There is a deluge of AI information and projection of its impact in the economy that is thrown around the pages of business publications and discussed at length at business forums and summits, to the point where it is hard to distinguish the truth between the talk and the reality.
Introducing Len Pienaar
As always, Business Tech Africa is not fearful to peel back the onions of industry for our readers and with this in mind we spoke with Len Pienaar, Managing Director of AdvanceGuidance, a leading South African AI solutions provider, to get his perspective on the solid facts of the AI industry.
Len has had a significant and interesting career, starting as a mechanical engineer at Sasol and moving on to the mobile industry and later on developing client facing applications for the banking industry, building a banking reporting system across international territories, and finally developing data and AI platforms for a national media company, before joining the AdvanceGuidance AI consultancy company.
This incredible journey has a common thread in that he has always been at the forefront of collecting and analysing and making useable data available to improve systems, sales, productivity, client retention and acquisitions and making these systems improve overall cost savings and revenue generation.
It makes for a very competent ability in determining AI value and implementation in organisation structures that is able to plan for effective AI integration that gives value and competitive advantages.
Is AI for Large Corporates Only?
We asked Len if AI is at this stage, AI applications are really only for large corporates, who have the data, systems and a large cost base, making it an obvious target for efficiencies and improvements
Len Answers with a clever “I am going to say No, and then the famous But! “I think that there is a massive scope for large corporates and the associated data projects.
The “No”
Len explains that if companies have a repetitive task, done by highly skilled, highly competent people, you can now automate these processes with AI. With large data and volume of actions or transaction you have vast potential. “You need large volumes to get a return on AI projects, you need large volumes” Lens says.
Where there are specific solutions that solve specific large data problems and requires a managed , bespoke solution, that is the space where AI is really only makes sense within a big corporate operation.
“I don’t think a small business can afford to undertake something like that type of solution”, reflects Pienaar. “AI is a massive step-up in what corporates can do in terms of processing ability”, “and customer management comes with risk and therefore you need to do it properly in a way where you can nearly guarantee the outcome” says Len.
The “But”
There are so many tools now that small businesses can use that you don’t have to build from the ground up, Len comments. “from tools that can guide and help you with online advertising, to business development tools, to business modelling tools, he says.
There is literally an explosion of new AI driven tools that are available today, that relative to buying that skill from a supplier, or investing in employing that skill within a business, that today comes at a relatively low cost that most businesses can afford to use and this is the area of AI development that is going to impact smaller business the most.
“One of the needs in the market today, says Pienaar, is the need to provide training and guidance for smaller business owners on how to access and implement the basics, and how to implement this in the right context”.
AI Implementation a Complex Process
Ai project implementation, is no small or straight forward task according to Len, a lot of work they do on a project is to first ensure proper understanding of clients and systems together with focused data collection, organisation and in-depth analysis before they start on the journey of looking at what and where AI should be applied to create improvements.
“We have never yet come across an Ai implementation that can be directly replicated across to another entity”, comments Len. “every customer is unique and every client’s customer base is unique with different requirements”.
“So simply determining what to ask who to ask and when to ask is a project on its own in AI implementation”, he concludes.
What is clear from our conversation, is that consultancies with specialised skill sets are going to be increasingly critical for corporates that require large scale AI development and that these, are for now, the ones that are likely to see the most benefit from AI.
As AI business tools develop and become more integrated in modern technology, smaller business will be able to find useful and cost effective ways to utilise AI, that will be assisted by training and guidance processes.
