Executive Discussion: AI in Practice – Key Insights from Industry Leaders
At the sidelines of the 47th AIBP Conference & Exhibition in Malaysia, AIBP hosted an executive discussion session in partnership with Dell Technologies & Maxis on the 4th of September 2024 after the Main Panel Discussion on Data & AI.
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved beyond hype to become a vital element of business strategy across industries. This shift was the focus of a recent executive discussion on AI in Practice held on September 4, 2024, which brought together industry leaders from top organisations such as PETRONAS, CIMB, Bank Islam, Maxis, Dell, and more. The event, hosted in partnership with Dell and Maxis, provided a platform for key decision-makers to share their experiences, challenges, and strategies in deploying AI at scale.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the session:
Laying Strong Foundations for Scalable AI Projects
One of the central themes discussed during the event was the importance of building a solid foundation for AI initiatives to ensure long-term scalability. Datin Habsah Nordin, Head of AI Centre of Excellence (CoE), PETRONAS, emphasised that establishing an AI-first culture within an organisation is critical to success. According to her, creating strong AI fundamentals allows projects not only to scale but also to become self-sustaining from the benefits they generate.
She added that PETRONAS is exploring adjacent opportunities rather than focusing narrowly on verticals, which ensures their AI initiatives can scale effectively.
This sentiment was echoed by Pedro Uria-Recio, Chief Data and AI Officer, CIMB who highlighted the importance of identifying the right allies within the organisation to champion AI projects. These internal advocates play a key role in driving adoption and ensuring AI initiatives gain traction.Grainger Wallis, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Dell also pointed out that selecting low-cost, high-return projects as initial use cases can help organisations achieve quick wins, making it easier to secure stakeholder buy-in for larger AI investments.
Overcoming User Acceptance and Organisational Challenges
AI adoption comes with its fair share of challenges, especially in gaining user acceptance. Ahmad Fairuz, Head of Data Analytics at Bank Islam, underscored that the biggest challenge lies in ensuring business user acceptance. To tackle this, he suggested looking beyond just the technical aspects of AI (such as data science and data governance) and developing a data strategy that ties initiatives to the organisation’s overall outcomes.
In the banking sector, AI is proving especially valuable in meeting regulatory requirements. Yew Choong, Chief Data Officer at AmBank, shared how AI projects at his organisation help address complex regulatory demands. Meanwhile, Sanofi’s Global Automation and AI Program Manager, Wee Cheng, highlighted how a fail-fast approach has enabled his team to experiment with AI, learn from failures, and iterate quickly. He stressed that failure is not only accepted but encouraged as part of the process of innovation.
However, success in one project does not guarantee smooth sailing in others. Tien Long, Managing Director of FedEx Malaysia, reflected on the challenges of managing AI initiatives, noting that even after significant success in one AI project, his team still faces hurdles in ongoing projects. This ties back to Datin Habsah’s keynote message: AI projects are 10% about the algorithm, 20% about technology, and 70% about people and processes.
Building an AI Ecosystem Through Partnerships
The importance of building an ecosystem to support AI initiatives was another key topic. Maxis, Malaysia’s leading telecommunications provider, shared its journey in leveraging AI internally and for its corporate clients. Qing Lin Fang, Head of Corporate at Maxis, explained how the company’s team of 60 data scientists has been instrumental in developing data-driven applications that improve customer service. By equipping their customer service agents with insights from AI, Maxis has been able to create seamless, cross-channel customer experiences.
Maxis also broke new ground by becoming the first telco in Malaysia to offer GPU-as-a-Service, providing clients with accelerated computing power to fuel their AI projects. This service is expected to significantly enhance the ability of Malaysian enterprises to deploy AI at scale.
On the infrastructure front, Grainger Wallis, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Dell, discussed how Dell is not just a hardware provider but a full-service AI ecosystem partner. Through their AI Factory, Dell supports organisations with end-to-end AI solutions that align with their business outcomes. One notable example is Moogsoft, a company Dell acquired in 2023, which provides clients with AIOps capabilities to help automate IT operations through AI.
The Road Ahead for AI in Business
The executive discussion underscored a critical takeaway: while AI technology continues to evolve, the true challenge lies in aligning it with business goals, driving user acceptance, and ensuring that the organisational culture is ready to embrace the change. As Datin Habsah aptly put it, the success of an AI initiative depends largely on people and processes, not just the algorithms.
As companies continue to navigate the complexities of AI adoption, partnerships with technology providers like Dell and Maxis, and internal champions, will be key to ensuring the success of AI projects. The ability to scale AI solutions, overcome enterprise challenges, and build ecosystems will determine which organisations can harness AI to drive real business outcomes.
With the insights shared by industry leaders, it is clear that while AI is transformative, its success requires a strategic approach, collaboration, and a focus on long-term scalability
We will be continuing the discussions on Data and AI in these upcoming activities in our calendar:
Accelerating AI-Powered Innovation at Dell Technologies Forum in Hilton KL, 24 Sep.
Grainger Wallis, Senior Vice President, South Asia and Emerging Markets will be joined by Ng May Ching, CIO, Maxis, to discuss how you can also Fast-Track Generative AI.
Agenda at a Glance here
Comprehensive Data Strategies: Enabling Scalable AI Initiatives at AIBP Working Group in KL, October 17
