care of in this journey. In addition, in the same boat is "Piyali", the service providers, who are struggling in the new world and trying to make out how to survive in this new world.

I was surprised of this connection that I made in my mind. That is the power of AI, which seems to be staying rent free in my mind, and the buzz around it is truly deafening to me. We hear about "Artificial Intelligence" everywhere, often depicted as a silver bullet solution. But what does it really mean for businesses today? Too often, AI is treated as purely an add-on initiative, thereby leading to siloed projects, lower adoption, unclear ROI constructs, and missed opportunities.

It's time for a shift in perspective. It's time to go "ALL IN."        

"ALL IN" isn't just a poker term; it's a mindset. In the context of AI, it signifies a holistic organizational commitment to integrating AI across empowered people, robust data foundations, simplified processes, strategic initiatives, and enabling technologies to drive tangible business value. Organizations that embrace this "All In" approach will unlock a level of transformation far beyond those who simply dabble in "Artificial" solutions.

The Limitations of "Artificial" Thinking in today's AI

The traditional view of AI often focuses solely on the "artificial" aspects in my view i.e. the technology itself. This leads to several critical pitfalls:

🔒Siloed Initiatives: AI projects become isolated experiments, disconnected from core business goals and strategies.

🤨Lack of Employee Buy-in: Fear, misunderstanding, and a lack of training create resistance to AI adoption within the workforce.

🛢️Data Gaps and Silos: Without a strong data strategy, organizations struggle to provide the fuel that AI needs to function effectively. Data becomes fragmented, inaccessible, or of poor quality.

💾 Overemphasis on Technology: The focus shifts from solving real business problems to simply implementing the latest AI tools, often without a clear purpose, supporting data, or a vision for reimagining business processes.

This "Artificial" approach treats AI as a bolt-on, not a built-in. It's like adding a powerful engine to a horse-drawn carriage – the potential is there, but it's not being utilized effectively.

"All In": A New Paradigm for AI Adoption

Going "All In" requires a fundamental shift in how we think about and implement AI. It's about building a comprehensive ecosystem based on three interconnected pillars: People, Data, and Initiatives.

🧑🏻🤝🧑🏼People: Empowering the Human Element: The human element is paramount. "All In" organizations invest in enablement and change management.

⛽Data: The Fuel for AI Transformation: Data is not just a by-product of business; it's the essential fuel that powers AI. "All In" organizations prioritize initiatives to get the foundation in place. It can no longer be delayed!

🆕 Initiatives: Strategic Execution and Process Reimagination: Strategic AI initiatives are crucial, built on a foundation of robust data and empowered people. "All In" organizations must create an AI office with cross-functional teams and powers to drive these within their organizations.

Business Outcomes, Impact on Business Models, and Process Reimagination

Going "All In" with AI can deliver significant business outcomes, impact business models, and open opportunities to reimagine business processes:

✅ Business Outcomes: Increased revenue and profitability, reduced costs, improved customer satisfaction, enhanced operational efficiency, and data-driven decision-making.

✅ Impact on Business Models: Shift to data-driven models, personalized products and services, subscription-based offerings, and platform-based ecosystems.

✅ Opportunities to Reimagine Business Processes: Automated customer service, predictive maintenance, supply chain optimization, personalized marketing and sales, and AI-driven product development.

Infosys and Microsoft: Your Partners in Going "All In"

Infosys, with its deep expertise in consulting, data management, and digital transformation, combined with Microsoft's powerful AI platform and tools like Copilots, Agents, Azure AI and Cognitive Services, provides a unique partnership to help organizations go "All In." We offer joint solutions and proven methodologies to guide you through every step of your AI journey, with a strong emphasis on data as a core enabler and a focus on achieving tangible business outcomes through process reimagination.

Here are some examples of how we can help:

💎Infosys Topaz: This comprehensive AI-first set of services, solutions, and platforms accelerates business value creation for enterprises using generative AI, applied AI, and other emerging technologies. It helps enterprises navigate the complex AI landscape to rapidly build impactful AI solutions. [Link to Infosys Topaz]

💎Infosys Cobalt: This set of services and platforms helps enterprises accelerate their cloud journey and provides a foundation for AI implementations on the Microsoft Azure cloud, providing the scalable and secure infrastructure required for AI workloads and data storage. [Link to Infosys Cobalt]

💎AI-powered Industry Solutions: Infosys and Microsoft collaborate to develop industry-specific AI solutions tailored to the unique challenges and opportunities of various sectors, such as financial services, energy & utilities, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and many more. These are built on robust data foundations, enabling process transformation specific to industry needs.

Focus on Data Foundation

Data Analytics and AI on Azure - Combining Infosys' deep expertise in data management, data engineering, and data analytics with Microsoft Azure's comprehensive data and AI services. This includes:

📦Data Modernization: Helping organizations modernize their data infrastructure and migrate to the cloud, ensuring data is readily available for AI initiatives and enabling new data-driven processes.

📦Data Lake and Data Warehouse Implementation: Building scalable and secure data lakes and data warehouses on Azure to store and manage large volumes of data, providing a central repository for AI training and inference, supporting advanced analytics for process optimization.

📦Data Governance and Security: Implementing robust data governance frameworks and security measures to ensure data quality, compliance, and privacy, essential for building trust in AI systems and ensuring responsible process automation.

📦AI Model Development and Deployment: Developing and deploying AI models on Azure using machine learning and deep learning techniques, leveraging the rich data available in the Azure ecosystem to drive process automation and intelligent decision-making.

Closing Notes

The future of business is not just "Artificial Intelligence"; it's being "All In."

By focusing on empowered people, robust data foundations, strategic initiatives, and enabling technologies, organizations can unlock the true transformative power of AI. This includes achieving tangible business outcomes, adapting business models to the AI-driven landscape, and seizing opportunities to reimagine core business processes.

Don't just dabble in AI; commit to a holistic, organization-wide transformation. Contact Infosys Microsoft Practice and Microsoft today to learn how we can help you go "All In" and realize the full potential of AI.

Have patience, faith and energy to survive like Fokir, Tutul and Piyali as they run with their own goals, yet they live together and give their best by being "All In" in the challenging world of Tidal Country. They do find what they desire, and so would you. Best of luck!