As Uber turns 15 years old, Airbnb is just slightly ahead at 16 and the granddaddy of them all, Amazon, will be 30 this year, we’ve seen profound changes in our economy that have rippled through every business. Under the heading of “digital transformation,” every organization has shifted significantly to embrace the internet and other technologies to engage with customers and streamline their operations. The phrase, “All companies are software companies” has become a reality.
As digital transformation matured, data exploded. Organizations started to generate, collect and store vast amounts of data from various digital interactions. The advent of big data and cloud warehouse and data lake technologies enabled the processing and analysis of these large datasets, providing insights that were previously inaccessible. The “modern data stack” movement was born when data that was previously siloed inside the company transitioned to the cloud, where it could be shared and infinite amounts of data could be stored and analyzed. A new phrase was coined, “Every company is a data company,” emphasizing the importance of data as a critical asset for decision-making and strategic planning. Companies that harness the power of their data capabilities can personalize customer experiences, optimize supply chains, predict market trends and innovate products and services at a pace and precision previously unknown.
In the background, AI started transforming the potential of big data. AI technologies evolved from theoretical concepts to practical tools, capable of analyzing complex datasets, recognizing patterns and making predictions with unprecedented accuracy. OpenAI’s ChatGPT emerged in late 2022 with the ability to generate text, images and now videos. In 2023, the race was on to adopt AI and integrate the technology in almost every enterprise to achieve new levels of efficiency and scale. This marked the beginning of the “AI revolution,” in which AI has become a pivotal force in driving innovation, operational efficiency and competitive advantage.
Quickly, it became apparent that the quality of data fed to AI was key to success. Organizations must invest further in scalable data infrastructure, AI capabilities and—importantly—building a workforce skilled in these areas. The integration of AI into every aspect of business operations isn’t a distant future. It’s happening now.
For AI to work, data needs to be consolidated, hosted, transformed and then activated through AI. Data teams must prioritize establishing a robust data infrastructure that supports these processes effectively—just as compute infrastructure had to be built up in digital business transformation. In the AI revolution, infrastructure will be underpinned by data movement, storage and processing capabilities. We’re already seeing this, especially with the exploding demand for Nvidia chips.
The critical criteria for data infrastructure that supports AI should focus on versatility, scalability and security. Versatility means having the ability to handle both structured and unstructured data and to support data specialists across their wide range of custom use cases. Scalability ensures that as the organization grows and data volume increases, the infrastructure can adapt without compromising performance or reliability. Lastly, security remains paramount, safeguarding data integrity and compliance with regulations across all stages of handling data.
For businesses to thrive in the AI revolution, these technological principles are essential and position organizations to lead in innovation, efficiency and customer satisfaction, helping provide a competitive edge in the evolving digital landscape.
In the context of the Industrial Revolution, applying technology to operating mechanisms in each organization is extremely necessary, and is also an inevitable trend to minimize workload while still ensuring efficiency and enhance its competitive position in the market. Furthermore, applying management software into a business will also help build an organization with a clear system, promoting consistency, transparency and accuracy. Tasken eOffice, researched and built by Opus Solution – a business consultant in Vietnam – is an internal work management system as well as the management of automated, online, user-friendly approval processes, allowing businesses to operate more effectively on the path of digital transformation.
Forbes
