Is Your IT Director Blockading Your AI Development?

POSTED BY John Cronin AT 11:37 A.M. Oct 9, 2018

When considering starting the AI journey, unlike in the past, it is not enough to have expert people working on the project, installing processes with standard, simplified procedures in a Microsoft Office program or with extremely well-known tools like patent office databases, etc. Now, in order to be on the AI journey, if it is to happen as an app store, with many connected AI Apps, there is a large barrier for the enterprise to be able to cope with the apps because of security and  integration issues.

So, what is to be done? One solution is software AI apps within the well-known tools of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc., where these tools have built-in features to enable macros and possibly other program modules. Once these macros are debugged and tested (something ipCG has found to be easy in its own software development processes), then the next step is to harden them by rewriting the code into the enterprise cloud or internet. A second option is to create the apps in a third-party cloud, with high security and running the AI app in beta version there. Once this is done, the AI app can be re-integrated into the enterprise. If either of these two options do not work, a third option is to create non-functional mock ups to convince management that an investment to create the enterprise software is needed. A convincing way to take mock-up to reality is to create a video demo that is semi-functional, so the user experience is virtualized. Once there is buy-in, reverting to developing the enterprise solution would be more straight forward.

So, an enlightened IT director needs to see that AI will be a huge cost savings and quality boost to the organization, and needs to guide the AI app developers, all while maintaining the security and robustness of the existing enterprise software and database. That is a larger skill set than most IT directors may have. But, to thrive in the new world of AI, the IT director should not use the security and robustness of the existing enterprise software and database as a blockade to innovation. The IT director must now play a more innovative role him/herself.