AI Is No Magic: 4 Steps Your Organization Can Start On Its AI Journey

By Sandeep Alur, Director, Microsoft Technology Center, Microsoft India

For decades, artificial intelligence (AI) has demonstrated its heartbeat via the predictive power it possesses and the profound impact it can have on society. As with any emerging technology, AI went through its phase of hype where it was considered to be a futuristic magic pill, to becoming a reality, as we see organizations leveraging AI to light up aspirational use cases and develop new business models.

By attaining human parity across vision, speech, and text, AI has the potential to have a significant impact on business outcomes. At the Microsoft Technology Center, I interact with customers every day about infusing AI into their solution portfolio, and it is clear that we are past the incubation stage and the time is ripe to put our learnings into practice.

For organizations that are still trying to figure out their AI journey, here are four things I have learned from customers who have successfully implemented AI projects:

Be realistic

One of the common questions I hear from customers during our initial meetings is how they can experiment with AI to understand the ‘art of possibility’ and the eventual return on investment. I believe experimenting is absolutely the right thing to do since the most difficult task at hand is not implementation via technology but identification of the right use case. Being realistic about what you wish to solve or accomplish is the need of the hour, and this is where business and technology leaders must come together. It is also essential to strike a balance between the accuracy and precision you strike on day one versus the eventual goal post. The partnership should lead to choosing a use case that gives a head start to their AI journey and yet qualify to be a significant one from a business impact standpoint.

Invest in the evolution of an AI model

AI is no magic, and the outcome of implementing an AI model has a direct correlation to the underlying data that has gone into training it. Building an AI model involves eternal iterations, and the outcome only gets better with new or more data over time. Do not expect human parity on day one. Businesses need to invest in the evolution of the model that may take umpteen number of iterations, even before it reaches an acceptable level of accuracy and precision.

A real-world example that comes to my mind is related to our operations at the Microsoft Technology Center (MTC), where we host customers. A Technical Architect (TA) leads these engagements. By virtue of hearing and dealing with so many customer challenges, they get better each day in their ability to operate as trusted advisors. A TA’s knowledge graph gets updated daily with new learnings and they keep getting better to help our customers.

Similarly, an AI model has an evolution journey too. Invest in it.

Set guardrails for responsible AI

From a data science lifecycle point of view, when you choose a use case, you either realize that you do not have an apt dataset or you probably have taken on an area where technology is still evolving. Either way, organizations will fail fast or end up building an AI model with certain accuracy and precision.

But even before an organization starts building an AI plan and gets aspirational in infusing AI into their suite of applications, an element that should be the backbone of overall design thinking is related to principles of ethics and responsibility. Every organization needs to put into place guardrails on how it will develop and deploy AI models, and more importantly, the impact they will have on individuals.

At Microsoft, we have identified six principles for responsible AI that guide the development and use of AI with people at the center. These are - fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability. You can read more about them here.

Organizations may develop their own principles according to the nature of their business, but the guiding principles will ensure that their AI models are trustworthy.

Establish trust

This is where one needs to understand that implementing a model into production alone is not success, but ensuring the outcome adheres to the design principles indicated above. Over a period of time, this will ensure that users can trust the predictions these models generate, and it should be an eventual goal post for any business.

For example, imagine a model in the healthcare domain, where the system predicts the outcome of a patient’s health check. For the care team to establish trust with the system, there have to be minimum ‘false positives’ and there needs to be a feedback loop for the care team to improvise the system. Hence, establishing ‘trust’ is critical on the trail of assessing AI impact for a use case.

To conclude, implementing AI in an organization needs business and technology leaders to invest in defining an operating manifesto to uplift the spirit of responsible AI. Success on this path will do a lot of good in instilling trust in the system. It is also imperative that one be realistic and practical about the expected outcome, and think long term.

Hyundai Announces Industry First ‘Hyundai EMI Assurance’ Program

Hyundai Motor India Ltd., country’s first Smart Mobility Solutions Provider and the largest exporter since inception, today announced Industry First ‘Hyundai EMI Assurance’ program to enhance convenience and raise positive customer sentiments. As announced, Hyundai Motor India is all set to re-open dealership operations under strict adherence of government directions in COVID-19 affected areas.  Maintaining all Safety and Hygienic parameters, all Hyundai touch points -showrooms and workshops are following contactless services for customer interactions.

Announcing the Industry First Hyundai EMI Assurance Program, Mr. Tarun Garg, Director – Sales, Marketing and Service said, “Hyundai is a Progressive, Innovative and Caring brand. We understand customer aspirations of buying a vehicle and to ease the vehicle acquisition in uncertain times, we have brought the unique and industry first Hyundai EMI Assurance Program. We are sure, the Hyundai EMI Assurance Program will give new Hyundai owners working in private organisations full peace of mind during these times and create positive and confident sentiments for Hyundai car purchase.”

To ease the buying process, while keeping the fear of employment uncertainty at bay, a unique and Industry first customer program ‘Hyundai EMI Assurance Program’ has been introduced for select new Hyundai customers covering up to 3 car loan EMIs. The program covers the customers under uncertainties such as employment loss in view of Poor financial health/Acquisition/ Merger of the company or due to any applicable laws.

The Hyundai Assurance Program is offered on select Hyundai car models purchased during the month of May’20 and covers the customer for a period of one year from date of sale of the car (Excluding first 3 months).

Hyundai Cares

Under the ambit of the ‘Hyundai Cares’ initiative, HMI has laid down guidelines to be followed at its Dealerships across India that encompass all facets of customer interactions. This will include Display car & Test Drive car preparedness, Customer Lounge & Washrooms sanitization (showroom & workshop), Delivery process of New car & Serviced car, Contactless Demonstration, and servicing. Customers can also opt for remote car demonstrations through online video conferencing application with Sales Consultants at Dealerships. Further, with Hyundai’s Click-to-Buy Integrated end-to-end online car sales website, customers can buy a brand-new Hyundai Car online. Hyundai is also offering customers its 360 Digital Service & Contact-less Service Experience, through which customers can book a service appointment online through the Hyundai Care app, WhatsApp, Hyundai Website, or a call to Dealers.

Manufacturing, Media, and IT Staff Least Confident About Future Opportunities: LinkedIn’s Confidence Index

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network on the internet, today announced findings of their second Workforce Confidence Index, a fortnightly pulse on the confidence of the Indian workforce. Findings for the week of April 13-19 introduce industry-specific insights along with professionals’ current sentiments about the jobs market, their financial status, career progression, and their expectations going forward.

LinkedIn’s second Workforce Confidence Index shows a slight dip in the overall confidence towards future opportunities with a composite score of +51 (a rolling average of weeks April 1-7 and April 13-19), as professionals foresee testing times ahead. This is two points less than last fortnight’s score of +53. A tough jobs market, pay cuts, and an ailing economy are suspected to have caused unrest amongst Indian professionals as findings show that 1 in 3 Indians have reported a decrease in their personal incomes, whereas 48% of active job seekers and 43% of full-time professionals anticipate fewer job openings in the next 2 weeks.

Online learning continues to see a steady rise in demand as 67% professionals (in comparison to 64% professionals from last fortnight) will increase their time spent in online learning, while 37% of Indian companies (in comparison to 31% from last fortnight) will offer online resources to professionals in India.

Below are key findings that show how professionals in India across industries perceive future opportunities amid the pandemic:

Professionals in IT, media, and manufacturing feel their companies will fare worse in the next 6 months

Survey findings show that professionals in healthcare, education and corporate services industries (such as management consulting, accounting, and human resources) are the most confident about the future of their companies. This fortnight’s report states that 52% of corporate service professionals, 50% of healthcare professionals, and 33% of education professionals are confident about their companies faring better in the next 6 months. These industries are also confident about their companies’ long-term outlook, as more than 4 out of 5 healthcare professionals, 4 out of 5 corporate service professionals, and more than half of all education professionals in India think their companies will do better in the next 2 years.

In contrast to this optimism, IT, manufacturing, and media professionals display low confidence towards job stability and career progression, as companies in these industries buckle under the      pressure of COVID-19. Findings show that 1 in 4 manufacturing professionals, more than 1 in 5 IT professionals, and more than 2 in 5 media professionals feel their companies will fare worse in the next 6 months, exhibiting a bleak outlook towards the short-term future. However, the same industries are confident about strong long-term growth as 77% of manufacturing professionals, 67% of media professionals, and 65% of IT professionals feel their companies will fare better in the next 2 years.

62% of self-employed professionals report a decrease in income

This fortnight’s findings state that 32% of the Indian workforce reported a decrease in earned income, while 45% reported a decrease in personal spending. This strain on personal finances is particularly prevalent among business leaders as 39% of senior executives in comparison to 27% of individual contributors cite a decrease in earned income. However, self-employed professionals emerge as the worst hit with 62% reporting a decrease in income as businesses adopt cost-cutting measures to avoid long-term financial insecurity.

As various sectors announce a hiring freeze, job-seekers have reset their expectations as more Indian professionals anticipate fewer job openings going forward. Findings support this by stating that 48% of active job seekers think there will be a decrease in available job opportunities, up 9% from last fortnight’s findings. Findings also show that 36% of active job seekers expect a decrease in recruiter response in the next two weeks, up 8% from last fortnight’s findings.

Indian companies struggle to meet wellness needs of employees during COVID-19

While more companies (37%) in India are offering online resources when compared to last fortnight (31%), fewer SMB professionals feel their companies are providing them with selected benefits in response to COVID-19. Findings show that only 17% of SMB professionals are offered support for physical health, while 14% are offered support for emotional well-being - a decrease of 7% and 3% respectively from last fortnight’s findings. This gap indicates the immediate need for companies to strengthen their wellness initiatives for the benefit of their employees.

The Workforce Confidence Index also explains that the perception of people towards challenges depends on how confident they are. Findings show that people with a high confidence index consider 'working remotely' and 'changing communication methods' as key challenges, whereas those who are less confident cite job uncertainty, job market, finances, and social & health impact as bigger professional challenges. Monitoring these challenges during different stages of the pandemic can articulate how ‘confidence’ influences an individual’s outlook towards future opportunities.

Check out the news item and member commentary on the index on LinkedIn here.

About LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index

The Workforce Confidence Index is a fortnightly pulse on the confidence of the Indian workforce. It is based on an online survey of 2,254 members across two weeks: April 1-7 and April 13-19, and uses a scale from -100 to +100 to reflect professionals’ current sentiments about the jobs market, their financial status, career progression, and their expectations going forward. It is a measure of how professionals feel about their job stability and access to opportunity as well as how business leaders expect to invest in their companies in the near and mid-term.

About LinkedIn

LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms the way companies hire, market and sell. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world’s first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has more than 690 million members and has offices around the globe.

Employee Wellness and Immunity-Boosting Activities Gain Importance in COVID-Era Boardroom Discussions

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to follow immunity-boosting guidelines issued by the Ayush Ministry to supplement the fight against COVID-19. While there is still no cure for the disease, a lot of health experts are saying that a strong immune system could help. 

As the tables have turned, the prime agenda of corporate management discussions has also shifted to employee wellbeing with many corporates evolving their employee wellness initiatives extensively by introducing webinars on ayurvedic nutrition and its benefits and virtual yoga sessions and respiratory exercises.  Several companies are reaching out to counselors, psychiatrists, Ayurveda experts and to help employees to boost their immunity. Here is the list of companies helping their employees to boost their immunity and mental well-being:

Brookfield Properties (a global real estate services company),  is hosting a webinar with Dr. Shijoe Mathew (Consultant, Ananda in the Himalayas) on how right ayurvedic nutrition can help boost one's immunity and gut health. This is a part of the ‘‘Positive Pulse, A Wellness Initiative’, where the company is hosting a series of engagement activities, interactive sessions with industry experts, creating engagement videos and running rewarding contests. Through this, it is ensuring the safety of its stakeholders and employees across its Commercial Real Estate portfolios, CandorTechSpace in Gurgaon, Noida and Kolkata; as well as for Powai Business District and Equinox Business Park in Mumbai.

Xanadu Realty a real estate B2B consulting firm over the past four weeks has driven the engagement agenda through constant engagement with associates with the leadership including live address to the group by the CEO. They have also introduced free online health checkups for associates and their families. They have introduced an innovative digital talent hunt - Xanadu’s Got Talent - which encourages all associates to express themselves and share it with the rest of the organization to make the WFH fun.

OZiva, pioneers of plant-based nutrition in India has started an initiative called ‘Each one, one call’ for their employees. Everyday they draw 2 chits and the names in the chits are supposed to talk to each other for an hour or so. This practice is done to keep the team connected and making sure that each one has someone to talk to. Because in the times where people are stuck at home, many times we might have anyone to talk to and that’s the main reason for stress and depression. This initiative helps the employees in their mental well being.

Stanza Living, India’s largest shared-accommodation player is conducting webinars for its employees & their families, wherein members from their internal L&D (Learning & Development) team are conducting live rejuvenating yoga sessions. These are 1 hour long sessions, to keep the teams physically & mental wellness. Such initiatives are helping employees to keep themselves motivated and energized during these unprecedented times.

Accenture cares about both the minds and bodies of its employees. The business management consultant company offers employee assistance programs, which provide confidential support for issues like stress, substance abuse, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, employees are offered Teladoc services, where they can ask a physician any health-related question 24/7. As for fitness, Accenture’s innovative wellness program allows employees to set health goals and offers rewards for completing healthy activities. 

Whirlpool Offers Technical Service Support Through Remote Online Services Throughout Indian Market

The lockdown has put forth umpteen problems for the entire nation. While everyone is staying indoors and managing their household chores, our home appliances are our real heroes, supporting us in leading a clean and comfortable life indoors. All home appliances including washing machines, dish washers, air conditioners and refrigerators require regular servicing. In the current time, since service technicians are unable to offer on ground support, we at Whirlpool of India have come up with a range of initiatives to help our consumers.

Mr. Vishal Bhola, MD, Whirlpool of India, “At Whirlpool we believe in ensuring our consumers have our 100% support, especially in these times. Smooth functioning of home appliances is critical and therefore, we are offering a host of services to guarantee that every need of the consumer is looked after. We have trained our highly skilled service engineers to offer assistance through virtual formats and make sure we extend care at its best.”

These include extending product warrantees, DIY tips with illustrations, DIY videos, live chats, etc. to bring respite from challenges posed by remote working.

Personal chat for service-related queries on Whirlpool’s website now available. Log on to www.whirlpoolindia.com
DIY video for AC filter cleaning to take care of the summer - Easy steps to clean your Whirlpool AC filters on your own
SMS and Toll Free numbers now operational
SMS ‘WPL’ to 58558 | Email us at helpdeskindia@whirlpool.com | Call us on our toll-free number 1800 2018 1800
All product warranties ending during the period of the lockdown (22nd March 2020 – 3rd May 2020) have been extended till 31st May 2020 (T&C Apply)
About Whirlpool India:

Whirlpool of India Limited headquartered in Gurugram, is now one of the leading manufacturers and marketers of major home appliances in the country. The company owns three state-of- the-art manufacturing facilities at Faridabad, Pondicherry and Pune. Each of the manufacturing set-up features an infrastructure that is witness of Whirlpool's commitment to providing its consumer with forward looking solutions.

Whirlpool entered India in the late 1980s as part of its global expansion strategy. It forayed into the market under a joint venture with TVS group and established the first Whirlpool manufacturing facility in Pondicherry for washing machine category. In 1995 Whirlpool acquired Kelvinator India Limited and marked an entry into the refrigerator market as well. The same year the company also saw acquisition of major shares in TVS joint venture and later in 1996, Kelvinator and TVS acquisitions were merged to create, Whirlpool of India Limited. This expanded the company's portfolio in the Indian subcontinent to washing machines, refrigerator, microwave ovens and air conditioners.

Additional information about the company can be found on Twitter and Facebook @whirlpool_india

Azizi Developments Inks Partnership with 3i Infotech for IT Transformation

Azizi Developments, a leading real estate developer in the UAE, has partnered with 3i Infotech, an internationally acclaimed, global IT company, to enhance its Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. This announcement comes in light of Azizi Developments’ unwavering pursuit of Digital Transformation and customer experience enhancement.

The agreement comprises noteworthy overhauls of Azizi’s cyber security, data protection, cloud and end-user computing and IT Governance Risk Compliance (GRC), gearing the developer up for its Digital Transformation and granting property seekers a safer, more seamless, transparent and convenient home-shopping experience.

Dr. Syed Mahsud Ali, Chief Information Officer at Azizi Developments, said: “This partnership serves as the ideal launchpad for our IT Transformation, a cornerstone in our overall, swiftly-progressing Digital Transformation journey. Having the right IT infrastructure in place is a much-needed step in propelling ourselves to the very forefront of digital innovation. Only by implementing the latest technologies, which are ultimately to the benefit of the end-user, can we become the most customer-centric developer in the UAE and beyond – a vision that we are now much closer to realizing.”

“We have found ways to optimise our costs, with our comprehensive, world-class IT Transformation now only costing us 0.92 per cent of the total corporate budget, while the real estate industry’s average usually lies at 1.5 per cent,” he added.

“We are delighted to be selected as a strategic partner by Azizi Developments, a leading real-estate organisation in the Middle East region, for their Digital Transformation journey.” said Mr. Suryanarayan Kasichainula, President & Global Head - ERP and Global Sales & Solutions Head – IT Services, 3i Infotech. “Our continuous commitment to high quality, cutting edge technology solutions along with our proven experience in understanding customer challenges will enable us to create solutions for their ongoing requirements and long-term goals alongside Digital Transformation.  This partnership endorses the value we bring in with our Infrastructure and Cloud Services to deliver world class experiences by using Cloud, Maggie (Virtual Engineer/BOT), Artificial Intelligence, predictive analytics and integrated solutions that enhance employee and end-customer experiences.”

Notably, Azizi Developments has successfully implemented state-of-the-art Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and Business Analytics (BA) technologies, and is now looking at enablers like digital workplaces, advanced process optimisation, and radical digitalisation. The developer is also using other business intelligence and data analytics tools to create actionable strategies for existing and new business opportunities.

Emirates SkyCargo Calibrates Operations to Keep Trade Open in Seven Destinations in India

Emirates SkyCargo has announced it is operating dedicated cargo flights to Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, ensuring key trade lanes are kept open during the Covid-19 crisis.

Last week, Emirates SkyCargo carried around 140 tonnes of equipment and commodities to Bengaluru and Mumbai from East Asia, the US, Europe and its hub in Dubai. From Bengaluru, the cargo airline carried around 70 tonnes of medical equipment and perishables to destinations in the GCC and Europe.

Emirates SkyCargo uplifted 52 tonnes of perishables, including fruits and vegetables, from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai and the GCC countries that rely on India for their crucial food supply. Another 83 tonnes of perishables made their way from Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai to these destinations.

Abdulla AlKhallafi, Cargo Manager India, Emirates, said: “In these challenging times, Emirates SkyCargo stands by its commitment to India and the global community to act as a global conveyor belt for transporting essential commodities such as food, medicines, machinery and other commodities vital for communities and businesses.”

Emirates Pharma is also uplifting pharma products and medical equipment from India and beyond. Last week, Emirates SkyCargo flew a charter operation carrying 60 tonnes of life-saving pharma from Mumbai to New York, while a scheduled freighter from Ahmedabad uplifted 80 tonnes of mostly pharmaceuticals to destinations across the US, Europe and Australia.

Apart from its fleet of 11 freighters, Emirates is also operating its Boeing 777 passenger aircraft as cargo-only flights.