AAIA's AI Beat Newsletter: The week's news, Chapter President Spotlight: Aqil Ansari

In today’s newsletter:

• Recent AI news stories that caught our (and Perplexity AI’s!) eye

• Chapter President Spotlight: Aqil Ansari, AAIA Dallas, TX, USA Chapter

• Become an AAIA member

AI in business and the enterprise news:

Here’s what Perplexity AI said were notable news stories over the last week:

• Dell CTO: Enterprise AI poised to take off in 2025 (TechTarget, October 22, 2024)

  • “The enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) market is poised to grow next year, driven by the maturation of key technologies and availability of off-the-shelf tools, according to Dell Technologies’ global chief technology officer and chief AI officer, John Roese.”

  • “However, it’s the third market – enterprise AI – that Roese believes is on the cusp of transformation, noting that while the training market grabs headlines with massive investments in “mega clusters” by tech giants, the enterprise market is more focused on applying AI to business processes.”

  • ““Enterprise AI is about understanding which processes in your enterprise make your enterprise work, and with the application of AI, being able to do those processes materially better,” he said. That means using AI to optimise supply chains, improve customer service and enhance product development.”

• Companies recognise potential of AI, but must address readiness gaps : Infosys research (The Economic Times, October 29, 2024)

  • “...while executives envision AI as the next industrial revolution, transforming business models and shaping the new economy, many companies lack the foundational building blocks for successful enterprise AI adoption.”

  • ““To become enterprise-wide AI-ready and realise the promise of this technology, including Gen AI, it is imperative to establish a robust and scalable foundation. Our research and learnings from our AI-first transformation journey has shown that data readiness, enterprise Gen AI platform with responsible AI guardrails and AI talent transformation are key to accelerate and democratise AI development," said Mohammed Rafee Tarafdar, chief technology officer, Infosys.”

  • “Our research found that enterprise AI, including Gen AI, promises to unlock up to 40% in productivity gains, yet only 2% of companies are truly ready,” said Jeff Kavanaugh, head of Infosys Knowledge Institute. “This readiness gap represents both a challenge and a massive opportunity. Those who act now – by building a clear AI strategy, including Gen AI, establishing strong governance and upskilling talent – will not only lead the next wave of innovation but will fundamentally reshape their industries.”

• Nvidia and TCS announce partnership to accelerate AI adoption (Consultancy.uk, October 29, 2024)

  • “Enterprises worldwide are racing to adopt AI, but amid the hype, no consensus has emerged on how to best implement the new technology. With every enterprise's AI adoption journey is unique and involves an interplay of AI and existing enterprise capabilities, adapting a business to leverage it – especially at scale – requires an intimate understanding of the enterprise, its practices and building AI models that are customised for the context.”

  • “TCS’ new NVIDIA-focused unit builds on a partnership of over five years, brings together the complementary capabilities of both the organisations and offers tailored offerings for various industries. According to a release from the two firms, this latest partnership has seen the firms collaborate to build several offerings powered by the Nvidia AI framework and AI Stack. These include specific solutions for manufacturing and industrials; banking, financial services, and insurance; retailers; telecom firms; and producers of autonomous vehicles.”

• Salesforce’s Autonomous AI Agents to Scale Your Workforce (Supply & Demand Chain Executive, October 29, 2024)

  • “Agentforce goes beyond chatbots and copilots, using advanced reasoning abilities to make decisions and take action, like resolving customer cases, qualifying sales leads, and optimizing marketing campaigns. Agentforce doesn’t depend on human engagement to get work done; these agents can be triggered by changes in data, business rules, pre-built automations or signals via API calls from other systems. Companies like OpenTable, Saks, and Wiley are using Agentforce today to augment their employees, expand their workforce, and improve customer experiences.”

• Hong Kong unveils rules for ‘responsible’ AI use as it gets ahead of disruptive technology (SCMP, October 28, 2024)

  • “Hong Kong’s government outlined its first guidelines on the “responsible” use of artificial intelligence (AI) and embraced blockchain, as regulators strive to get ahead of the technological revolution that will almost certainly disrupt financial services.”

  • “Banks, brokers, asset managers and any other financial institutions that wants to use AI “must formulate an AI governance strategy to provide direction on how [the] systems should be implemented and used, and offer advisory and training services for on-premise deployment”, the government said in a press release before Chan’s speech.”

  • “Financial institutions must “seize the opportunities” of AI adoption, because the technology can facilitate the promotion of the city and drive the development of Hong Kong as an international financial centre, he added.”

  • “HSBC, the largest of Hong Kong’s currency-issuing banks, is looking at more than “100 cases” of GenAI usage, such as in boosting productivity, customer-facing capabilities, programming and coding, Lim said.”

• Industry report: Latin American Artificial Intelligence Index (h/t to Pablo Biggs, Chapter President of AAIA Latin America for the link)

  • Download the report (in Spanish)

AAIA Chapters updates:

We’ll be introducing a Chapter President to you each week.  This week, we feature Aqil Ansari, AAIA Chapter President for Dallas, TX, USA:

Company and position: VP, AI Partner Ecosystem at Clear Fork Group

Bio:

Aqil Ansari is a seasoned leader in the partner ecosystem and business development space, with extensive experience in driving strategic growth and innovation across AI, Enterprise 5G, SD-WAN, and Networking segments. Aqil is at the forefront of building dynamic partnerships with early-stage startups and established Global Systems Integrators (GSIs), Resellers, Distributors and OEM partnerships. His work focuses on end-to-end agreements, recruitment, enablement, and sales collaboration, ensuring alignment and mutual success.

With over 20 years of industry experience, Aqil has a proven track record of establishing and expanding partnerships that drive significant revenue growth and deliver innovative solutions. His past roles include Director of Enterprise Partner Ecosystem at Ericsson, where he led initiatives in the Enterprise 5G go-to-market segment, and Head of Global Systems Integrators at ngena, where he managed partnerships in the Software-Defined WAN space. He also served as Innovation Lead at AT&T, crafting and executing comprehensive innovation strategies aligned with Cisco and AT&T’s long-term vision.

Why I Am Excited to Be an AAIA Chapter President:

I am thrilled to take on the role of Chapter President for the AAIA because it offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of AI through collaboration, innovation, and community building. This position allows me to work closely with industry pioneers, early-stage startups, and technology enthusiasts who are passionate about leveraging AI to solve real-world challenges.

This role provides a platform to not only contribute to the advancement of AI but also to empower others to explore new frontiers in AI research, development, and application. I look forward to inspiring and being inspired by the collective intelligence and creativity of this vibrant community.

What I Hope to Accomplish in the Upcoming Year as Chapter President:

In the upcoming year, my primary goal as Chapter President is to establish our chapter as a leading hub for AI innovation, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing in the community. I aim to create a vibrant and inclusive ecosystem where industry professionals, researchers, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts can connect, learn, and grow together.

Email Aqil Ansari at: [email protected] 

Our list of AAIA Chapters continues to grow!  If you live in a Chapter city/region and would like to get involved, email your city’s/region’s Chapter President.