Grant Powell MBCS spoke to Jon Verrier, former partner and managing director at Accenture, about the impact of AI on business applications development, and the skills necessary to achieve success in this space.
Generative AI is set to become a $1.3 Trillion Market by 20321. Capitalising on this growth by ensuring successful integration with operations and services is essential for many industries and sectors. Yet, in order to do this, they need talent that understands the technology as well as the many benefits and opportunities it can unlock across the enterprise. Jon Verrier explores some of these opportunities and looks at skills and career development in the AI age.
What opportunities does AI bring as it continues to evolve?
Generative AI is probably the biggest change in technology and IT in a generation. My area of expertise is corporate applications, and I think it's become very clear that there's a huge opportunity in the corporate sector around the application of Generative AI. When you look at who is going to utilise it the most, it's going to be those industries that are primed to undergo further digitalisation in the form of automated workflows. In telecoms it might be about field force enablement to transform network servicing, while in banking it might be used to analyse and process credit risk applications. There is vast potential anywhere where digesting, quantifying and summarising large volumes of documentation can dramatically improve response times and the quality of operations. Elsewhere, the application of AI can help lower the cost of delivery, improve customer onboarding and assist with content creation. In a nutshell, AI has the capability to create companies and whole industries that would otherwise not exist, and we can expect to see several players at the more innovative end of the spectrum that really capitalise on the ability to invent and reinvent in this space.
With so much possibility, where are the skills gaps and how can they be addressed?
AI is a subset of technology, so existing skills gaps will be very much amplified because AI demands even deeper skills. If you look at it from the point of view of people in the early stages of their career, they're exposed to global competition in a way that just wasn't the case when I was in my post grad world. And when you also factor in what employers are looking for, the ideal candidate absolutely has to be an all-rounder; a solution delivery person that is focused on the full lifecycle of a business, rather than someone with a single niche area of expertise. As an example, a programmer in today’s climate is exposed to a lot of global competition, downward pressure on wages and cost pressure from the industry. To be successful, focusing solely on programming based on a set of instructions that someone else gives you is no longer enough. Those entering the industry need to be able to work with clients, not necessarily external, but clients within the business such as operation staff, sales staff, legal and finance. Working with business colleagues to thoroughly understand the industry and the workflows within the industry is absolutely fundamental, and then to be able to look at the applications of technology within that, to determine problems, to understand the business case and to be able to recommend a solution – that’s what it’s about. The answer to filling the skills gap lies in developing people to understand business acumen, focusing on the full business life-cycle and having the ability to offer a holistic approach to problem solving and solution finding that comes from close collaboration with wider teams.
What is the best way to gain full business lifecycle experience?
So my primary focus is on applications, and I think from that perspective it’s important to gain exposure to that full business life cycle because you're better off as an individual being an advisor to the business. I think as you build a career, you should aim to find an industry that you enjoy working in and interests you. And most people are far more effective if they're doing work they enjoy. If you designed an ideal career path in today's world, it would include full life cycle experience, progressively more involvement in a specific industry sector, and then, importantly, a strong desire to continue learning and to keep progressing. You just have to look at the road map for the large language models to see that there's going to be another iteration next year, there'll be another one the year after that, and there are still many innovations to come. So, it’s important to keep growing, keep looking for opportunities to build upon that set of overarching business-focused skills and knowledge that will provide you with the experience you need and make you indispensable in your chosen field.
In an AI-enabled world, how can businesses go about attracting talent to create effective teams?
It's incredibly rare to find an organisation that has the appetite to give their platforms a complete overhaul every time there's a new technology wave. If you look at my own area, financial services as an example, many banks have a mainframe surrounded by Unix. They've got Windows, they've got multiple generations of technology that are still in operation. So I don't think organisations have a choice but to look after the talent that is responsible for their legacy systems, as well as bringing in people that can work with new technology while supporting its integration with the legacy architecture. In the world of core banking systems, it’s essential to consider all those legacy elements while also thinking about, for example, how to build a new digital mobile presence and an AI chat bot over the top of an application that might be, at its heart, is a Cobol mainframe system. A diverse team should offer a balance of young talent that is proficient in modern technology and applications, with seasoned professionals that can provide advice and guidance while well-versed in existing architecture. This will result in a business that is ideally positioned to operate effectively - confident in its abilities to cover ‘business-as-usual’ while also getting the most from emerging technologies. And, in fact, I think there's going to be some very big and exciting opportunities for those companies that are primed to embrace AI and the next generation of digital applications.
What’s next for AI in industry?
I think we can expect exciting things ahead. The government is keen on modernising the UK economy and pushing the AI agenda. We can expect more developments like the AI Safety Summit2 that was held in November 2023 where the government effectively put the UK onto a global stage to claim an element of leadership in this space, which I think is right. We can expect to see more government policies around AI and its governance, including the ethics around it and the levels of professionalism regarding those who are working with the technology. Within business we’re going to see some new and exciting roles being defined. The role of chief data officer is one that didn’t exist a few years ago, and we’re now starting to see more people with the title Chief AI Officer who typically hold responsibility for the acquisition, implementation, and monitoring of AI and ML technology in line with company strategy. This requires a deep understanding of the business as well as regulatory awareness and technical expertise. The fact that we are witnessing the creation of such roles demonstrates the speed with which AI and its application in the world of business is evolving. It will be both interesting and exciting to see what happens next in this space.
1 Generative AI is set to become a $1.3 Trillion Market by 2032.
2 November 2023 Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit.
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