Planning for AI-driven growth
March 2, 2018
March 2, 2018
Communications and media companies have embraced artificial intelligence (AI) in multiple areas of their business. In fact, recent Accenture Strategy research found that 63 percent of telecommunications executives anticipate AI deployment will drive additional revenue and growth opportunities by accelerating the introduction of the new products and services they take to market.1
AI’s importance is reflected in findings that show 72 percent of telecoms executives identify AI as a Top Three business priority currently or within one year, versus 65 percent of their counterparts in other industries.2 But capitalizing on the promise of AI will require companies to deeply integrate AI into their business strategy to maximize the value they reap from it. Doing so is key to getting applied intelligence right—the ability to implement technology and human ingenuity across all parts of their core business to solve complex challenges, break into new markets, or generate entirely fresh revenue streams.
To scale AI, the role of business strategy is increasingly important, facilitating a strategy-driven combined with a bottom-up AI planning framework for the enterprise, and infusing AI into the strategy team itself. A few areas are key:
AI is changing the role of the strategist. Strategists will need to foster relationships with AI engineers and data scientists and become well-versed in algorithms and AI tools to help them with everything from surfacing new competitive threats, to identifying product opportunities or acquisition targets. And importantly, strategists play an important role in planning and iterating the investment strategy for AI.
AI will change the strategist’s role, from driving investments in AI to ensuring application of insights to core business needs, enabling strategists to be true AI champions. By 2035, AI has the potential to increase information and communication industry output by $1 trillion. 5Strategists can play a key role in making that $1 trillion a reality.
1 Accenture Strategy, AI research, 2017
2 Ibid
3 Ibid
4 Ibid
5 “How AI boosts industry profits and innovation”, Accenture, 2017