Artificial intelligence to double employee productivity by 2021: Microsoft

By 2021, artificial intelligence will double the rate of innovation at organisations (2.2x times) and employee productivity (2.3x times) in India, said a joint study by Microsoft and IDC.

The study titled ‘Future Ready Business: Assessing Asia Pacific’s Growth Potential Through Artificial Intelligence’ surveyed 200 business leaders and 202 workers in India. The survey conducted with 1,560 business decision makers in mid and large-sized organisations across 15 economies in the region, highlights that while 77 per cent of business leaders polled agreed that AI is instrumental for their organisation’s competitiveness, only one-third of organisations in India have embarked on their AI journeys. Those companies that have adopted AI expect it to increase their competitiveness by 2.3 times in 2021.

‘Today, every company is a software company, and increasingly, every interaction is digital. To be successful in this new world, organisations need to be a fast adopter of best-in-class technology; and secondly, they need to build their own unique digital capabilities,’ said Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer, Microsoft India.

Last year, organisations that have adopted artificial intelligence saw tangible improvements in those areas in the range of eight per cent to 22 per cent. They forecast further improvements of at least 2.1 times in the three-year horizon, with the biggest jump expected in higher margins, and higher competitiveness.

The study evaluated six dimensions critical to ensuring the success of a nation’s artificial intelligence journey. According to the findings, India needs to build upon its investment, data, and strategy in order to accelerate its AI journey. The study also underlines the need for cultural changes and skilling and reskilling workforces to make AI work for the country.

‘To succeed in the AI race, India needs to substantially improve its readiness. Leaders should make AI a core part of their strategy and develop a learning agility culture. Investment in this transformative technology has to be continuous for the long-term success. There is an urgent need for talents and tools to develop, deploy and monitor AI models, along with the availability of a robust data estate with the adequate governance’ added Ranganath Sadasiva, Director, Enterprise, IDC.

In order to help bridge the skill gap, Microsoft has rolled out the Week of AI, a specially curated five-day workshop series to help developers and organisations build expertise in cloud computing, data sciences, AI and IoT.