Chapter 3. The Business Transformation: Bringing AI to Every Business Process
Although an AI transformation can spring from a technology-first approach, the full impact of AI is best achieved if technology and business come together to rethink the primary functions in the organization. Every business process can be optimized or completely redefined with AI. The question is where to start.
Transforming Your Business Units
Just like the evaluation of potential scenarios in which you can bring AI to your applications, the first step in transforming your business is to inventory and categorize your processes. There are many frameworks in the industry for that, but I particularly like the one defined by management consultant and author Geoffrey Moore in his book Zone to Win: Organizing to Compete in an Age of Disruption (Diversion Books). Geoffrey states how every organization has to carefully balance four different zones:
- Incubation
- Focused on evaluating multiple new opportunities enabled by new technology waves to identify future viable business options
- Transformation
- Focused on scaling a particular disruptive opportunity identified in the incubation zone to a material revenue
- Performance
- Focused on maximizing the current primary revenue stream of the company
- Productivity
- Focused on delivering the programs and systems to support the performance zone
This model is very effective for understanding and balancing the different goals an organization has to pursue at any given time, ...
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