With high D&A ambitions and AI pilots becoming increasingly ubiquitous, focus is shifting toward consistent execution. In this keynote, Ehtisham Zaidi, VP Analyst at Gartner, and Aura Popa, Sr Director Analyst at Gartner, discussed how D&A leaders can continue innovating their data management solutions while scaling success for the AI journey.
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Key Takeaways
- “49% of organizations say demonstrating the value of AI is a top barrier.”
- “Over half of organizations have issues with their data.”
- “Businesses not understanding D&A is a top three challenge to D&A leaders.”
- “Data quality is a top challenge for D&A leaders.”
The Pillars of a Successful AI Strategy – Presented by Chirag Dekate, VP Analyst, Gartner
The vast potential business value of AI will not emerge on its own. AI leaders must steer their organizations toward a future where AI not only delivers tangible business value but also evolves into a critical competitive differentiator and industry disruptor. In this session, Chirag Dekate, VP Analyst at Gartner, discussed how AI leaders can develop a successful AI strategy to fully harness the benefits and potential of AI.
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Key Takeaways
- “49% of leaders highly involved in AI report that their organizations struggle to estimate and demonstrate the value of AI.”
- “Turn the promise of AI into reality by developing and executing your own AI strategy.”
- “Start with vision, value and risks by assessing the importance of AI for your organization, identifying where the value lies and determining your risk appetite.”
- “Create a roadmap for AI adoption, maturing the key enabling capabilities of organization, people and culture, governance, engineering, and data.”
- “Regularly recalibrate your AI strategy by engaging all relevant stakeholders. Ensure that AI initiatives are aligned with your business, data and analytics, and IT strategies, and vice versa.”
Top 5 Analytics & AI Challenges and How to Handle Them – Presented by Anirudh Ganeshan, Sr Principal Analyst, Gartner
D&A leaders face many challenges when it comes to analytics and AI. In this session, Anirudh Ganeshan, Sr Principal Analyst at Gartner, discussed the top fears, risks, objections and hurdles D&A leaders face when it comes to these topics and how to handle them.
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Key Takeaways
- Challenge No. 1: Establish Trust: “Provide a heads-up of industry and technology trends to key stakeholders — focus on impact, not hype.”
- Challenge No. 2: Demonstrate Benefits: “Tie data pain points and opportunities to organizational goals by pinpointing what is inhibiting data-driven decision making and determining its downstream impact on business outcomes.”
- Challenge No. 3: Establish a solutions-first approach: “A solutions-first approach requires a deep understanding of the problem and what it’s causing. Once the problem is understood, identify or create a solution to address it.”
- Challenge No. 4: Focus on more than just the technology: “Technology changes quickly, so stay open to new possibilities. Build agile governance principles that can adapt to changing circumstances. Trust employees to make decisions within defined parameters. Continuously monitor progress and adjust strategies as needed.”
- Challenge No. 5: Determine responsibilities between business and IT: “Set up a hybrid multi-tiered organizational model and determine where to position the global hub and CDAO. Balance traditional and emerging roles and actively engage with domain roles.”