AI and Process optimization

Artificial Intelligence offers a wealth of new possibilities – and that wealth is continuing to grow every week. This obviously fuels enthusiasm among the forerunners in this field. Different dynamics in terms of opportunities and risks are emerging in virtually every sector. And in virtually every sector, organizations will face the effects of AI whether they want to or not. Therefore, the best option is to actively take the lead by exploring the opportunities with an ambitious mindset. 

Properly unlocking those opportunities is and will always be people work. The good news in this regard is that there has been nothing short of a revolution in the ease of use of tools. The low-code/no-code concept is an important exponent of this and shows that users are increasingly able to take the lead in setting up IT. Application development has thus entered a new phase, with entirely new levels of usability and with AI tools that are immediately available to everyone. In fact, any business user with basic training and a little technical knowledge can now develop applications themselves. Small multidisciplinary teams can use drag-and-drop features, widgets and intuitive visual modelling to build applications at lightning speed and at a fraction of traditional budgets. 

This is the next step in a technological revolution that has already enabled so many process innovations in recent years. That next step is obviously positive from a technical perspective, but underneath there is a much more important reason why this is so important. The real benefit is greater freedom for employees. Previously, they were ‘constrained’ in processes and workflows by IT applications, whereas now they can increasingly shape their tools to their own liking, solve problems, and develop solutions further. The effect: their activities become more impactful, they become more self-sufficient, they feel more recognised, and they often enjoy their work more. Especially in times of labour shortages, this is crucial.

However, some conditions apply in order to reach this next level.

First and foremost, the possibilities mentioned should not be realised in isolation. The adjustments that are now coming within reach using AI, for example, actually make it possible to not only shape small process innovations, but also to make larger strides in the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization as a whole. This requires an approach that goes beyond the functions within an organization and, in some cases, one that requires collaboration with other organizations. An example of the latter is generating ESG information in production and logistics chains. 

It also means that decisions about process optimizations will become less and less a matter of (functional) management but rather of cooperating specialists such as process owners. Thus, they are given more development freedom. But that freedom is not unlimited. It is still important to apply unambiguous rules in the form of, for example, accepted protocols, standards, best practices, methodologies, frameworks and training programmes, in order to reap the benefits of this new generation of tooling and to be able to scale these throughout the organization. Naturally, this must include consideration of the risks, which include security and privacy. 

It is precisely by formulating such ground rules that the value of new AI applications can be properly and quickly realised. For example, AI can be a great help in building tailored customer-facing applications, but may not be suitable for IT involving mission-critical or enterprise-wide systems. Therefore, our professionals are happy to help ensure a quick implementation with immediate results, while at the same time overseeing the bigger picture within which AI can really take the organization to the next level in terms of processes.