"ENTERPRISES ARE COUNTING ON AI TO ENSURE BUSINESS CONTINUITY”

Enterprises today are encountering a fast-paced development and are using technology to meet market expectations. In this interview, Anand Mahurkar, Founder & CEO, Findability Science, elaborated on the role of technology in the manufacturing sector's evolution, the challenges encountered, where it places itself in the entire picture and more. Excerpts...

- Anvita Pillai

As the prominence of Industry 4.0 accelerates in the manufacturing sector, what role would AI play in the industry's journey to automation?

The proposition for Industry 4.0 is to combine embedded system production technologies and smart production processes, which will fundamentally change the industry, production value chains and business models. The business objectives of Industry 4.0 are to increase operational efficiency, reduce business risk and improve customer engagement. To achieve these objectives, AI is touted to be the most transformational driver, as it can exploit the huge amount of data generated via connected production resources. While global leaders acknowledge the capabilities of artificial intelligence in reshaping enterprises, how AI is viewed, considered, implemented and employed determines its impact on the business.

Enterprises are counting on AI to ensure business continuity, transform how businesses function and gain a competitive advantage. IDC estimates India's AI spending to reach $880.5 million in 2023 from $300.7 million in 2019, which showcases that more enterprises are looking to adopt Al for digital transformation.

What are the major challenges companies encounter in deploying enterprise AI in the manufacturing sector? How can these challenges be counteracted?

Some of the significant challenges most enterprises encounter in terms of deploying enterprise AI, as Gartner suggests, are the lack of requisite skills, fear of the unknown and the lack of a data-first strategy. Lack of strategic view in AI adoption and only focusing on measurable ROI at the cost of ignoring strategic ROI and capability ROI is another challenge most enterprises face when deploying AI.