Growth Drivers | December 12, 2024
Demonstrating AI’s impact by starting small and thinking big
By Howard Boville, EVP, Consulting & Engineering Services – Powered by AI
AI has already captured the attention and imagination of industries everywhere. From AI agents to autonomous driving and personalized medicine, companies are taking steps to unlock value from AI, which promises to reshape our world.
Based on DXC’s experience in helping clients across different industries capitalize on AI’s potential, below are some insights for the new year.
Many organizations recognize that the biggest benefits of AI transformation are still to come. But as we head into the new year, we expect to see more examples of organizations starting to take the initial leap by starting small, thinking big and demonstrating quick wins.
This includes implementing small, focused applications that address specific pain points within an industry, rather than attempting a large-scale, comprehensive AI overhaul right away. This allows for gradual adoption, easier integration and the ability to learn and refine AI usage as you go along.
AI has been a hot topic for years, and now it's starting to be put to work in more meaningful ways in key industries like automotive, health & life sciences, financial services, transportation and the public sector.
DXC takes a pragmatic approach to AI and its application by prioritizing solutions that can be used effectively in the real world, and staying fully engaged with clients at every step of the way — as part of a new approach and technology platform that we call DXC AI Impact.
AI is becoming a powerful force in helping organizations make decisions, improve services and get work done. And we’re starting to see examples of how AI agents, in particular, are being used in different industries to analyze vast datasets at incredible speeds, automate hundreds of processes, and provide insights that can be put to work immediately.
And soon you can expect to see multi-agent systems composed of multiple interacting intelligent agents and systems that will be able to augment human work further (as part of a new approach called Agentic AI) by understanding and interpreting complex information and goals and then taking actions based on continuous learning and analyses of extensive datasets.
This new way of working is starting to show up in government agencies, which often struggle with a myriad of time-consuming tasks, mountains of data that need to be managed, and inefficient processes that can drain resources and hinder productivity.
The financial services and insurance industries are undergoing a major transformation as technology continues to reshape the way businesses operate. And Generative AI, in particular, is revolutionizing operations — from underwriting and risk assessment to claims processing and customer service.
At a time when many companies are struggling to figure out their AI strategy, Equitable Holdings is already winning with it. With Equitable’s existing chatbot nearing expiration, the company built a new one in 30 days that made it easy for human agents to respond faster and more accurately to customer inquiries by analyzing thousands of documents in minutes — thanks to the power of Generative AI.
Equitable is a great example of how smaller-scale initiatives allow organizations to test AI's potential without making large resource investments or significantly disrupting ongoing operations.
The system that it built grew from a single small project (reaching 600 users) to a larger GenAI program supporting multiple AI solutions across its enterprise (reaching 11,000 users).
While innovation is reshaping many industries, few areas are feeling the transformative power of AI as intensely as healthcare. AI’s ability to automate complex processes and offer new ways of thinking is pushing the boundaries of how healthcare providers diagnose, treat and manage patients.
For example, doctors may soon be able to use AI to personalize antibiotic prescriptions with just a few mouse clicks as part of a cutting-edge tool developed with Singapore General Hospital that empowers doctors to make critical decisions on antibiotic use.
The solution analyzes patient clinical data to determine if antibiotics are needed and recommends appropriate models and dosage regimens.
We worked with SAP to develop an AI-powered mobile application that assists patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. The app uses AI to measure patients’ symptoms in real-time, analyzing data to provide clinicians with personalized insights.
This enables more accurate diagnoses and treatment plans, tailored to each patient’s specific condition, improving the overall quality of care.
As the world becomes increasingly connected and digitally driven, the automotive industry is experiencing a remarkable transformation as new technologies like AI allow for a more direct flow of data and information between automobiles, drivers and the infrastructure that surrounds them.
AI-powered diagnostic tools are making it easier for automotive manufacturers and service providers to identify potential issues before they become critical. These tools analyze data from vehicle sensors and use machine learning algorithms to predict the likelihood of component failures, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.
AI is also revolutionizing how vehicles adapt to individual needs, enabling automakers to personalize every aspect of a vehicle to cater to the unique preferences of drivers and passengers.
No company can go it alone in this next era of AI — businesses that work in isolation will risk being left behind.
Joint ventures, strategic partnerships and informal collaborations can help organizations pool resources and expertise, tap into new markets and move swiftly from experimenting with AI to making it a core element of their strategy.
Thanks to industry-specific AI innovation hubs and centers of excellence (as with our recent announcement with ServiceNow), high-impact use cases of AI can be unlocked by combining resources, skills and knowledge — and facilitating a multidisciplinary meeting of the minds.
This sets the stage for broader implementations based on insights that can be learned together and a desire to push the boundaries of what AI makes possible in the future, which is what our DXC AI Impact approach, guided by our team of consulting, engineering and technology experts, is committed to addressing.
With AI starting to impact numerous parts of a business, DXC’s team of consultants and engineers understand the unique ways that clients in different industries can use AI to solve real business problems.
Our approach is to help clients embrace each opportunity with the passion of a first-time entrepreneur and then set the stage for broader implementation based on the insights we learn together.
And the good news is DXC clients like Equitable Holdings, Singapore General Hospital and BMW are leading the way.
Howard Boville is Managing Director of DXC Consulting & Engineering Services — Powered by AI. He has over 25 years of experience working as a business technologist across sales, marketing, product development, engineering, operations and contracts.
