Get more out of your Artificial Intelligence efforts with Enterprise Architecture
The promise of artificial intelligence to organizations
Artificial intelligence and robotics have captured the attention of business and innovation leaders through the promise of accelerated digital transformation minus the costs, risks, and challenges of traditional, more manual approaches.
AI-powered applications can help organizations use data to automate processes that a human workforce can’t possibly complete – or a process that simply isn’t cost-effective to have humans manage. Industries with such massive amounts of data that humans can’t analyze or comprehend could benefit greatly from AI capabilities. Processes formerly operated by human labor are likely to be replaced by AI applications that will bring new levels of improved customer experience, better decision-making ability, and increased operational efficiency. Let’s dive into each of these in more detail.
Improved customer experience
AI-enabled tools can automate customer-centric tasks to greatly increase productivity and enhance customer experience. An artificial intelligence tool can create data where previously there wasn’t any available and analyze this data to predict future customer behavior. Artificial intelligence can provide a smart, beneficial, and informed customer experience anywhere along the customer journey, creating customer journeys that provide a more personal, natural experience for the buyer. Anyone in a customer-facing position cannot possibly understand a customer’s entire history, but automated systems can be programed to handle this amount of data and deliver a systematic and consistent experience across all touchpoints.
Better decision-making ability
Prior to artificial intelligence technologies, business leaders had to rely on inconsistent and incomplete data when making decisions. Enter artificial intelligence into the equation, and now executives have data-based models and simulations to consult. AI provides advanced models for business leaders to base their decisions on, so they aren’t guessing when it comes to important company choices and strategies. When decision-makers and business executives have reliable data analyses and recommendations from artificial intelligence tools, they can make better choices for the organization, its people, products, services, and customers.
Increased operational efficiency
Artificial intelligence can help minimize mistakes and advance the overall efficiency of a company. Automation and optimizations using AI are happening in every industry resulting in increased production output – a huge benefit for companies, especially in manufacturing. With the help of artificial intelligence, you can automate many manufacturing processes that will require little human oversight. AI’s benefits really shine here when you can boost manufacturing efficiency, raise production output, and decrease costs associated with human errors.
The intersection of AI and enterprise architecture
Enterprise architecture (EA) can support the success of AI programs and automation efforts, and artificial intelligence in return can improve enterprise architecture tools to accelerate digital transformation and IT modernization projects – also with greater speed of completion than before.
Enterprise architecture tools can benefit from several areas of artificial intelligence to learn how it could bring value to customers. Some software enhancements to be explored include:
Augmented architect
A virtual enterprise architect or chatbot that can help its human counterpart determine impact analysis. One day in the future, you might be able to ask the EA tool, “which capabilities would be affected if I retire application X” and the tool would respond with the correct answer.
Sketch capture
The ability to draw maps and models on a whiteboard, take a photo, and then upload that photo to the tool where the maps and models would be produced in the software.
Data set
The EA tool would be able to examine the entire scope of a repository and organize it into a more business consumable way, making enterprise architecture’s real business value more apparent to all stakeholders.
AI might be hot right now, but your organization is going to have to do some groundwork first if you want AI to deliver value to the business. AI can advance digital transformation, but before you jump all in, some initial prep and research will pay off and lead to greater long-term success.
