AI can be a lifeline for businesses

Challenging times are becoming frighteningly more consistent for Aussie businesses. The ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic are still in effect, and businesses need an ace up their sleeve to get back on top.

Fears of the next global tragedy are constantly circulating in the minds of many business owners, as the majority are still reeling from the previous one, which has put a number of practices and outcomes through disruption. A new study, however, shows businesses that by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI), they can stay afloat in rapidly changing times.

The new study led by Charles Darwin University (CDU) examined how AI can predict what factors impact an organisation’s ability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from economic disruptions.

The data was collected from 44 different industry individuals across Australia from both the public and the private sectors, as well as service organisations, universities, not-for-profits and more.

Most respondents were from the education, information technology, hospitality and tourism, and construction and engineering sectors and were asked questions about the current agility of their organisations and future challenges they might face.

The data was then examined and then used to predict the top five factors affecting organisational agility:

• Legislation or government changes
• Globalisation
• Low-level process maturity
• Technology
• Digital disruption

Lead author and Associate Professor Niusha Shafiabady stated that employing AI to highlight these factors can create faster decisions for organisations and eventually give them a competitive business advantage by allowing them to quickly adapt to those rapidly changing environments.

“Failure to prioritise agility and responsiveness can result in increased costs, missed opportunities, competition and reputational damage, and ultimately, loss of customers, revenue, profitability, and market share,” said Shafiabady.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of organisational agility and resilience. Organisations that are able to adapt quickly to change, anticipate and prepare for disruptions, and respond and recover effectively are more likely to succeed in the current volatile business environment.”

Having AI as a tool is something that a large number of Australian businesses are pursuing as it has various business advantages. Shafiabady said that if organisations wanted to take further advantage of the technology, they could adopt AI systems that provide specific advice.

“Using this methodology, AI can provide personalised recommendations to each business depending on their own dynamics on the areas they should focus on to enhance their regility,” concluded Shafiabady.