Open the pod bay doors, HAL: What’s your relationship with AI?

If you’ve seen Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, then you’re familiar with HAL – the artificial intelligence (AI) computer operating the film’s spacecraft. A malfunction causes it to kill the vessel’s entire crew, except for the protagonist, Dave. When Dave is locked out of the ship from space, he calmly says, “Open the pod bay doors, HAL.” After a cryptic pause, HAL responds, “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” in a chilling monotone that defines the scene as the movie’s most memorable set piece.

Luckily, your organization doesn’t have to worry about AI betrayals in outer space. What you can expect from AI is an ever-evolving technology benefiting your organization in ways you may not have known possible.

Plenty of organizations are already leveraging AI today, but very few are realizing its full potential. Intel posits that, “Individual [AI] initiatives can deliver valuable results and add significant value for the business. However, taking the next step to enable Al from end-to-end across your organization can significantly accelerate and expand these advantages.”

Think about the bigger picture

It’s easy to get lost when navigating the ever-shifting landscape of data intelligence. To avoid solution fatigue, focus solely on what you hope to achieve – your business objectives and desired outcomes – and avoid talking about technology for as long as possible.

The deeper you plan out how to tackle your goals, the easier it will become to find the right technology. The broader challenge is often defining your scope or problem space, then asking the right questions to determine the best solution.

In other words, think about the bigger picture, not just the immediate problem in front of you. When organizations broaden the horizons of their business objectives, the benefits of AI solutions really start to shine.

“The opposite of winning is not losing; it’s failing to see the larger picture.” –  Pico Iyer, Ted Talk

No matter your vertical, AI can help you transform

Now take this way of thinking and apply it to the way AI can evolve your business. For example, restaurants can use an AI platform to help regulate their inventory. The system can analyze levels of stock and promote items on their digital signage based on those supply levels. This ensures the restaurant’s stock is utilized and does not spoil while also lessening frustration for the customer. Diners do not want to be flooded with images of a special they can’t actually order.

AI can and should be utilized across all business verticals. Worker safety in Industry 4.0, medical imaging in healthcare, and customer retention in retail are just a few examples in a near-limitless list of possibilities. In the short term, AI can optimize your processes and deliver important cost savings. In the long term, AI can open up new revenue streams and expand your business’ earning potential.

Your transformation starts with a trusted partner

As more and more organizations adopt AI to solve complex business problems, you need to ensure you aren’t being left behind. Trusted and strategic infrastructure partners play an important role in your business’ deployment of advanced analytics technologies like AI, machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL).

SHI and Stratascale* are proud to partner with top brands such as Cisco, Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Pure Storage, and VMware. These partners have proven histories of success. Their solutions, paired with SHI and Stratascale’s certified data intelligence experts, can help you easily unlock the benefits of AI. These include:

• Optimized business processes
• Reduced total spend
• New revenue streams
• And much more

Stratascale helps you visualize the value you can expect AI to deliver for your organization with AI ideation workshops. Contact Stratascale’s experts to get started, or learn more via their data intelligence center of excellence (COE).

*Stratascale is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SHI providing a consultancy-first approach to helping organizations rapidly adapt in response to business changes and challenges through technology innovation.