Automation

There is a common fear amongst employees in service industries like food & beverage that the increased effort for automation through machines will ultimately replace workers and dehumanize what is usually deemed a “people-focused” industry.

The fear stems largely from operational and logistical automation, where we are increasingly seeing robots take over responsibilities like optimizing production rate in a food factory, quality assurance checks and even customer-facing service roles.

Here are some lessons for anybody wanting to do digital transformation based on positive experiences:

Differentiate between digital and innovation

Digital teams do sprints, have product owners & scrum masters, use Cloud Computing, AI, continuous deployment, etc. Innovation teams do the same. However very few companies have both and make sure they compete and collaborate at the same time.

Following our 2019 UK Start-Up of the year win – EVA.ai team attended  Unleash America, which was on May 14-15 in Las Vegas. This year’s theme was “The Bridge Between Work and Technology” – although Unleash is focused on HR tech, the conference also features wide review and discussions on key trends and issues at the forefront of the industry. This year's focus was on data privacy and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation which is being reviewed by the US Congress as a potential template for a renewed effort on protecting people’s data.

We conducted a Q&A interview with Prasoon, Vice President at Société Générale Global Solution Centre, around digital transformation, and the future including blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

About Prasoon...

We conducted a Q&A interview with Deepthi, Head of Technology Upskilling and Communication (Corporate and Investment Banking Technology) at Société Générale, around digital transformation, automation, and the potential future for technology.

Could you introduce yourself and what you do?

My name is Deepthi Rajan. I have over a decade of experience in the technology and financial services space. I’m the Head of Technology Upskilling at Société Générale, an inspiring role I took up early this year.

Our technology and devices are becoming increasingly interconnected, creating the Internet of Things (IoT), but our interaction is no longer device bound it involves a substantial amount of voice interaction, which has created what Google refers to as the 'ambient internet'.

Our partners IQPC and TEX have conducted an interview around the ambient internet and the future of technology with Google's Director of Strategy and Operations, Craig Fenton.

Our Top Tips and Takeaways from this interview:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Three misconceptions and one key tip.

No industry is immune to disruption. Are your competitors doing an "Uber"? Are the likes of Amazon, Apple or Google moving in on your territory in Finance, Telecoms, Transportation or Home accessories? And how about those AI's that are replacing accountants, lawyers and doctors?