Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2024. Read them in this 16th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
GenAI Will Reveal Massive Data Gaps, Not Deliver Magic
By Anand Pandya, Global Head of
Financial Services at Hakkoda
It's hard to turn around these days without
running into someone talking about GenAI: the revolutionary new technology
that's promised companies, well, magic. Over the next year, plenty of CEOs and
their cohorts will experience a let-down. Even if GenAI can deliver incredible
results, what most companies lack isn't the desire to conquer the AI landscape:
it's the data foundations to back it up. In 2024, we'll see many organizations
commit sins similar to those made during the 2015-2016 data science hype. They'll
try to build GenAI on top of fragile data infrastructure, and as a result,
their investments will fail.
Companies Will
Focus on Getting Their Data House in Order
Smart leaders will start with their own
business intelligence and data quality. During an end-of-year conversation with
the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, Executive Director Christopher
Walsh noted that DTCC
believes AI is essential to their future. But instead of diving right into
building out GenAI, they're starting with data quality work. Data quality and
strong BI are so essential to the success of AI and ML projects that you need
to tackle them before you can even fully understand the opportunities
for AI in your business.
In 2024, data leaders with vision will see
more data quality wins than GenAI. As we draw toward the end of the year,
companies whose processes are strong will begin to take their data from
resource to asset. AI and ML are very much garbage in garbage out, or gold in
gold out. The quality of your outcome with AI and ML will be determined by the
quality of your own data. This isn't to say that GenAI has to wait, as proof of
concepts, prototypes, and smaller implementations can see immediate benefits,
but broad-scale adoption requires a stable foundation.
GenAI Projects
Will Drive Data Governance & Security Investments
As companies dive into the world of GenAI,
they will quickly realize that their data governance and security practices need to
be up to par. GenAI models will need to be trained on companies' own data, and
that training will require access to vast amounts of information. Companies
will need to ensure that their data is accurate, consistent, and protected. As
a result, they'll need to lean into cloud infrastructure and data governance
models that keep their data secure, allowing them to dedupe and work with
sensitive information without fear of cross-system migrations.
Cloud platforms like the Snowflake Data Cloud
allow companies to securely store, process, and analyze large volumes of data
for GenAI projects. The cloud offers advanced data governance features,
allowing companies to implement strict access controls, encryption, and data
monitoring capabilities. As regulations mature to meet GenAI head-on, companies that are
well-positioned to answer regulatory questions and move at the pace of
regulatory change will see themselves emerge with an advantage.
In 2024, companies that have already embraced
cloud technology and established robust data governance practices will have a
significant advantage. Technology like the Snowflake Data Cloud will be the
backbone of GenAI projects, and companies that haven't already gotten off
legacy systems will need to make rapid investments in cloud technology or risk
obsolescence in a matter of years.
The Companies
that Clean Up Fastest Will Emerge Winners
2024 won't actually be a race to GenAI, but
to the data quality, security, and business intelligence (BI) that makes it
possible. In this fiercely competitive landscape, companies that invest heavily
in strategic roadmaps addressing their data foundations and leading to smart AI
and ML applications will disrupt their markets and build competitive advantages
that will prove insurmountable for years to come.
These companies recognize that the quality of
their outcome with AI and ML will be determined by the quality of their own
data. By cleaning up their data and establishing strong data governance
practices, they are building a solid foundation that will enable them to fully
harness the power of AI in the future. In 2024, the companies that clean up
fastest will emerge as the true winners, leaving their competitors struggling
to catch up.
GenAI Will
Change the Face of Business, When We're Ready
GenAI has the potential to revolutionize the
business landscape, but only once we've laid the foundations and obtained the
right data. Once companies have built a solid data house, equipped with strong
BI and data governance practices, GenAI can truly transform the way we do
business.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anand Pandya is the Global Head of
Financial Services at Hakkoda, a modern
data stack consultancy. With more than 20 years of experience as a leader in
data-driven solutions and business intelligence, Pandya drives innovative
technology from an executive standpoint. His passion lies in helping businesses
with data management, focusing on organizational resource management and
influencing business strategies. He is well versed in global business
leadership, as well as product transformation, innovation, and development via
unlocking the value of data.