Whether unleashing the potential of artificial intelligence-driven enterprises or helping companies navigate the intricacies of data integration, AI has profound implications for businesses worldwide. Generative AI represents more than just a technological advancement — it is a catalyst for organizational evolution, empowering businesses to unlock new realms of possibility and drive sustained growth in the digital age.

“Digital transformation was really about looking at a whole bunch of projects to digitalize internal operations or spawn up digital native businesses,” said Ayon Banerjee (pictured, right), chief strategy and growth officer of Persistent Systems Ltd. “I think the narrative is now starting more top-down rather than bottom-up. I think that’s one stark difference that we are seeing.”

Banerjee and Caroline Yap (left), managing director of the global AI business and applied engineering at Google LLC, spoke with theCUBE Research’s executive analyst John Furrier at the “Accelerating Innovation With Persistent” event, during an exclusive interview on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the transformative potential of generative AI and its profound impact on businesses worldwide. (* Disclosure below.)

The evolution of generative AI: From concept to reality

There is a growing recognition among businesses of the need to leverage AI for gaining deeper insights and driving strategic decision. Generative AI brings a tangible business value, underscoring the paradigm shift where AI is no longer confined to the realm of data scientists but is embraced by organizations across the board, according to Yap.

“I think that it’s been great to see how the technology and the tools are being leveraged in such a way that it’s going to deliver real value,” she said.

As it’s advanced, AI has become more practical and is no longer a mere experiment, but a critical enabler of business transformation. Generative AI has played a pivotal role in pushing enterprise-level KPIs and has shifted toward business transformation rather than merely digital transformation, according to Banerjee.

“I think the digital transformation to me has become more about business transformation than digital transformation, with digital just being a tool in the toolkit,” he said.

Empowering businesses through data and AI integration

The practical implications of generative AI in real-world scenarios was also a topic of conversation. Data accessibility and design considerations play an important role in harnessing the full potential of AI. It is crucial to identify relevant data sources and crafting strategies to leverage structured, unstructured and synthetic data effectively, according to Banerjee.

“It’s not just about available data that’s available to the enterprise or data that’s available in a public large language model,” he said. “That’s going to happen all on the back of the structured/unstructured data and synthetic data … data is everywhere and that’s really where the future is.”

There’s also a future where AI seamlessly integrates into the fabric of organizations, driving operational efficiencies and enabling human capital upskilling. Partnerships will play a crucial role in this, such as the collaborative efforts between Google and Persistent, in unlocking new opportunities and accelerating innovation on a global scale.

“I think upskilling is probably the biggest thing everybody needs to get moving on today,” Yap said. “A lot of people assume that AI is just going to take huge swaths of jobs. We need to make sure we have really good human capital upskilling, but also re-skilling of folks so that they can move into these future roles where AI is absolutely second nature and not just another tool, but it’s really part of the core system.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage of the “Accelerating Innovation With Persistent” event:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the “Accelerating Innovation With Persistent” event. Neither Persistent Systems Ltd. nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE