Data is the lifeblood of the modern workplace, driving insights that lead to better outcomes for customers and a competitive advantage for organisations across various industries. The exponential rise of data presents tremendous opportunities, particularly when combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve complex challenges and enhance human progress.
However, this wealth of data also brings with it the need for responsible data management and protection.
These were conversations that Dell Technologies led at the recent Digital Transformation Expo (DTX) in Manchester, where we hosted three panels on achieving cyber resilience, the opportunities of a multicloud by design ecosystem, and why data and AI can be transformative for organisations.
How to deploy AI for better business outcomes
Where there is data, there is an opportunity with AI to solve problems and enhance, rather than replace human progress. It is the responsibility of organisations to identify challenges that can be solved with AI and then find the best use case for their data to do so.
Fouzhan Hosseini, HPC Technical Sales Specialist at Intel, said on our Data & AI panel: “Everybody needs to look at how AI can specifically help their own organisation, what benefits it can bring them and build an intentional strategy around it. From there find the right hardware and software for your needs.”
Fred Gedling, VP of Indirect Business – Data Analytics at Altair, echoed this point: “AI and Machine Learning is not about putting in place high performing infrastructure for the sake of it. It is about deploying it where it makes a substantial difference to your business. Do you get results faster? More accurate predictions? A combination of the right software and hardware that helps organisations to achieve their specific goals is what brings true transformation.”
AI is prevalent, but right now it remains an emerging technology, which means opportunities for its use are still being identified. Where it can be used for good for example, is in medicine, where Dell Technologies has already worked with customers to digitally transform how they are delivering healthcare.
One example, highlighted by Niamh Mullen, System Engineer at Dell Technologies, was our work with a healthcare industry customer where digital imagery and gene sequencing were used to create a digital twin of a patient: “This allows practitioners to develop an individual, precision treatment plan, put it into a digital copy of the patient’s DNA and identify the effectiveness of that treatment, without ever interfering with the patient themselves.”
Securing skills and talent
Of course, there remain challenges in the use of both AI and data, specifically around ethical usage. Building trust between organisations and their stakeholders regarding data usage is crucial for achieving impact in a people-centred data economy. Consumers should feel assured by organisations that their data is protected and used responsibly.
Fouzhan Hosseini said: “AI will revolutionise every field of technology. It is an important time and up to us to use it ethically and efficiently. The right skills within an organisation can help companies to do this.”
Those skills are not yet as prevalent as the technology itself. Niamh explained the challenge of a supply of data scientists not yet meeting demand. Fred Gedling agreed, explaining where organisations can find this talent.
“We need more industry experts in data science. These will come through new talent pipelines, yes, but also organisations can reskill their existing people, investing in their own organisation to get competitive advantage.”
Fred added: “Success with data will be achieved not only through training but friction-free tooling, infrastructure and compute power that supports employees irrespective of their skill level, allowing them to apply what they’ve learnt.”
Multiple data locations, one strategy
To fully leverage the potential of data, organisations must adopt a unified approach, particularly in the cloud. While many organisations utilise multiple public cloud vendors, a joint-up strategy is often lacking.
Innovators are becoming increasingly aware of the risks associated with relying solely on the public cloud for business-critical applications and data. They are now taking a strategic approach to cloud implementation, avoiding application sprawl and data silos. This intentional multicloud by design strategy enhances speed, agility, and innovation across the entire IT estate.
Mark Anderson, Vice-President of Technical Sales EMEA at Equinix said: “We need to think of multicloud as a design strategy, not something we just let happen. A key point is how we plan workloads, and how these are influenced by infrastructure and operational considerations, like cybersecurity.”
But only a minority has achieved this so far. Just one in three leaders surveyed in our recent Dell Technologies Innovation Index say they are securing data in transit, in use, and at rest well enough to support privacy and security objectives. While 43% are moving data into multiple cloud vendors, without a coherent strategy. This lack of intentionality can lead to unforeseen budgetary constraints and challenges in managing disparate cloud environments effectively.
This is in spite of the fact that the leading innovators in our survey are 1.8 times more likely to have embraced multicloud opportunities.
Protecting data through a unified cybersecurity strategy
The ability to protect multiple workloads is a crucial capability in this context and like the multicloud, a cybersecurity strategy cannot exist in isolation; it demands collaboration across industries and sectors to ensure the safeguarding of critical infrastructure.
Liz Green, EMEA Advisory and Cyber Lead at Dell Technologies explained: “Cybersecurity requires a collective response. It is a team sport and doesn’t sit within one part of the organisation. It is about the public and private sectors working together, boardrooms and their IT decision makers, cloud vendors and their customers all coming together. That is key to mitigating risk.”
To drive successful outcomes with data, organisations should embrace a “Zero Trust” strategy, where no user, application, or device is automatically trusted, providing innovative security controls to prevent, detect, and respond to threats.
This should support a “Secure by Default” approach, which involves designing, applications, systems and platforms, with security intrinsically built in by default. The net result is minimising human error, transforming points of vulnerability into points of security control and delivering better security outcomes within the enterprise. The ultimate goal with this approach is to accelerate and de-risk innovation.
Making Progress
Dell Technologies offers a comprehensive ecosystem of solutions to activate a unified strategy across multicloud, cybersecurity and data. Furthermore, Dell Technologies is dedicated to supporting organisations in their path to recovery after a cyberattack. Restoration of a minimum viable enterprise, including critical assets required to resume business operations swiftly, is vital.
We want to guide our customers toward a more sustainable and business-centric approach to leveraging innovation opportunities. Our broad capabilities and resilient supply chain play a pivotal role in driving responsible and ethical technology adoption.
By empowering organisations to embrace a unified multicloud by design strategy, fortifying their cybersecurity partnerships, and placing people at the centre of the data economy, we can navigate the data-driven future together and unlock a world of possibilities.
