AI - June 2022 by ai-magazine

COVID-19: Building virus resilience with the help of AI Creating the metaverse: How IoT can enable the development of nearreal digital experiences June 2022 | aimagazine.com

PAINTING THE FUTURE WITH AI: OPENAI’S SOLUTION TO IMAGE GENERATION

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FOREWORD

AI for good: creating a healthy and sustainable future “We cannot ignore the power this technology has when it comes to creating a healthy and sustainable future”

AI MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY

As we continue to celebrate the impact of AI and the future of businesses across the globe, we also recognise the importance of the social impact it has as we build back from the pandemic We often talk about how we can implement AI to save costs, improve employee experience and streamline operations in business – all of which are great things – but we cannot ignore one of the key powers of this technology: the ability to help build a healthy and sustainable future. Research by PwC models the economic impact of AI’s application in managing the environment, leading to estimates suggesting that using AI for environmental applications could contribute up to US$5.2tn to the global economy in 2030. In this same vein of contributing to a healthier future, AI’s integral role during the COVID-19 pandemic was significant – a theme we explore in this issue – and has helped the world move towards a resilient recovery. What is clear is that, while AI is good for business, we shouldn't forget its imperative role as we emerge from the pandemic and strive to create a greener, cleaner and sustainable future for us all. Enjoy!

CATHERINE GRAY

catherine.gray@bizclikmedia.com

aimagazine.com

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CONTENTS

Our Regular Upfront Section: 12 Big Picture 14 The Brief 16 Timeline: Waymo 18 Trailblazer: Michael Proksch 22 Five Mins With: Ankit Jain

AI/ML

Tackling inherent bias in NLP to enhance speech recognition

28 Amp

Future-proofing for the renewable energy transition

Saphyre

Disrupting the fintech trade game with AI tech

Varian Medical Systems Pioneering breakthroughs in cancer care for everyone, everywhere

Applications

AI and the pandemic – managing viruses with technology

Nova Scotia Health Authority

Collaborate to digitally transform healthcare

82 IoT

Creating near-real experiences with IoT in the metaverse

104

Technology

Stepping away from big data analysis to gain a broader view

In Association with:

Meet who runs the world.

TOP 100

Women

TECHNOLOGY

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Creating Digital Communities

112

atNorth Pan-Nordic

Magnús Kristinsson, CEO of atNorth DCs, on Investment and Growth

124 Top 10

AI consultancy firms

P RE SEN TS:

Discussing how to support women in STEM, build the talent pipeline and inspire the next generation of female leaders.

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BIG PICTURE

Transforming simple sentences into pieces of artwork San Francisco, California

OpenAI has created an updated version of its image generation software, named DALL-E 2. DALL-E 2 can generate photoquality, high-resolution images, complete with complex backgrounds, depth-of-field effects, realistic shadows, shading, and reflections. Provoking a mixture of awe and apprehension, the technology is able to create incredibly accurate images through a process called diffusion. Despite worries around how the software could be used, OpenAI has gone to great lengths to ensure the tool is not put to ill-use, though it is yet to be made available to the public. 12

June 2022

Open AI

aimagazine.com

THE BRIEF “The digital energy space is clearly one of the most disruptive, and it’s the one we’re trying to harness and move forward with AmpX” Irene Di Martino

Executive Vice President, Amp

BY THE NUMBERS Consumers and AI-platforms

33%

7 7%

“We can expect artificial intelligence to assist with more proactive containment of future outbreaks or, at the very least, dramatically shorten the duration of future pandemics” Arash Ghazanfari CTO, Dell Technologies READ MORE

“We’re at a really exciting and unique point in the evolution of the digital world, where real feeling is becoming possible in the metaverse”

LEFT: How many actually use an AI platform already RIGHT: How many believe they are already using AI platforms

What is AI poisoning and how does it impact cyber security? As technologists predict that AI and data poisoning could be the next cyber security crisis, we take a deeper look and outline the potential risks READ MORE

Top 10 AI-powered virtual assistant companies AI Magazine takes a look at the top companies offering AI-powered virtual assistants that support users in the home, in education and the workplace READ MORE

SVP & Global Head Oracle Services, Blockchain Infosys

Gopikrishnan Konnanath

Globality: driving forward digital transformation with AI Diego Barilla, Chief Platform Officer at AI-powered procurement platform, Globality, on the company’s drive to accelerate digital transformation with AI

June 2022

CREATING REALISTIC CHARACTERS WITH AI-POWERED CHARACTER GENERATION AND INTERACTION

 META Facebook parent Meta has lost some of its top artificial intelligence scientists this year, as the company continues its pivot toward the metaverse.  TESLA Elon Musk announced that Tesla’s head of AI, Andrej Karpathy, is on a fourmonth sabbatical, which has left people worried that this indicates another member of staff leaving – particularly in light of other Tesla execs exiting following a sabbatical.

JUN22

BAD TIMES

Traditionally, characters in games and other digital experiences tend to be static as they work from a set of lines and responses written long ago. Thanks to AI, the future of games is expected to become more responsive. Inworld AI aims to be a driving force behind this with its newly-available beta tool that allows developers to create rich, interactive characters. Inworld says its technology is able to quickly create NPCs and such like characters, all with just a few sentences of description and moveable dials. Once created, the characters will instantly contain depth and be more interesting to interact with than ordinary scripted characters, the company claims. AI in gaming doesn’t stop there, though. With the number of benefits it will bring, AI is set to streamline development, while greatly enhancing the experience for the players. The future of the industry is bright, and once these AI techniques are further refined and perfected, they will likely change gaming forever.

 THE US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE The US Department of Defense has appointed Dr. Craig Martell as Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO). With the appointment, it hopes to see the department advance in AI, data analytics, and machinelearning technology.

GOOD TIMES

 FINBOTS.AI Singapore-based Finbots.AI – an artificial intelligence-envisioned firm bringing innovation to banks and financial institutions – announced it raised a successful Series A round of US$3mn.

aimagazine.com

TIMELINE AUTONOMOUS DRIVING PIONEERS Waymo is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet. Formed in 2009, Waymo is on a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going. From moving people to moving goods, they’re taking autonomous driving to new places and forging a new way forward in mobility.

2015 FIRST FULLY-AUTONOMOUS RIDE IN PUBLIC Waymo explored what fully autonomous cars could be with the Firefly. These cars had custom sensors, computers, steering, and braking, with no steering wheel or pedals. That year, the company’s friend Steve Mahan – who’s legally blind – took the world’s first fully-autonomous ride on public roads in Austin, TX. In 2016, Waymo would become an independent autonomous driving technology company. 16

June 2022

2016 CHRYSLER PACIFICA HYBRID MINIVANS Waymo partnered with the FCA to introduce a modified version of the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan to their fleet. It is the first vehicle built on a mass-production platform designed for and integrated with the Waymo Driver.

2018 WATCH OUT UBER! Waymo One launches in Phoenix, Arizona, becoming the world’s first commercial autonomous ride-hailing service. Now anyone can take fully-autonomous rides anytime they're in Metro Phoenix. Just download the Waymo One app and ride right away.

2020 WAYMO VIA EXPANDS TRUCK TESTING Waymo Via was introduced as a business unit dedicated to moving goods, expanding testing into New Mexico and Texas. Trucking and delivery pilot programmes explored how logistics partners could move goods more safely and efficiently with the Waymo Driver.

2022 SAN FRANCISCO RIDE HAILING ARRIVES Beginning by transporting Waymo employees in the vehicles, accompanied by safety drivers, these rides will roll out to residents who join a ‘trusted tester’ programme. No date has yet been given for when the human safety drivers will be removed from the service.

TRAILBLAZER

Growing the next generation of technologists by leading examples H2O.ai’s Head of Subject Matter Experts, Michael Proksch, shares his experiences with artificial intelligence as he looks to support others with their AI journey

dvanced analytics expert Dr. Michael Proksch is a keen artificial intelligence (AI) strategist looking specifically into AI business value creation. As H2O. ai’s Head of Subject Matter Experts, Proksch provides knowledge transfer and support to global Fortune 500 enterprises in the development of solutions, processes, training, and understanding on various topics around AI. He describes his role as “enabling enterprises to leverage the advantages of H2O.ai’s AI technology”. “My role is to bring all the puzzle pieces together and help enterprises to create value with AI, which has been a struggle for a lot of organisations in the past.” “A lot of enterprises new to the topic of AI don't know where to start because it's a very complex field. You have so many moving elements beyond technology. At an enterprise level, it is crucial to understand how AI strategy relates to an enterprise’s business strategy, how AI is scalable across the enterprise and the challenges an organisation

June 2022

2.5

Years at H2O.ai

12+

Years as a teacher and mentor at various international universities

NAME: MICHAEL PROKSCH JOB TITLE: HEAD OF SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS COMPANY: H2O.AI might face on its way to get there. The challenges are particularly on the operational side, such as how to identify business opportunities with AI, what data you need and where to find it, how advanced analytics needs to be leveraged to solve business challenges, as well as how to build relationships and collaborate with business stakeholders to drive AI transformation and successfully implement AI solutions,” he adds. Working in a consulting role, Proksch is driven by the extensive knowledge he can share, as well as lessons he has learned on his own journey through academia and industry: “All the challenges I had to overcome or observed during my career in the AI space, are many challenges companies are facing now. So, I can actually talk about them and help organisations understand them. But I like to see them more as opportunities to grow - with a good learning strategy then every challenge is becoming an opportunity.” With experience in both industry and academia, Proksch is able to

“I don’t like the word ‘leadership’. I have never been able to grasp it or what it really means” aimagazine.com

TRAILBLAZER

find parallels between the two, implementing this while he supports other companies’ AI journeys as they grapple with different challenges around the technology. He explains: “The things that get published in academia are just a small amount of what academic researchers work on. There are many studies conducted and draft papers written where nothing came of them. On the flip side, you only read about what’s successful – you don't read about what's not successful. That's the same problem that we have in industry. You only read about when somebody was successful, but most of the things you learned the most from are things where you made mistakes and the journey you took to become successful. From that perspective, I am very grateful to work for H2O. ai, one of the leaders and visionaries in AI technology. I get the chance to learn a lot from working with my team and our customers every day.” When it comes to innovation and enterprise transformation, Proksch, after years of learning, shares how important it is to be rational and remove your ego from the projects you work on, noting: “After several years in academia, I realised that I wanted to have a bigger impact and switched to industry. However, after building advanced analytics solutions and dashboards that didn’t create the value I’d hoped, I realised that it’s not me that is important but the outcome. It’s not important that I had the idea for a project or the solution; I needed to start thinking differently and take different approaches to 20

June 2022

projects. Now, I have a very rational perspective that’s based on the outcome and mostly on helping others to become successful.” Despite having many lessons to share and insights to provide to others, Proksch is an incredibly humble leader – a title he would never give himself, making him perfectly placed to nurture others as they progress in their own career. Concluding, he says: “I don’t like the word ‘leadership’. I have never been able to grasp it fully. In general,

“Mistakes don’t happen; they are challenges – if you have a good learning strategy then nothing is a mistake”

I try to be a good example, inspire people and try to show the way I want people to work with me. I am pretty direct – that might be my German nature. In a field where we are short of experienced people, I try to pay attention to junior people the most. I focus most on challenging and enabling them because I think a learning experience and personal growth are most important. I actually think growth and learning is more important than money for many people.” aimagazine.com

FIVE MINUTES WITH...

Ankit Jain Experienced Machine Learning Engineer Ankit Jain shares his experiences working on AI solutions for companies such as Uber and Meta

Q. Tell me about Meta in your own words, can you explain what it’s like to work there?

» Working for Meta, I find my

enjoyment stems from the people and the culture. I am fortunate to work with some of the smartest people I know. The second element is the culture Meta has cultivated. You have a lot of autonomy in how you work and what you work on at times, which I think is a great way to treat your employees. Meta trusts us to complete work that will benefit the company and complement our skillset. It's also a very engineering focused culture. Engineers are able to own the problems end-to-end. The final thing about Meta that I find incredibly exciting is its position at the forefront of technology. All the cutting-edge technology you see in the current world is being applied at Meta in some way, and it’s great to be a part of that.

Q. What is it about technology that excites you? Why did you decide to work in this field?

» I think the biggest step change in

humanity has always come through some technological transformation, and that is what drives me to succeed in this field. One of the things that is evident is that the pandemic has really accelerated the digital revolution. It has shown that technology is invaluable and crucial 22

June 2022

Ankit Jain was named in the 40 Under 40 Data Scientists 2022 list by Analytics India Magazine. He has also co-authored a bestseller book, Tensorflow Machine Learning Projects.

“I think the biggest step change in humanity has always come through some technological transformation and that is what drives me to succeed in this field” to our daily lives. Without technology, we wouldn’t have been able to connect with people virtually, which would have been a lot harder for people to navigate. So, in that sense, I believe technology is the biggest driver of human evolution and I love being part of that.

Q. Talk me through your work with Uber AI – how did it transform the company’s operations, and what role did you play in the implementation of AI technology?

» I joined when Uber just started its

AI team. The company was betting heavily on AI to transform its business, like so many others. Uber was in a great position because it has lots of data to work with. Here, I built two solutions utilising AI that were successfully deployed in the company. One was for Uber Eats – the dish recommendation systems that you see on the app. I led this project, and we developed an algorithm to create this recommendation service aimagazine.com

FIVE MINUTES WITH...

“Working for Meta, I find my enjoyment stems from the people and the culture. I am fortunate to work with some of the smartest people I know” for each individual on the platform. The second problem I worked to resolve was fraud detection at Uber. There was an issue with fraud on the platform, particularly for Uber trips, and to combat this, we deployed a solution to detect fraudulent trips using graph AI techniques. These two projects definitely impacted the business in a meaningful way.

Q. Have you experienced any significant challenges, and if so, how did you overcome them?

» There are always challenges when it

comes to breaking into the technology industry. I decided to learn about some of the newer technologies by myself on the side, rather than relying 24

June 2022

500+

Number of students mentored

1 year 11 months Years at Meta

on on-the-job learning. I always try to differentiate myself by learning some of the cutting-edge technology and developing some projects around it. The second challenge I feel is that mindsets change. As a technologist, you are always enamoured by the latest and greatest technology that you want to apply in your projects or in your company. It is important for technologists in business to lead with the business perspective and then think of where the technology will fit to be the most appropriate for success. I went through some painful transitions in the course of my career to think through that lens. Ultimately, this has transformed me into a better problem solver.

Q. In what ways do you contribute to the field outside of your role?

» I love teaching. I teach AI and

machine learning at various boot camps to empower the next generation of technologists. I initially thought that it could be a great way to give back to people but I found that I learnt a lot myself in the process. I also give talks on cutting-edge technology at top tier conferences and advise and mentor startups.

Q. How do you hope to further your skills in the future?

» The AI field is constantly changing. A few years ago, there was a trend on big data, then a trend on AI core

algorithms – but now the trend is around machine learning operations. The narrative has changed from just pure research and algorithms to considering how you deploy the technology at scale and in an effective manner. I'm trying to gain a deeper understanding of the latest indigenous tools out there and the technologies in machine learning. With this, I hope I will be ready to deploy these technologies at scale in my company or help out other companies in deploying this. I want to keep up with the new trends coming in AI. Be it responsible AI, be it explainable AI, or be it device machine learning. aimagazine.com

7 - 8 SEPT 2022

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Join us at SUSTAINABILITY LIVE LONDON Showcase your values, products and services to your partners and customers at SUSTAINABILITY LIVE LONDON 2022. Brought to you by BizClik Media Group SUSTAINABILITY LIVE LONDON, the hybrid event held between 7th-8th September is broadcast live to the world and incorporates three zone areas of Sustainability LIVE, B-Corp LIVE plus March8 LIVE in to one event. With a comprehensive content programme featuring senior industry leaders and expert analysts, this is an opportunity to put yourself and your brand in front of key industry decision makers.

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From keynote addresses to lively roundtables, fireside discussions to topical presentations, Q&A sessions to 1-2-1 networking, the 2-day hybrid show is an essential deep dive into issues impacting the future of each industry today. Global giants and innovative startups will all find the perfect platform with direct access to an engaged and active audience. You can’t afford to miss this opportunity. See you on:

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IS FUTURE-PROOFING FOR THE

June 2022

AMP X

ENERGY TRANSITION

AD FEATURE WRITTEN BY: TOM SWALLOW PRODUCED BY: ASHLEY KIRBY aimagazine.com

AMP X

Dr. Irene Di Martino discusses Amp’s use of subsidiary group, Amp X, and its wider strategy encouraging sustainable transition to renewable energy options

he switch to sustainable energy is essential; indeed, the energy sector is in the midst of an unprecedented transition associated with an ever increasing level of decentralisation and digitalisation, that should ultimately lead to a carbon-free grid by 2050. In 2019, only around 11% of global energy supply came from renewable sources, whereas today the world is experiencing an impressive rate of adoption of renewable generation. As this switch takes place, more organisations are facing challenges that include grid instability and the intermittency of renewable energy sources that requires battery energy storage to be connected to the grid. To address these, it is essential that cost-effective solutions become available to analyse, predict and manage the multitude of assets across different segments of the grid. Digital disruption in the energy sector Speaking with Dr. Irene Di Martino, executive vice president of Amp and Head of Amp X, delves into the company’s position within the industry and how Amp X provides its parent company with the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI). “In my career to date, I’ve been witnessing the most significant transition of the energy sector from a largely fossil-fuel-based ecosystem to one that is now creating the conditions to accelerate the transformation

June 2022

AMP X

Example of an image caption aimagazine.com

AMP X

Amp X delivers grid flexibility in renewable energy markets

of the grid itself,” says Dr. Di Martino. “The digital energy space is clearly one of the most disruptive, and it’s the one we’re trying to make a game-changing contribution to with Amp X.” Dr. Di Martino describes Amp as an ‘innovator’ and a ‘disruptor’ as she outlines how the organisation has developed energy infrastructure for over 12 years, expanding its operational portfolio from solar energy applications to battery energy storage and wind. Amp recognised very early on that battery storage is an essential technology in the energy transition, but that realising the full potential benefits of investments would require highly efficient and responsive operational capabilities. 32

June 2022

The formation of Amp X was a strategic response for monitoring, controlling and optimally dispatching energy assets across different markets and segments of the grid. Leveraging AI and ML capabilities, Amp X’s digital platform monitors the health and performance of different assets, and uses proprietary algorithms to gain insights into system activity, from grid-level infrastructure to individual behind-the-metre appliances and electric vehicle chargers. Amp X has developed its robust predictive models to assess the impact of weather conditions on both the production of solar and wind energy and trends in demand, enabling the prediction of pricing and delivering optimised dispatch of battery storage assets.

AMP X

DR. IRENE DI MARTINO TITLE: EXECUTIVE VP & HEAD OF AMP X

“It is thanks to the insights gained from data through the use of appropriate and proprietary AI algorithms, that Amp X has developed a number of interoperable solutions which are not point-focused since they are the result of a systemic approach to future-proof the grid,” Dr. Di Martino says. “In view of the increasing level of decentralisation of the energy system, it's even more important now to address the changes in supply and demand, as the grid has been moving away from polluting, yet readily dispatchable fossil-fuelled generation assets.” Low-voltage network insights will be made available through the Amp X’s proprietary smart transformer – also known

EXECUTIVE BIO

LOCATION: LONDON Irene has over 20 years’ experience in the energy sector, with a robust engineering background and an industry-sponsored PhD. She has spent most of her career to date at Engie, leading strategic programmes aimed to optimise performance and profitability of the generation portfolio. More recently, Irene led a World Energy Council international programme on energy blockchain. Irene has been leading Amp X since its establishment in September 2019, focusing on the delivery of a digital energy platform that caters for a number of autonomous and interoperable products to future-proof the grid, unlocking flexibility from the edge of the grid at a large scale, whilst improving system resilience and stability at the lowest possible cost.

aimagazine.com

AMP X

Delivering flexibility in renewable energy A disruptive energy platform and a subsidiary of Amp, Amp X is supporting the organisation in navigating the transition to renewable energy. With critical systems already in development, Amp X provides monitoring and optimisation capabilities for its parent company and is branching out to further support its clients. The smart transformer – or Smart Tx – is a solution for providing dynamic voltage control and optimising the distribution of energy. Smart Tx maximises penetration of distributed energy resources while improving grid stability, resilience and visibility within the distribution network. One of the advantages of real-time insights is flexibility. The transactive-ready platform allows energy distributors to respond to changes in demand and energy consumption trends, even granularly across digital devices. The overall mission of Amp X is to unlock grid-edge flexibility in a dynamic, transactive market to maximise the integration of renewable energy and provide both customers and consumers with clean, resilient, affordable energy as the world moves towards a renewable energy future.

June 2022

AMP X

as the ‘Smart Tx’ – which will replace conventional transformers in the distribution network to resolve the challenges that network operators have been facing as a result of the increased penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). “Historically, distribution network transformers have been passive assets that were not smart or digitalised. There were no electric vehicles, solar PV or other assets that impacted grid stability, and the technology didn’t exist to gather, analyse and make use of the data that could be gathered from different nodes across the grid,” Dr. Di Martino says. Leveraging AI and ML Amp X’s digital platform monitors the health and performance of different assets, and uses proprietary AI and ML algorithms to gain insights from this enhanced visibility of system activity, from grid-level infrastructure to behind-the-metre individual appliances and electric vehicle chargers. Amp X relies on its robust predictive models to assess the impact of weather conditions on the production of solar and wind energy, providing insights into how the energy demand requirements in different periods of the day can be balanced with the output from renewable power generators, whilst also leveraging the optimised dispatch of battery storage assets. “It is thanks to the insights gained from data through the use of appropriate and proprietary AI algorithms, that Amp X has developed a number of interoperable solutions which are not point-focused since they are the result of a systemic approach to future-proof the grid,” Dr. Di Martino says. “In view of the increasing level of decentralisation of the energy system, it's even more important to address the changes aimagazine.com

AMP X

in supply and demand, as we have moved away from what was the secure and readily dispatchable supply from centralised fossil-fuelled generation assets.” Low-voltage network insights will be made possible thanks to the Amp X’s proprietary smart transformer – also known as ‘Smart Tx’ – which will replace conventional transformers within the distribution network to resolve the challenges that network operators have been facing as a result of the increased penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). “Historically, distribution network transformers have been passive pieces of hardware that were not smart or digitalised. It wasn’t necessary, or even possible. There were no electric vehicles, solar PV or other assets that impacted grid stability, and the technology didn’t exist to gather, analyse and make use of the data that could be gathered from these nodes within the grid,” Dr. Di Martino says. “Now we’re seeing more homes with solar panels and batteries, and in the future, single streets may have dozens of EVs recharging in the evenings or feeding power back into the grid. Having network insights is critical in order for Distribution System Operators to maintain secure and reliable supply, whilst avoiding unnecessary and costly network reinforcements.” “Our smart transformer is going to help stabilise voltage dynamically – which is an increasingly significant challenge for network operators – as well as optimise power factor which will make the transport of electricity across the network more efficient and less costly. The Amp X Smart Tx is also able to act in conjunction with other Smart Tx units and other assets managed by the Amp X platform, in order to provide synthetic inertia into the system, hence helping it remain in balance,” explains Dr. Di Martino. 36

June 2022

“The Amp X Smart Tx will be deployed on grid in the U.K. in a few weeks’ time and will be the first smart transformer for the low-voltage network.” Leveraging the value of utility-scale electricity Amp has several major upcoming projects in the works – Renewable Energy Hub of South Australia, community solar farms in the US, and a recently acquired wind portfolio in Spain. The Amp X digital energy platform enables the profitability of battery energy storage assets to be maximised. “This is a core part of what we do, and that’s why we started optimising the dispatch of Amp assets in North America:

AMP X

identifying the most effective ways to dispatch that stored energy is the critical advantage provided by Amp X,” Dr. Di Martino explains. “Amp X's approach already supports the Amp ambitions of growth to an increasing portfolio of assets across different markets. Third parties too have recognised the strategic value of Amp X's approach and are adopting its solutions” Switching to electric enables grid flexibility “Amp X has a critical role to play in future-proofing the energy system. Our Virtual Power Plant solution has been in commercial operation now for several months in North America,” Dr. Di Martino says.

Dr. Di Martino also explains that Amp X is working with other companies across different strategic markets – such as U.K and Australia – to optimise battery operations, in front and behind the metre. This, she says, is a prime example of Amp X’s ability to respond to the rapid uptake of storage assets which are critical to meet the challenges associated with the increased presence of renewable generation across different markets. “Amp X continues to work in order to accelerate the electrification of heat and transport; such trends can triple the energy demand of a single household which puts a significant strain on the network.” However, Dr. Di Martino points out that smart charging of EVs can be leveraged to provide an increased level of flexibility to the aimagazine.com

AMP X

“ Our smart transformer is going to adjust voltage and optimise power factor in real time, contributing to increased system stability and flexibility” DR. IRENE DI MARTINO EXECUTIVE VP & HEAD, AMP X

June 2022

AMP X

grid itself. Indeed, EV users can participate in Demand-Side Management (DSM) markets, by using Amp X’s digital energy platform which enables dynamic load-shaping of EVs and other appliances according to price signals and/or carbon intensity. As Amp X continues to serve its parent company and customer base, it expects to see further growth by the end of 2022. Already mentioned is the game-changing role to be played by the Smart Tx, which will be rolled out in the coming months to address the challenges which network operators face in maintaining an efficient, secure and resilient network. “Our Smart Tx is going to provide a set of key functionalities that are way beyond those currently available at substation level by incumbent technology. The deployment of our Smart Tx on the U.K. distribution network is definitely one of the things we look forward to the most in 2022. We will aid Amp’s ambitions by driving toward a fully transactive grid in which every point of consumption or generation helps to make the grid greener, more stable, flexible and secure, whilst making electricity more affordable for consumers. Amp X is an example of the bold approach that is required to overcome energy challenges and enable growth.” Dr. Di Martino adds that “modernising and future-proofing the grid is what Amp X is all about”. “That makes Amp perfectly placed to become a global renewable energy leader. We’re combining our highly disruptive digital platform with a fundamental understanding of the electricity system and the energy market so that our solutions are robust and innovative.”

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Tackling inherent b in NLP to enhanc speech recognitio

June 2022

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In the world of hybrid working and webinars, speech and voice recognition technology is essential. Here, we look at how to tackle bias in this technology WRITTEN BY: CATHERINE GRAY

riven by the era of big data and deep learning models, Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications within organisations have grown exponentially in terms of their capabilities and functionalities. Now, with the ability to identify semantic meaning through the mining of a large corpus of text, NLP opens new paths to digitise company knowledge, disrupting incumbent business models. The technology can dramatically improve a company’s ability to discern actionable insights from unstructured data by processing and understanding human – or natural – language. “We see the emergence of NLP used as a strategic differentiator, where datadriven decision making that leverages specialised knowledge is used to process claims, inspect, and ensure compliance, review contracts and risks, extraction, and the repudiation of events,” comments Ronny Fehling, Partner and Director at BCG GAMMA. “This new wave is important, in that these systems not only capture and represent internal company strategic knowledge, but also influence – and even automate – decisions and business processes, representing new business model change opportunities,” he adds. One key way NLP comes into play – particularly in the wake of COVID, as more staff work remotely, attend webinar training aimagazine.com

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“ There are several techniques to achieve a more balanced statistical representation in datasets” RONNY FEHLING

PARTNER AND DIRECTOR - INNOVATING THROUGH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AT BCG GAMMA

over in-person training, and conduct video meetings – is speech recognition technology. For comprehensive speech recognition to occur, NLP identifies and interprets spoken language, converting these words and phrases into texts. As more meetings are conducted online, businesses are beginning to see the value in transcription, as it allows important notes from the meeting agenda to be recorded, while also streamlining the next one. Despite the expected growth of the speech and voice recognition market – which is expected to be worth US$28.3bn by 2026 – there are still significant issues around bias that need to be addressed. Biased data leading to biased software Like many AI and machine learning technologies, the quality of speech recognition is entirely dependent on the data upon which it is trained. With society possessing and perpetuating long-held biases, it’s inevitable that machines learning from related data will reflect this inherent bias. This is particularly significant as the public data with which NLP and speech recognition technologies are trained tends to come from a small section of society.

RONNY FEHLING Ronny Fehling prides himself on being able to align organisational vision with technical solutions in order to achieve business growth and success. He says his strength is working with global companies across industries to create value through AI, to disrupt themselves before they get disrupted.

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DENISE GOSNELL Denise Gosnell's career centres on her passion for examining, applying, and advocating for the applications of graph data. She has patented, built, published, and spoken on dozens of topics related to graph theory, graph algorithms, graph databases, and applications of graph data across all industry verticals.

Explaining that bias in speech recognition typically manifests in two ways – either misunderstanding users or not understanding them at all, both of which have major implications for the users as well as the company developing the technology. Emerson Sklar, Senior Director, AI & ML, Applause, says: “For users, peoples’ acceptance of issues with speech recognition products is far lower than it is with traditional graphical apps, meaning they will become frustrated with the experience and with your brand far faster than might otherwise be expected. For businesses, the underlying purpose of implementing AI is to achieve significant ROI through either streamlining heavily manual practices or through accomplishing something otherwise impossible. Any bias present in such a system simply reduces its precision, efficiency, and ability to fulfil its commercial requirements.” These biases are extremely important to eradicate, especially as we strive for racial and gender equality. Sadly, as these biases are ingrained across societies, Denise Gosnell, Strategy Team at DataStax, outlines how this can have a real impact on the technology: “In Google’s word2vec, the most popular implementation of word embeddings, real 44

June 2022

“ From the shocking discovery of gender and racial bias in word2vec, a whole field of research has been sparked” DENISE GOSNELL

STRATEGY, PRODUCT & DATA AT DATASTAX

AI/ML

subtraction to make predictions, but the problem came from the inputs, publicly available writings and articles written by humans. From the shocking discovery of gender and racial bias in word2vec, a whole field of research was sparked – but machine learning researchers are continuing to have problems with written language.”

bias has been observed. Word2vec gives developers the possibility to translate words into vectors and to do basic maths on words and topics. A concrete example: using word2vec in 2017(1,2) you could predict words with maths, such as “King - Man + Woman” and obtain the result “Queen”, but also “Doctor - Man + Woman” and get “Nurse”.” She adds: “This is when the machine learning community started realising how word embeddings could make mistakes. The application of maths was the same because it was made of addition and

Overcoming bias in NLP and speech recognition The first step in overcoming the bias in NLP and speech recognition is recognising that the bias itself exists. Despite there being many approaches, tackling bias comes with no quick fix and technologists need to take a delicate yet thorough approach. “Design techniques such as Humanin-the-loop, participatory design and multi-stakeholder involvement will help in the early stages of an AI’s development. When choosing the training data sets, question whether they’re suitable for the outcome function, applications, and domains, and it can help reduce statistical bias. There are several techniques to achieve a more balanced statistical representation in datasets, such as various class imbalance measures to detect, as well as the mitigation of bias in datasets,” comments Fehling. “Social and cultural factors must form part of the analysis, as they often cannot be directly captured by the aforementioned techniques. Such issues of ‘flattening’ the societal and behavioural factors inherent in the datasets themselves is often overlooked, yet results in a problematic effect,” he continues. Adding to this, Gosnell explains: “Every machine learning project must use methods to verify and measure the presence of bias in its systems because there are myriad ways that gender, racial, social, and other biases can exist within a system.” aimagazine.com

Founded in 2007 by Doron Reuveni, Applause started by providing functional testing for web applications, coining the term and inventing the category of ‘crowdtesting’. With the explosion of the mobile economy, the company’s services grew to cover mobile apps and user experience testing.

June 2022

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“It is necessary to bring perspectives into new processes: checks and balances for bias must be woven throughout the development of machine learning systems. And, finally, through new processes – bringing a different set of perspectives to the table and including them in all phases of the project – it is possible to reach new inclusive behaviours,” she adds. Concluding, Sklar notes the importance of ethics and how imperative it is that regulation takes this into consideration to ensure the technology is both unbiased and ethical: “Regardless of the regulatory requirements, ethics is critical to any technology solution, and especially true for AI-powered solutions. From a development standpoint, you can ensure you’re treating your users ethically and in an unbiased manner by training your AI systems with as broadly representative a dataset as possible, listening to user feedback, and constantly iterating to continue to eliminate bias where present. Although the field of voice ethics is nascent, the non-profit Open Voice Network is leading the charge in developing the standards and guidelines to make every voice experience worthy of user trust, and provide a wealth of research and recommendations to help organisations achieve those same goals.”

“ Regardless of the regulatory requirements, ethics is critical to any technology solution, and especially so for AI-powered solutions” EMERSON SKLAR

SR. DIRECTOR, AI/ML AT APPLAUSE aimagazine.com

DISRU FINTECH GAM 48

June 2022

SAPHYRE

UPTING THE H TRADE ME WITH AI TECH

AD FEATURE WRITTEN BY: SCOTT BIRCH

PRODUCED BY: MICHAEL BANYARD

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Stephen Roche (Right) Gabino Roche (Left)

June 2022

SAPHYRE

Twin brothers Stephen and Gabino Roche are driving Saphyre to new heights as its AI-powered trading technology breaks barriers and disrupts trading

here must be something in the coffee in New Jersey. No matter what time of day or where in the world they have just flown back from, twin brothers Stephen and Gabino Roche are brimming with infectious energy. I guess that’s what comes from running an award-winning, gamechanging organisation like Saphyre. We catch up with Stephen and Gabino in the middle of a series of announcements that the disruptive fintech is making – from new hires to high-profile partnerships. Saphyre is clearly on the rise. Stephen and Gabino admit they have entrepreneurship in their blood, so it was almost inevitable that after successful ‘solo’ careers they would come together to form a Roche supergroup. “We were excited to try to get into this finance space,” recalls Stephen. “And one thing that we noticed is there's a lot of old, archaic systems in there – things are still in Windows 95 and MS DOS or manual processes. They're using faxes. “So one of the things that Gabino brings to the table, his expertise with the team that he's built here in Saphyre, is building software products faster. That's one of the biggest secrets to success that we have, because when clients want a new feauture, functionality or want to see a solution, Gabino and the team are very quick at bringing it out – within weeks, not months, not years.”

“We're bringing Silicon Valley tech to finance.” For anyone unfamiliar with Saphyre (where have you been?), the company leverages patented AI technology to digitise all pretrade data and activities. Saphyre's platform maintains memory of data and documents, and expedites flow in a digitally structured manner so that it can be consumed and understood by any permissioned counterparty in the finance industry. This allows firms not only to assess risk faster but they can speed their onboarding processes, get real-time readyto-trade statuses per account, and eliminate 70%-75% of redundant or inefficient posttrade activities. So how did it all begin? Let’s rewind to 2017. Gabino’s experience working at JP Morgan and alongside other leading financial institutions led him to a revelation. He realised that the opportunity existed to create what he calls the ‘connective tissue’ between these financial titans.

“ We're bringing Silicon Valley tech into finance” STEPHEN ROCHE CEO, SAPHYRE

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SAPHYRE

Saphyre: Disrupting the fintech trade game with AI tech

“In finance, some of the culture that happens is a bunch of sticks – everyone has to follow these rules because you’ve got to make sure things don't break, and so people don't question the status quo and that's why the innovation doesn't happen,” says Gabino. “I believe, and there's several in the finance world who are with us, that we partner with, when you can challenge the status quo and think outside of the box then you can actually deploy the technology quickly. That's where you change the game. That's where you change the industry.”

“ People don't question the status quo and that's why the innovation doesn't happen” GABINO ROCHE

PRESIDENT, SAPHYRE

June 2022

With disruption at its heart, Saphyre is certainly trying to change the industry for the better, but what exactly are they hoping to achieve, and what do these current series of announcements have to do with their so-called ‘endeavor’? Stephen explains using the analogy of the Windows operating system of finance, that connective tissue that links all of the industry’s “one-trick ponies”. He uses another analogy of cars – one of Stephen’s passions outside of work. “People are making different components of transportation like a vehicle, right?” he says. “They're trying to build a car, but they don't know what it is yet, so one company will make the wheels. Another company will make the transmission. Another company will handle the seats. But Saphyre is coming in and saying guys – we really need to bring some intelligence and power in here. We're kind of the chassis and the combustion engine and then here's a car, but people can't envision

STEPHEN ROCHE TITLE: PRESIDENT INDUSTRY: FINANCIAL SERVICES LOCATION: NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES Stephen has over 20 years of business development and consulting experience in the IT solution space. Working with Fortune 1000 companies and startups. He spent eight years in the B2C retail environment successfully helping brick and mortar stores gain market share in the New York City region. In 2003 he transitioned his career with AT&T, working exclusively on B2B IT solutions, streamlining complicated global IT infrastructures with 50+ locations from midmarket up to Fortune 1000 clientele. Always problem solving, Stephen successfully closed large deals concerning emerging technologies, such as 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) with Volvo Cars. In another example, he rolled out AT&T’s state-of-the-art media room, and the renovation of the IT infrastructure for the newly constructed Yankee Stadium in New York City. With Red Bull Racing, he implemented the latest in racing communication and video technology, along with helping Axis Capital and Wyndham Hotels achieve their strategic IT growth initiatives. During his AT&T career, he helped establish third-party cloud SaaS offerings for clients such as hosted ERP and ecommerce platforms to realise roughly US$1mn+ in quarterly earnings. Advising the proper balance between

scaling quickly while maintaining operation costs to a minimum has been one of the hallmarks of Stephen’s engagements. While co-founding Saphyre and managing strategic relationships with the largest financial institutions in the world, Stephen has leveraged his B2B deal-making experience to build a premier, professional marketing arm of the upstart fintech firm.

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the car yet because they only see the wheels, or they only see the transmission, or the seats. “So that's what we're trying to bring together. We're not trying to make the wheels too, and put other people out of business. We may have our generic version just to show what a car concept looks like. If you are Michelin and you make great tyres, we prefer your tyres. We want to be interoperable. “The thing is, some of these companies are afraid of that. They're afraid of what may come from connecting to something that builds something better, and we've been trying to evangelise over the last five years that things can be done differently, much 54

June 2022

more efficiently, and more intelligently. That's really the mission.” This mission was started by Gabino, with Stephen adding his own skill set to the mix. Now the company is expanding, and the industry has taken notice – with big-name executives signing up for the Saphyre ride. Gabino always knew it would take time, but now it is Saphyre’s time. “The penny is starting to drop. It's that snowball effect,” says Gabino. “I knew in the very beginning the foundational work we did to build our technology wasn't going to be appreciated until we had built upon the foundational technology infrastructure to

SAPHYRE

2017 Company founded

US$18.7mn value of the Saphyre Series A funding round

65+

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show these financial institutions. Think for a minute. A lot of these institutions have armies of people manually doing stuff in Europe, North America, Asia Pacific. There's been a trend lately in finance that offshoring was the answer, but inflation is making the gross profit margins not much more achievable when you still have the overhead offshore. “So they're not getting that straight through processing experience and now these institutions see that you do it one time upfront in the pre trade space and you create this connective tissue. You get all these efficiencies end to end. Now they're willing to put their names aimagazine.com

SAPHYRE

behind it because they know that as they make this more public and people become more familiar and comfortable with the Saphyre brand that they get the network effect, the big benefit.” The Series A announcement was a big part of this reputation building and a process that took five hard years. Gabino and Stephen admit there were times when they considered cashing out, when the road became particularly tough. When you have friends and family among the initial investors, the pressure intensifies. It was tempting to work with people who had different visions or ideas, who wanted to control them, or simply wanted the technology for their own purposes, but they stuck with the original vision. They met with more than 200 lead investors before finally settling on HCAP Partners. That Series A 56

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round of US$18.7mn was announced in March 2022, led by HCAP Partners, with JP Morgan and BNP Paribas participating. “In any startup endeavour, it's very easy to get enamoured by these big institutions,” recalls Gabino. “This is not just in finance. They may back you but then you may not get the profitability you're looking for to grow your company. Ultimately, they want to minimise their costs and look at their upside, so there's a fine balance on how you manage that; playing the long game and finding ways to fund yourselves in the short term until you can get to more like a true Series A like we did. “I knew if I gave this up and just sold it off then this whole vision would never be fulfilled.” After the Series A, Saphyre got to work sourcing a new Chief Operating Officer, and secured Raymond Shivers – formerly of BlackRock and with more than 20 years of experience in finance. It helped that Saphyre does a lot of work with BlackRock so Shivers already had knowledge of the business and the brothers. “Having him as our COO is extremely beneficial for us and powerful moving forward as we look to scale and grow our company,” says Stephen. “He understands

“ Playing the long game and finding ways to fund yourselves in the short term until you can get to a true Series A like we did is a challenge” GABINO ROCHE

PRESIDENT, SAPHYRE

GABINO ROCHE TITLE: CEO INDUSTRY: FINANCIAL SERVICES LOCATION: NEW YORK, UNITED STATES Gabino has over 20 years of experience in building technology solutions for Fortune 500 companies and start-ups from the 1990s Dot-com era till now.

He’s a former McKinsey & Company firm member, where he learned and was focused on delivering products faster to market. This enabled him to take on a role at NYSE as Managing Director of application development to help their startup division ramp towards a US$1bn revenue goal. Later, he worked as a Senior VP at JP Morgan executing transformation programs in business operations, overseeing technology and operational process initiatives such as delivering a US$40mn product in their custody portfolio, and helping to revamp the Corporate Investment Bank’s (CIB) KYC/AML operations. That experience set him up for JPMorgan’s senior management to ask him to take on the Head of Product role at Clarient, a fintech startup consortium put together by JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, State Street, Credit Suisse, Barclays and DTCC. While there, he oversaw an $80mn budget and transformed the company’s operations, technology, and product with his team in under six months to meet market deadlines. It was here where he unearthed valuable insights on how to structure pre-trade data and documents, invent an intuitive and expedited onboarding process powered by patented AI in order to resolve many of the trading and post-trade issues, leading to his creation of his own fintech startup: Saphyre.

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how big financial institutions work with other fintech firms or vendors, how to scale those businesses appropriately, and he's able to predict some of those things. He hit the ground running and was definitely a great key hire, and not the only one. There will be other key hires coming out shortly as well.” Going back to that snowball effect, the likes of Shivers joining Saphyre has caught 58

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the eye of other senior executives within the financial industry, and there will certainly be more heavyweights added to the team. As Saphyre’s metaphorical stock rises, is it fair to call them the hottest property in fintech right now? Gabino and Stephen prefer to talk about what they consider to be Saphyre’s special sauce. “Well, we started off by talking about how we're bringing Silicon Valley tech to finance.

SAPHYRE

“ When clients want a new feature, functionality or want to see a solution, Gabino and the team are very quick at bringing it out – within weeks, not months, not years” STEPHEN ROCHE CEO, SAPHYRE

With all these manual processes, people have not appreciated everything outside of trading, and when they did try to address things around trading and operational support, it has been on the post trade side and that's what's making things all work backwards,” says Gabino. “To be honest, they're basically trying to piece together a crashed plane. You cannot fix your failed trades in the post trade as well as if you just prevent the issues from occurring in the first place, in the pre trade. The pre trade has not been appreciated but it's just like having a good batting swing – if you have the right fundamentals, you're going to be able to hit that ball more consistently, more accurately. “And that's what we're doing here. We try to explain this and some think we're trying to boil the ocean. But if you just set things up properly in the pre trade space, we’ll realise benefits during trading and post trade. That evangelisation that's been occurring over the last five years is being realised over the last 12 months.” Saphyre is now able to show people the specific benefits in the post trade. While others are struggling to get into T+1 from T+2,

Saphyre is, in some cases, already achieving T zero. T+2 means trade plus two days, and has been an accepted standard for decades, for those not familiar with the term. What that effectively means is that manually putting percentages of a block deal into different pots takes time – so you sit around for two days with nothing to show for your investment. “A number of the big institutions that work with us are seeing a potential 70% operational efficiency, not really changing what they offer their clients, just seeing that operational efficiency gives them a huge gross profit margin and creates a competitive advantage. “They can even lower their fees, drive more volume to themselves. That's what makes this the hottest fintech product out there.” It sounds like a classic no-brainer. Partnering with Saphyre can significantly improve efficiency and deliver a competitive advantage. So what would stop someone from joining this endeavour? ”Politics,” says Gabino. “Some people may not understand the vision yet. And trust me, once the other big players announce that they're doing it, then the others won't want to be left out, to be at a competitive disavantage. “It's highly regulated, so people are afraid to question these concepts that are out there. But once bigger leaders start adopting the solution and they don't want to be left out, they're going to be quick to run and catch up with those leaders, so they're not left out.” It’s time to form an orderly queue. It’s time for Saphyre to shine.

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AI AND THE PANDEMIC

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MANAGING VIRUSES WITH TECHNOLOGY Coronavirus highlighted the importance of AI as it battled to manage the virus’s peak. Here, Dell and IBM reflect on the biggest lessons learned WRITTEN BY: CATHERINE GRAY 60

June 2022

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s the world battled against the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders, healthcare professionals and technologists all looked for solutions to combat the virus’s spread to prevent its damaging effects. Playing a pivotal role in the fight was artificial intelligence (AI). In the early stages of the crisis, AI was used to track the spread of the disease, helping to predict where the disease would develop next and how quickly it would spread. The technology was also used to monitor and analyse key trends, in addition to accelerating the development of test kits. Just one year after its outbreak, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a report into the impact of AI in health, highlighting its importance and providing guidance for its design and use.

“ We can expect artificial intelligence to assist with more proactive containment of future outbreaks” ARASH GHAZANFARI

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, DELL TECHNOLOGIES

A key way to control and minimise virus outbreaks is early identification, followed closely by isolation and treatment. With AI, healthcare environments can improve their ability to model and predict where the disease might spread next. In the case of the COVID pandemic, AI-generated insights that helped direct resources – such as test kits and human resources – to where they were needed most. aimagazine.com

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Now, as we finally emerge and AI has been cemented as a core technology of the fourth industrial revolution, many organisations are looking at the potential this technology has of building next-generation epidemic preparedness and how to move forwards driving a resilient recovery. “Without AI, it would not have been possible to start testing vaccines in humans less than three months after the initial discovery of the outbreak in China and then roll out lifesaving treatments so quickly. AI also enabled virologists to model virus mutations, ensuring the evolution of effective countermeasures,” comments Arash Ghazanfari, CTO at Dell Technologies. “We can expect artificial intelligence to assist with more proactive containment of future outbreaks or, at the very least, dramatically shorten the duration of future pandemics,” he continues.

“ High-quality data will lead to high-quality insights, resulting in high-quality treatment and better health outcomes” ARASH GHAZANFARI

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, DELL TECHNOLOGIES

Adding to this, AI-generated insights helped manage the response to COVID by providing analysts with the information to make better informed decisions. Dr Nicole Mather, Executive Partner, Life Sciences and Health Data at IBM, sheds light on how AI-generated insights have been effective and shares how Oxford University’s Big Data Institute worked on AI in the fight against COVID: “IBM built an interface that allowed the BDI to crowdsource inputs from multiple organisations to refine their COVID-19 predictive model, which had been adapted from an existing Oxford HIV model. This model allowed policymakers to consider the impact of different policy levers and public behaviours on the transmission of COVID, including the use of the [UK’s] NHS contact tracing app alerting citizens to the need to self-isolate.” Sound datasets for virus management Just as the WHO outlines guiding principles for the use of AI in healthcare, it also warns of the risks and pitfalls that need to be fully addressed before AI can be confidently and consistently used to help manage the outbreak of viruses. To ensure that AI and its software is equipped to deal with health crises efficiently, Ghazanfari stresses the importance of strong

June 2022

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General on AI and health “Like all new technology, artificial intelligence holds enormous potential for improving the health of millions of people around the world, but like all technology, it can also be misused and cause harm. This important new report provides a valuable guide for countries on how to maximise the benefits of AI, while minimising its risks and avoiding its pitfalls.”

datasets: “High-quality data will lead to highquality insights, resulting in high-quality treatment and better health outcomes. In the future, we can expect to proactively and continuously monitor our health and wellbeing by leveraging intelligent monitoring devices, software and data-driven healthcare, leading to early lifesaving preventative treatment. We can expect to see personalised, more affordable treatment options become widely available in the future.”

“For example, Dell Technologies has collaborated with I2B2 tranSMART Foundation to develop an AI-enabled learning healthcare platform. We have developed a data-driven, purpose-built platform that delivers long-COVID sufferers better, faster, more personalised and affordable treatment options. The platform is designed to collect and analyse a wide variety of health data belonging to past patients,” he adds. aimagazine.com

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With this high-quality data, Mather outlines how the technology can be applied to effectively combat any potential public health emergencies: “AI is particularly good at image analysis and identifying repetitive patterns, so it can be used effectively to accelerate the diagnosis of patients and act as a second pair of eyes for doctors, providing decision support alongside experienced clinicians. Algorithms can also be used in predictive analytics to suggest the causes of diseases and determine which

The growing AI healthcare market Largely driven by the rising potential of AI technology in genomics and drug discovery, the total Global Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Market is estimated to reach US$95.65bn by 2028, up from US$6.60bn in 2021, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46.1%.

June 2022

patients are most likely to respond to treatments or deteriorate.” Reflecting on key lessons with the pandmeic and technology As we emerge from the pandemic, it is imperative technologists, healthcare providers and policymakers recognise the crucial role this technology played in managing the virus and apply this in the future to lessen the impact of future virus outbreaks.

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“ AI is particularly good at image analysis and identifying repetitive patterns, so it can be used effectively to accelerate the diagnosis of patients” DR NICOLE MATHER

EXECUTIVE PARTNER, IBM

Highlighting the importance of information-driven approaches to solving global challenges, COVID-19 has shown that tackling the digital divide is more essential than ever before if we want to cultivate a more resilient world. Ghazanfari adds: “We have recognised that increasing trust and solidarity globally and improving transparency can accelerate the effectiveness of ethical applications of artificial intelligence in healthcare. By applying ethical frameworks around how patient data can be anonymised and leveraged, we can break down barriers to progress and move towards realising the full potential of technologies such as AI.” Echoing this, Mather reflects on how the impact of the pandemic has altered the way businesses and organisations approach situations and the positive knock-on effect this has had on the implementation of AI: “During the pandemic, we learned important lessons about how working across sectors and bringing different disciplines together can create impact and drive progress. The urgency and scale of COVID-19 made this collaboration a necessity. Academics, patients, charities, businesses, regulators and governments started working towards a common goal. This brought new ways of working – agile prioritisation, userled design, accelerated regulation, and a focus on process improvement. It led to a new understanding and respect for the priorities and expertise of other sectors.” She concludes: “What has become clear in this pandemic is that AI should be included among the suite of capabilities that allows us to plan and accelerate healthcare services in order to deliver the best impact for patients.” aimagazine.com

COLLABORATE TO DIGITALLY TRANSFORM HEALTHCARE WRITTEN BY: BLAISE HOPE PRODUCED BY: TOM VENTURO

June 2022

NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH | EY

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NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH | EY

June 2022

NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH | EY

Nova Scotia Health teams up with EY to create better healthcare solutions

anadian healthcare provider Nova Scotia Health has been working closely with leading global consulting firm, EY, to use data and insights to better serve its clientele. “We’ve been working collaboratively with Nova Scotia Health, supporting them through their ambitious digital transformation agenda,” says Steven Maynard, EY Canada Government & Public Sector Consulting Leader. “Having worked with others on similar journeys, both across Canada and around the world, we know how increasingly important data – and making insights consumable to clinicians – has become to improving overall outcomes in healthcare.” In addition to its digital transformation, the organisation has restructured to evolve over the years. Prior to 2015, it was composed of nine separate district health authorities. “Nova Scotia Health is now the single provincial health authority covering the entire population of the province,” says Matthew Murphy, Senior Director, Strategy and Performance and Chief Data Officer at Nova Scotia Health. “We provide care across the entire spectrum from public and primary health care to acute care, as well as long-term and continuing care.” Unlike other for-profit public healthcare systems around the world, Canadian healthcare operates under a single-payer, publicly-funded system, with each province administering healthcare in alignment with the Canadian Health Act, and Nova Scotia Health is no different. aimagazine.com

NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH | EY

“We have the benefit of administering the entire spectrum and that really comes into play when we start looking at how we plan services and deliver care to meet the needs of the population,” says Murphy. “We use analytics to support that delivery of care because it gives us access to information across the entire patient journey.” Ambitious healthcare goals Nova Scotia Health has a broad purview when it comes to healthcare operations in the region. Due to this positioning, the organisation is able to map a patient's experience from beginning to end to best understand the resources and interventions needed along the way. “Understanding what has happened in the past and using that to plan for the future helps us identify where new innovative technologies or approaches might be able to be leveraged in something like virtual care,” continues Murphy. As part of the journey-mapping process, Nova Scotia Health recognised that, across the province, not everybody had equal or equitable access to services. “One of the core focuses in the last couple of years has been to team up with different organisations or consultancies, like EY, to leverage their expertise in priority areas that Nova Scotia Health is driving toward but lacks the bench strength to fully deliver,” says Murphy. “We work really closely with our analytics team and have scientists and some of our own people focused on evaluation, but we do everything in partnership, which is, I think, quite different from other organisations,” says Dr. Gail Tomblin Murphy, Vice President of Research, Innovation and Discovery, and Chief Nurse Executive at Nova Scotia Health. 72

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Backed by over 300,000 people around the globe and a purpose to build a better working world, EY Canada’s Government and Public Sector practice focuses on helping governments and public sector organisations, like Nova Scotia Health, create new ways of working to achieve better outcomes for its citizens and better experiences for its teams. “Our work with Nova Scotia Health has been in support of its vision to improve and deliver personalised healthcare services to the residents of Nova Scotia,” says Maynard.

Nova Scotia Health & EY: AI analytics to improve healthcare

“ We knew that we needed the end goal to be using real-time data. We simply didn't have the technical competency to get there” MATTHEW MURPHY

CDO AND SENIOR DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY & PERFORMANCE, NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH

“We brought deep expertise and an understanding of the business of healthcare to help identify the big questions and advise on solutions that break through technical issues to deliver quality and value for key stakeholders.” Evolving the digital landscape The digital transformation of Nova Scotia Health was catapulted forward by the pandemic, which identified areas of vulnerability across the province’s healthcare system. aimagazine.com

NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH | EY

EXECUTIVE BIOS MATTHEW MURPHY TITLE: CHIEF DATA OFFICER AND SENIOR DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY & PERFORMANCE COMPANY: NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH Matthew Murphy is the Chief Data Officer and Senior Director of Strategy and Performance at Nova Scotia Health Authority and has 15 years of healthcare experience. He is the first one to have a tenure as chief in the data realm for the organisation. Prior to his current position, he worked in quality, risk and analytics with his background in research.

STEVEN MAYNARD TITLE: MANAGING PARTNER, GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC SECTOR CONSULTING COMPANY: EY Steven Maynard is EY Canada’s Government & Public Sector Consulting Leader based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In his role, Steven empowers clients to evolve for the future through enterprise-wide technology programmes and modernisation initiatives. By bridging large-scale tech platforms with human-centred design, Steven and the EY Canada team help government and public sector organisations deliver better outcomes for Canadians.

DR. GAIL TOMBLIN MURPHY TITLE: CNE AND VP OF RESEARCH, INNOVATION & DISCOVERY COMPANY: NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH Dr. Gail Tomblin Murphy is the Vice President of Research, Innovation and Discovery, and Chief Nurse Executive at Nova Scotia Health. She is an internationally recognised expert in how population needs-based approaches to health systems strengthen workforce planning, evaluation, capacity-building, and research. Gail is a champion of innovation in healthcare, leading teams and partners to seek creative solutions to provide high quality and timely access to care for Nova Scotians.

June 2022

“A year ago, we saw an increase in the number of people in Nova Scotia who did not have a primary care provider,” says Tomblin Murphy. “We were asked to come up with an innovative solution to link each unattached Nova Scotian with access to care. So we launched VirtualCareNS.” The organisation then went through a diligence process, looking at approximately 50 companies offering virtual platforms before selecting a provider. Today, patients can get same-day medical advice via their tablet, computer, or smartphone.

Integrated view for clinicians “Nova Scotians were sent emails encouraging them to participate and access care through VirtualCareNS. Once registered, they've been able to speak with a family doctor or nurse practitioner for health care advice, have prescriptions renewed, or get referrals as needed,” says Tomblin Murphy. “We started in two areas of the province that had the highest number of people on the registry of patients without a provider. And then, because it was becoming very successful, very fast, we were asked to scale it quickly, province-wide.” aimagazine.com

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Enhanced use of analytics The rapid onboarding of so many new patients to the virtual platform, however, would not have been possible without analytics to help understand and predict use rates. “It's really important to understand when, how many, and what type of patient or person is going to need and use the service,” explains Murphy. “Only then can we develop a human resource strategy to meet the need efficiently and sustainably.” Speeding up and adapting But despite the rapid uptake and progress experienced, the journey is far from over. Murphy and his team see lurking issues, including the overall speed of the reporting service. “The last few years, we've gone from three months to four hours for reporting. So there has been remarkable improvement, but with that, comes remarkable expectations and four hours was suddenly not quick enough,” he says.

“We knew where our databases were, but we didn't have the technical capacity to shrink that run time. We also knew what we would be able to do with real-time data. We simply didn't have the ability in-house to get there quickly enough; hiring new staff with the core competencies would take too long.” Based on previous experience with EY Canada over the years, Nova Scotia Health knew they’d be able to sit down and sketch out a solution together. Murphy and his team worked alongside EY Canada’s

Nova Scotia Health & EY: AI analytics to improve healthcare

June 2022

NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH | EY

“ We bring the capabilities to breakthrough technical problems. And at the same time, we bring a very strong understanding of the business of healthcare” STEVEN MAYNARD MANAGING PARTNER, GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC SECTOR CONSULTING, EY

technical teams to re-code the system and shrink run time from hours to minutes. In addition, by working closely with EY Canada, Nova Scotia Health has been able to capitalise on data assets that were previously unavailable, including those around its human capital analytics. “Within Canadian healthcare, as with other healthcare jurisdictions around the world, the compensation for our workforce accounts for anywhere from 60 to 80% of our budget and, within Nova Scotia, it's worth noting that the budget is over US$2bn,” says Murphy. “Until recently, we didn’t have access to a harmonised dataset covering both financial and human resources.” Together, EY Canada and Nova Scotia Health have brought about the creation of this new data mart that would reconcile these existing systems. Real-time insights According to Maynard, real-time data insights are critical for any industry. They help identify efficiencies and redundancies, manage costs, deliver better, more timely immediate and follow-up care with fewer mistakes, while presenting a more integrated patient journey map across care environments and practitioners. But, based on EY’s global experience, real-time data is a challenge for many healthcare organisations, due to significant legacy systems that exist within them. “The good news is there has been breakthrough capability through cloud computing and advanced technologies to be able to deliver integrated data without making a significant investment in re-platforming whole new systems.” During the pandemic, Nova Scotia Health and EY Canada tackled the unprecedented problems that arose, from automation aimagazine.com

NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH | EY

“ We do everything in partnership, which is, I think, quite different from other organisations” DR. GAIL TOMBLIN MURPHY

CNE AND VP OF RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND DISCOVERY NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH

to workforce, resulting in new insights that allow them to understand not simply where they're spending money, but the driving reasons behind it. “We learned significant lessons throughout the course of the pandemic,” says Murphy. “The last two years have been really difficult in healthcare with respect to the workforce. Understanding where we have potential gaps is essential to ensuring we have a sustainable system into the future.” “The pandemic and the stresses it placed on healthcare organisations around the world created a massive capacity crunch, yet the business of healthcare had to go on. Robotics process automation was a really useful tool to help deliver the business of healthcare and maintain core operations while many of the staff had been redirected to emergency operations,” says Maynard. During these challenging times, the EY Canada team helped deliver intelligent automation solutions that leveraged machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities to enable the system to quickly learn and adapt to the environment, acting as essential support for a key component of the business. “That was a significant shift for us from an innovation perspective – to realise or address how we can keep providing services when 80

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the traditional mechanism of service delivery has been disrupted,” Murphy adds. “Again, the answer was wholesale digital transformation across the system.” Thanks to its work with EY Canada, Nova Scotia Health has a clear vision of where it wants to be in the next five to 10 years. “Historically, organisations have thought about private industry as funders,” says Tomblin Murphy. “We truly believe that private industry are partners, and so we engage them often. They're really important to the work that we are doing.” To deliver on Nova Scotia Health’s longer-term vision, there will be significant investments throughout the transformation roadmap – from new clinical information systems to cloud computing capabilities, as well as new techniques to help produce insights and help clinicians and other organisational leaders utilise new innovations. And, as the institution refocuses on how to provide better care for its residents, Murphy explains, it also aims to revamp the workplace to be more engaging and provide growth and opportunities for its employees and volunteers. “It's not about using technology to eliminate positions. New technologies are faster and more efficient, often eliminating more tedious, manual processes and freeing up our workforce to do what they do best: practising the art and science of healthcare.”

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IOT

Creating near-real experiences with IoT in the metaverse To make the metaverse seem real, developers need to adopt a range of disruptive tech. Here, we look at IoT’s role in creating real digital environments WRITTEN BY: CATHERINE GRAY

et to transform many aspects of human experience, the metaverse remains an ‘unreal’ concept for many. Harnessing disruptive technologies, the metaverse has the power to expand our capabilities, strengthen our connections and enhance our interactions with each other, bridging the gap between the physical and digital to offer a truly immersive experience. However, one challenge that many technologists are facing is the new infrastructure needed to host such a complex range of technologies – currently, such infrastructure isn’t yet ready to bring the metaverse to life. For the metaverse to work, internet of things (IoT) devices need to be employed by the platform to collect data. To do this, the metaverse will connect hardware, controllers and physical objects – all with the help of IoT. “We’re at a really exciting and unique point in the evolution of the digital world where real feeling – seeing, hearing and feeling an

June 2022

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Get reliable network coverage and security protection, fast. A modern network must be able to respond easily, quickly and flexibly to the growing needs of today’s digital business. Must provide visibility & control of applications, users and devices on and off the network and Intelligently direct traffic across the WAN. Be scalable and automate the process to provide new innovative services. Support IoT devices and utilize state-of-the-art technologies such as real-time analytics, ML and AI. And all these must be provided with maximum security and minimum cost. This is the power that brings the integration of two cloud managed platforms, Cisco Meraki and Cisco Umbrella. This integration is binding together the best of breed in cloud-managed networking and Security.

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IOT

“ It’s through this ecosystem of connected devices that we can now render ‘real feel’ in the virtual space” GOPIKRISHNAN KONNANATH

SVP AND GLOBAL HEAD - ENGINEERING SERVICES AND BLOCKCHAIN AT INFOSYS

experience – is becoming possible in the metaverse through synthetic data captured by IoT and connected devices. It’s through this ecosystem of connected devices that we can now render ‘real feel’ in the virtual space by creating digital twins and avatars that are contextualised in real-time,” comments Gopikrishnan Konnanath, SVP & Global Head Oracle Services and Blockchain at Infosys. As an example of this, we can take a look at devices worn on humans: geolocation tags have the ability to detect body movement, eye gaze and different body functions crucial to replicating a near-real persona , as well as creating a near-real and immersive experience. Considering IoT technology is used to provide a physical interface to connect computers, allowing users to remotely interact with the world, it’s perfectly placed to imbue verisimilitude across the metaverse. Jamie Boote, Software Security Consultant at Synopsys Software Integrity Group outlines: “The metaverse could move such interfaces from professional users to end users. While not every end user is going to want to interface with factory valves, the IoT is also pivotal in managing commuter lines and transportation for central conductors.

A user interface enabled by the metaverse could take information collected by industrial IoT devices, tracking train locations and providing dynamic travel guidance as users move about their commutes.” Combining IoT with AI and XR in the metaverse Playing a pivotal role in data acquisition from physical assets, IoT can augment and amplify the immersive experience, especially if the technology is complemented with artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR). “The convergence of AI, AR/VR, IoT and real-world data means the metaverse can be a strong enabler of what businesses are already trying to achieve – better customer outcomes and experiences,” says Harvey Lewis, Associate Partner, Client Technology and Innovation at EY “From a manufacturing perspective, IoT sensors enable us to create real-life mockups of factories, machinery, and products down to a microscopic level, which we can

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IOT

explore in intimate detail in the metaverse. This allows us to locate faults or make machines more efficient without having to exhaust any resources,” he continues. As it bridges the gap between virtual and physical worlds, the metaverse will rely on IoT and the data it generates to provide an unrivalled feeling of immersion into the digital world, as Konnanath notes: “The data collected through sensors such as, cameras and LIDARs are critical for immersive and contextual experiences and bring intelligence to the environment so it can adapt to the needs of the users interacting in the digital space.” Via the metaverse, IoT technology will also enable more natural interactions in the workplace, using technologies such as facial and motion tracking for avatars to replicate, giving them a more lifelike characterisation. “By providing an environment where we can have full-body representation instead

Building Digital Twins, Mixed Reality and Metaverse Apps

June 2022

METAVERSE Gartner named the metaverse one of the top five emerging trends and technologies for 2022. Global spending on VR/ AR, the metaverse's foundation technology, is expected to rise from US$12bn in 2020 to US$72.8bn in 2024.

“ The convergence of AI, AR/VR, IoT and real-world data means the metaverse can be a strong enabler of what businesses are already trying to achieve” HARVEY LEWIS

ASSOCIATE PARTNER AT EY

of boxes on a screen (so we can finally see how tall someone is virtually), the reality of the metaverse gives us the impression of connecting physically, as well as virtually, with our colleagues,” says Lewis. Digital twins creating near real experiences Not only will the combination of IoT, XR and IoT augment and amplify the immersive experience, it will also allow technologists to create digital replicas With AI and XR, IoT has the ability to provide innovative use cases and highly immersive experiences through digital avatars and digital twins. Without this technology, the metaverse would not be able to render immersive experiences and the near-real feeling. aimagazine.com

“ The metaverse could move such interfaces from professional users to end users” JAMIE BOOTE

SECURITY CONSULTANT AT SYNOPSYS SOFTWARE INTEGRITY GROUP

JAMIE BOOTE, SOFTWARE SECURITY CONSULTANT AT SYNOPSYS SOFTWARE INTEGRITY GROUP “There is the Metaverse, developed by Facebook’s Meta as a virtual social network where VR will become the next interface for social media, shopping, and communications. Then there is the metaverse as hyped by nearly everyone else, as a user interface that is overlaid onto the world and is supplemented by feeds from the internet of things.”

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Taking building optimisation through the metaverse, this technology makes it possible to better monitor existing building operations, such as heating, cooling and lighting, helping reduce global emissions. “Digital replicas therefore play a big role in not only improving the efficiency of current processes, but also in driving sustainability and helping us achieve our climate goals. On the flip side, the fullyimmersive environment of the metaverse can bring pertinent issues and challenges to life, such as climate change, in a way that makes it difficult for us to ignore,” notes Lewis. Digital twins are fundamental to the success of the metaverse, empowering the user interface to better provide information that’s needed in a format optimised for the virtual reality or augmented reality environment they’re in. Particularly beneficial for the manufacturing industry, Konnanath explains how digital twins provide real value and benefit to the industrial world: “A key example of how digital twin technology – coupled with AI platforms – is being used already in Infosys’ Engine Wash VR Training. Infosys created this experience to quickly train maintenance teams in a virtual aeroplane hangar, making it possible to deliver perspectives and insights that wouldn’t be possible in the physical world.” Concluding, Lewis comments on the limitless possibilities of the metaverse and its combination of IoT, AI and XR: “Perhaps the most exciting part of all this is that we don’t have to adhere to the normal laws of physics in the metaverse, meaning we can look at objects at any scale and from any perspective we desire – something that would be completely impossible in the real-world.” aimagazine.com

PIONEERING BREAKTHROUGHS IN CANCER CARE FOR EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE AD FEATURE WRITTEN BY: HELEN ADAMS

PRODUCED BY: KRIS PALMER

June 2022

VARIAN

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VARIAN

Healthcare company Varian is innovating new technologies to help healthcare providers and cancer patients plan and manage their treatment

evin Lo, the Senior Managing Director for Varian in Southeast Asia and the Korea region, has been with Varian for almost nine years. He’s spent the last 25 years of his career in healthcare and 15 years in radiation oncology. “I have seen enough cancer patients,” says Lo of his time in this challenging, yet exciting, career. “I have also seen both of my parents get cancer - now they’re cancer survivors. But my mother-in-law, she passed away due to leukaemia. So that's why cancer is always in my mind, not only professionally, but actually in my private life.” “I think at Varian, we share a very important passion that's about creating or achieving a world without fear of cancer. That's truly something in our minds and in our hearts. From the top to the very fundamental staff, we are working towards that mission.” Creating a world without fear of cancer Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, wants to create a world without fear of cancer. Founded in Palo Alto, California, USA, Varian has been developing technological solutions since 1948 and has since expanded across the world. Lo moved to Varian due to his experience as a radiation oncologist and his interest in new technologies. “I love new technology. My passion is how we transform these technologies in a way for them to be commercialised and that we can use clinically,” says Lo.

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VARIAN

A world without fear of cancer

“IN VARIAN, WE SHARE A VERY IMPORTANT PASSION THAT'S ABOUT CREATING A WORLD WITHOUT FEAR OF CANCER” KEVIN LO

SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, VARIAN

June 2022

The healthcare technology created by Varian is designed to help physicians fight against the previously unbeatable. “At Varian, we are bringing new technologies into the region. We want to bring in connected data, technologies, workflows and everything like that to streamline operations in oncology.” Helping cancer patients and their families at Varian Every cancer patient is different, so personalised treatment is fundamental to helping them fight against cancer.

VARIAN

KEVIN LO, DHSC, MBA, MSC, FCIM, CMKTR, MIET TITLE: SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR INDUSTRY: HEALTHCARE

“When we talk about personalised treatment, that means how we use data, AI and technologies,” explains Lo. “During the course of cancer, even for the same patient, they will have different stages. We adapt our way of treating cancer. We connect different physicians in an environment where they can talk to each other through a multidisciplinary cancer care board.” Varian also works with societies that help cancer patients through their cancer treatment journey. “They are quite impressed, because many other companies

EXECUTIVE BIO

LOCATION: SOUTHEAST ASIA Kevin Lo joined Varian as APAC Marketing Director in 2013 and took on an additional role to head APAC software sales in 2016. He was promoted to Senior Managing Director for the Southeast Asia & Korea region in 2019 and has led the business with double-digit growth since taking on the role. Prior to Varian, he has dedicated over two decades to the medical technology industry, mainly at the regional level in areas of general management, sales, marketing and services in various multinational corporations. Kevin is a global Chartered Marketer, a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, and a Member of The Institute of Engineering and Technology. He holds a Doctoral degree in Health Science and a Master degree in Biomedical Engineering from Hong Kong Polytechnics University. Kevin completed his MBA in Australia and postgraduate diploma in Marketing in the UK.

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VARIAN

“WE WANT TO INSPIRE CLINICIANS ACROSS THE REGION WITH MEANINGFUL INNOVATIONS, WHICH ARE AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE AND SIMPLIFIED” KEVIN LO

SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, VARIAN

may not work with the patients at all, they may not work with the family,” said Lo. “We partner with many societies, like the Anti-Cancer Society in Hong Kong and other patient societies across Southeast Asia. We provide them the necessary information and education to give them more knowledge about the technologies we use and more information about new ways of treating cancer.” Improving access to care is a key indicator of success for Varian. In high-income countries, between 50-60% of cancer patients will usually undergo radiation therapy as part of their treatment, but less than 10% actually receive it in low-to-midincome countries. Varian wants to help expand access to care in Southeast Asia. “We want to inspire the clinicians across the region with meaningful innovations, which are affordable, accessible and simplified. They can treat more patients with fewer challenges.” Varian is also dedicated to supporting the wider cancer community. “In 2007 we established the Varian Medical Systems Foundation, which leads our philanthropy and charitable giving. We aimagazine.com

do a lot of work with non-profit organisations and NGOs, we make grants, donations, and gifts to non-profit organisations who offer information and services focused on the prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer.” Varian is most interested in funding programmes concerning radiation therapy. “At our Singapore and Malaysia-based offices, we also participate in raising money for cancer patients. We took part in Pink October in Malaysia to raise awareness of breast cancer. We had the honour to work with the First Lady there.” 98

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“CANCER IS A COMPLEX DISEASE, SO EACH PATIENT IS DIFFERENT, AND WITHOUT SUFFICIENT DATA THE DECISION PROCESS BECOMES MORE DIFFICULT” KEVIN LO

SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, VARIAN

VARIAN

The Foundation also funds the ASRT Education and Research Foundation Varian Radiation Therapy Scholarship Program, which offers scholarships for academically outstanding students attending entry-level radiation therapy courses and Gateway for Cancer Research, which supports clinical research in conventional and complementary therapies. Varian's Access to Care strategy Part of expanding access to care is having the right infrastructure in place to provide treatment. This doesn’t just mean hospitals

and equipment. It also means medical professionals. Across the world, there is a shortage of healthcare workers. “The shortage of trained personnel is definitely a major issue,” says Lo. “Particularly for radiation therapy. In Myanmar and Cambodia, there is a lack of people with this expertise. So while we are introducing new technologies we are also helping the medical physicists and the medical therapist with clinical guidance and guidelines they can follow. Ultimately, we can still help them to treat more patients.” Together with Siemens Healthineers, Varian’s comprehensive aimagazine.com

VARIAN

cancer care approach provides a portfolio for the entire ecosystem, from diagnostics, to treatment, to survivorship. “With the technologies from Healthineers, we have all those CT, MR, PET scans, and all these other pieces of diagnostic equipment that we use for early detection,” explains Lo. “Once the cancer has been detected, we can actually send it across to the treatment site. On the treatment side, we have a lot of different technologies, including the treatment planning system and the linear accelerators (LINAC). We can deliver the radiation to the cancer target. We track them and we measure them, so that we make sure that whatever we deliver is actually effective.” Afterwards is the survivorship, where Varian is on hand to support. “In the US, we have a software application on the phone that helps patients to selfmonitor. They can report their outcomes back to the clinical world, which collates all this information together and allows clinicians to make recommendations remotely. So there's truly a technology ecosystem, from diagnostics all the way to treatment and to survivorship,” says Lo. Varian's integrated oncology networks also aim to help simplify tasks for healthcare workers. “Care providers currently operate in silos, so in our integrated oncology network, we try to break those silos and translate individual findings to broader solutions,” explains Lo. “Cancer itself is a complex disease, so each patient is different, and without sufficient data or evidence, the decision process becomes even more difficult for clinicians and patients, alike. “With Siemens Healthineers, we are helping to connect teams together and provide them with the technologies that 100

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enable us and them to create an oncology ecosystem. That means enabling the treatment centres, research institutions, and practices to work together and provide more integrated and multidisciplinary care.” The goal for Varian’s integrated oncology network is to connect and leverage data, teams, technologies and workflows. This will deliver greater insights and improve clinical collaboration, streamline operations and enhance the patient experience.

Helping the medical community adapt to new concepts and methods There is often resistance to new technology, even in healthcare, particularly when innovations come up against traditional methods. Varian supports the wider healthcare community to embrace new advances. “I think we are partnering most of the oncology care providers in Southeast Asia and Korea to build and expand their capacity in healthcare systems through

different technology adoptions. I can summarise this process into three letters: D, N, and A,” says Lo. D stands for digitalisation “This is how we try to work with healthcare providers to digitise that data. That's a very important thing that without digitalisation, everything still remains in a silo and cannot be shared, they cannot be data-mined,” says Lo. “We will try to have this digitalisation aimagazine.com

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through data mining, through machine learning, which is how we can get more insight. With this knowledge, we can combine them together and provide better solutions for both clinicians and patients.” N for is network Varian knows that the best way to provide the delicate care needed by cancer patients is through multidisciplinary teamwork. “We use our network of human resources and enable them to collaborate,” explains Lo. “Because cancer is a very complex disease, it requires multiple disciplines. We use our network to create a multidisciplinary cancer care board to make a difference. We can group them together and collect their insight and their wisdom, to treat individual patients.” A for AI “Nowadays, I think every company is talking about AI. We have enough knowledge to work with the clinicians and the research institute, in how to use AI,” says Lo. “For many companies, they use ‘AI’ like a buzzword, but what exactly do they mean? Are you talking about AI segmentation or are you talking about AI planning? So those are the things that we are working on together with the clinicians and research institutes, to help turn it into something clinicians can use.” At Varian, the company works on the clinical rationale behind every new technology and how to use those newer concepts and methods to create better treatments. “At the end of the day, we try our best to make cancer a manageable disease,” says Lo. At Varian, it’s in their DNA.

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STEPPING AWAY BIG DATA ANALY GAIN A BROADER

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FROM YSIS TO R VIEW

TECHNOLOGY

Trends predict that there’s an ongoing shift from big data to small and wide data analysis in business – here, we look at why this shift is taking place WRITTEN BY: CATHERINE GRAY

ig data’ has become a bit of a buzzword for businesses as they look to strengthen their data and analytics capabilities, with the overall aim to drive growth and address business challenges. When correctly gathered and analysed, big data analysis can help to move businesses forward, allowing organisations to gather information from multiple data points to capture a variety of perspectives on customer, market and historical trends. By providing a clear overview on a range of trends within organisations, big data enables businesses to better understand the multiple market forces at play and ultimately make more informed decisions on the company's strategy. Despite the benefits of big data analysis, many technologists see a trend emerging that signifies companies are now moving to small and wide data to accelerate business decisions and growth. Gartner has previously predicted that 70% of organisations will shift their focus from big data to small, wide data by 2025. Lending itself to that shift is the emergence of AI solutions for business, which require many different types of data to work effectively. Jennifer Belissent, Principal Data Strategist at Snowflake, believes that, despite this shift, data – in all its different forms – needs to be effectively analysed for businesses to aimagazine.com

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TECHNOLOGY

IBM RESEARCH IBM research shows data-driven businesses are 178% more likely to outperform in revenue and profitability.

gain real value: “Big data enables businesses to sort through massive amounts of data, such as transaction data or sensor data, and derive insights that improve understanding of customers or operations.” “Decision-makers are hungry for new insights. Marketing teams want to optimise campaigns and ensure an ROI on ad placements. Sales teams want to prioritise leads to not waste their time. Risk teams want to better predict fraud. Operations teams want to predict maintenance needs and avoid unscheduled downtimes…and the list goes on,” she continues. Michael Gilfix, VP, Product Management, IBM Data & AI and Chief Product Officer, Cloud Paks & SaaS at IBM, while acknowledging the importance of data – be it big, small or wide – stresses the importance of analytics: “To really get the most value out of data, businesses need

“ TAPPING INTO SMALL, WIDE AND BIG DATA, BUSINESSES ARE EMPOWERED TO BUILD MORE ROBUST ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ANALYTICS TO DRIVE GREATER INNOVATION AND GROWTH” CHRIS ROYLES

FIELD CTO, EMEA, CLOUDERA aimagazine.com

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to adopt a data strategy that deploys a connective tissue between disparate data sources and storage repositories, what we call a data fabric architecture. It helps to foster broader information sharing and governance across different areas of the business, making it accessible to everyone, when and where they need it.” Responding to regulatory setbacks with small and wide data While businesses have been making sense of their data, there has also been a growing concern around privacy looking into the ways data is shared and handled. Often associated with invasive marketing 108

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techniques and disruptive advertising, big data creates a tricky regulatory environment for data engineers to navigate. The tightening of regulations around this data and the way it is used for business growth has been a key driver of this data shift. Evidence of this includes the GDPR regulations enacted throughout Europe between 2016 and 2018, which places limitations on how data can be shared. As such, regulations are rendering big data less effective and efficient – and, therefore, effectively obsolete, meaning that businesses are having to find alternative ways to gain value from data. Shifting to small and wide data, Gilfix shares how small data can bridge this

TECHNOLOGY

SMALL DATA Small data represents discrete data sets, such as a survey of consumers or polls to determine voting patterns, and the use of specific analytic methods like time series analysis. These ‘small’ data sets are often analysed over time to detect and predict changes in behaviour.

“ SMALL DATA ALSO OFFERS THE ADVANTAGE OF PROVIDING NEAR REALTIME INSIGHTS – SUCH AS A CUSTOMER’S JOURNEY THROUGH A COMPANY’S DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM” MICHAEL GILFIX

VP, PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, IBM DATA & AI AND CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER CLOUD PAKS & SAAS AT IBM

gap: “While big data can offer insights on big picture trends and patterns, small data can reveal what drives an individual customer or potential client. So instead of a company guessing that the broad trend it identified from its big data set will apply to its customers, it can use small data to meet their needs in a more personalised way.” In short, it prevents companies from assuming their customers are a monolith. “Small data also offers the advantage of providing near real-time insights – such as a customer’s journey through a company’s digital ecosystem. Whereas by the time a big data set has been analysed, the insights are already old and remain broad in scope,” he continues. Cloudera’s Field CTO for EMEA, Chris Royles, adds to this by stating that, despite an uptake in the analysis of small and wide data, this view should actually be added to big data analytics rather than replace it altogether: “Tapping into small, wide and big data, businesses are empowered to build more robust artificial intelligence and analytics to drive greater innovation and growth. Adopting this multi-data approach enables organisations to gather an even richer and comprehensive perspective of the market, all of which can be used to better inform decisions that will fuel the growth of the business.” Combining types of data analysis for business intelligence The shift in focus to alternative types of data doesn’t mean the abandonment of big data, particularly as many software providers have solutions that enable big data analytics with ease. It seems that instead of a focus on big data, organisations will reap more benefits from a diversity of data types and sources and analytic methods. aimagazine.com

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WIDE DATA Wide data, represents a collection of a variety of data types, or combinations of different data points to capture a broader scope of parameters. Wide data could include big, small, structured or unstructured data from any source, can easily understand a range of data formats - such as text, image and audio - and can find links between these sources.

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TECHNOLOGY

“ DECISION-MAKERS ARE HUNGRY FOR NEW INSIGHTS. MARKETING TEAMS WANT TO OPTIMISE CAMPAIGNS AND ENSURE AN ROI ON AD PLACEMENTS” JENNIFER BELISSENT

PRINCIPAL DATA STRATEGIST AT SNOWFLAKE

Belissent adds that this does not end at big, small and wide data: “In addition to big data, small data, wide and diverse data, qualitative data will continue to have a place in generating insights – particularly about customers. For example, recommendation engines trained on transaction data will be complemented with focus groups to test customer responses to specific offers. Ad placement algorithms will be combined with A/B testing to determine the impact of specific messages. Panel surveys will capture sentiments to complement textual sentiment analysis. Qualitative research enables the capture of feelings, and compliments research that predicts actions.” There is no doubt that the amount and type of data businesses have access to will continue to grow as IoT devices and cloud data platforms become more readily available. With such a diverse range of data sources, it is now vital that businesses develop a data strategy that guarantees useful and actionable insights. “Whether it's big, small or wide data we’re talking about, adopting a data strategy centred on a data fabric architecture is essential to convert that data into business value,” notes Gilfix. He concludes: “A data fabric connects different types of data across silos — be it on-premises or across multiple clouds — without ever having to copy or move any data. It can also democratise information while still helping to ensure an organisation can maintain the level of governance and privacy required.” aimagazine.com

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Magnús Kristinsson, CEO of atNorth DCs, on Investment and Growth 112

June 2022

WRITTEN BY: İLKHAN ÖZSEVIM PRODUCED BY: LEWIS VAUGHAN

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ATNORTH

atNorth CEO Magnús Kristinsson talks about their DC expansion into new markets and the investments and underlying vision that has driven AN’s evolution

tNorth was established back in 2009, and from its inception it has championed an entrepreneurial driving spirit. “We basically consider ourselves to be a startup company,” says Magnús Kristinsson, CEO of atNorth, “and in December 2021, we were acquired by Partners Group, which is one of the largest private market firms in the world. What this means for us is that we will need to find a new balance between the institutional and the startup spirit, as this move opens up many opportunities for us.” atNorth is the largest colocation Data Centre (DC) operator in Iceland, recognised for its high-density computing technology coupled with its dedication to sustainability. The DC company is headquartered in Reykjavik and already has several operations across Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom - despite its early start-up ethos, its acquisition by Partners Group has bestowed atNorth with access to a completely different level of funding, set to further fuel its quickening expansion and growth. This is the quid pro quo that sustainabilityfocused and start-up-spirited DCs must make when such large investment is the key consideration. In fact, such a move provides opportunities to achieve goals that may have seemed long out-of-reach, but presently have become a reality that will, in all likelihood, see atNorth achieve goals that were not even possible for the DC company just a few short years ago. 114

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“Our partner ecosystem is essential to us,” says Kristinsson, “since we are not a big organisation. We have a supply chain of key partners that we work with, and we would not be able to build our DCs, nor service our customers, without it.” Another one of atNorth’s key partners is Systemair, who they have been working with since 2019 and who provide their DCs with cooling systems and solutions in Iceland’s very cold climate. Kristinsson is an engineer and has been working in IT since the beginning of his career. Back then, he was a part of Advania - the company that eventually acquired atNorth in 2011. At the time, atNorth was a very small data centre, started by some pioneers that had already realised that DCs in remote locations such as Iceland - where the cold climate could be utilised and there was an abundance of renewable energy was a great idea, but the business model was just not working. “We then turned it around and made it into a very successful data company,” says Kristinsson. “At the time, I ran it as a business unit within Advania. But in 2018, I stepped in as full-time CEO, and the growth journey of atNorth really took off. Although I’m the CEO of atNorth, based out of Reykjavik, I spend a lot of time in Stockholm, where we’re building our first DataCentre outside of Iceland. The first atNorth site, which they acquired back in 2011, is built in an old printing facility. Given the size of the data and the footprint that they have today, it was a very small site with a capacity of approximately 3MW. Very soon after that, in 2014, they expanded into a new ’Megasite’ where they have access to 80MW running at 100% renewable energy, built on approximately 18,000 SQM of DC space. In 2020, atNorth 116

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started the construction of their first data centre outside of Iceland, in Stockholm. The inauguration ceremony of the DC was held in the first week of March, this year. atNorth has been and will continue to expand into areas outside of Iceland, providing ‘more compute for a better world’, as its slogan goes. Its ambitions are recognised throughout the global DC industry, and it occupies a strategic position

ATNORTH

MAGNÚS KRISTINSSON TITLE: CEO LOCATION: KÓPAVOGUR, CAPITAL REGION, ICELAND

“ Everything is changing in the world of digitalisation” MAGNÚS KRISTINSSON CEO, ATNORTH

EXECUTIVE BIO

Magnus has been the CEO of atNorth since January 2018. From 2010-2017, Magnus was MD of Managed Service for Advania, but atNorth was then a part of Advania’s Managed Service business. Before that Magnus worked for Vodafone in Iceland. Magnus holds a M.Sc. in Engineering from Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Iceland. Magnus was born in Sweden 1976. A fact you may not know is that Magnus was a football referee in the Icelandic top division for years and has refereed in the Finnish, Danish and Norwegian leagues.

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“ Our partner ecosystem is essential to us” MAGNÚS KRISTINSSON CEO, ATNORTH

in the DC space, having an early vision that would eventually see its successes recognised and its potential endorsed by the approaches of investors and partners from all over the business world. “Since our inception, we’ve basically been focusing on high-density workloads,” says Kristinsson, “as well as aiming for low latency requirements, workloads in HPC (High Performance Computing), Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing.” atNorth’s uniqueness doesn’t arise from one particular USP (Unique Selling Point) like many other DCs - or even companies in general, for that matter.

“I think that what makes us different from other DC companies rests on a whole set of attributes. One of the most important, of course, is our fundamental sustainability focus. All our DCs are built out of materials that are as sustainable as possible. We use renewable energy only, and our DCs are designed with energy-efficiency in mind from the outset. On top of this, our market focus is on workloads that need high rack density and use a lot of electricity. “One of the main things that sets us apart is that as operators, we are born in IT and don't come from real estate, as many DC operators do. That means that flexibility and the creativity to bring a project to fruition is a central part of our thinking. We also understand that time-to-market is key for our customers, so we are strongly solutions-focused. We not only provide housing for computers - as many other DCs do - but we actually build the computer clusters for our clients, and if needed, we operate them as well.” atNorth partly provides traditional column high-density racks, but also low-density, too, with all the required ancillary services and, given their flexible nature, can even do buildto-suit projects on their own campuses. Many of their customers, especially those that are using a lot of electricity for computational workloads, want mixed-tiering, which essentially means mixed-redundancy. They may want lower redundancy for the computational workloads for instance, and higher redundancy for net and storage, and atNorth can, and do provide this service. On top of all of this, atNorth is able to procure, build and operate the computer clusters that their customers would typically host in their DCs. “We are highly flexible,” says Kristinsson, “and are able to cater solutions for very specific client needs all across the spectrum.” aimagazine.com

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Magnús Kristinsson, CEO of atNorth DCs, on investment and growth

Flexibility is more central to DC companies than is obvious at first glance, especially when it comes to those who cater for fit-outs and customised or madeto-order services such as those provided by atNorth. This flexibility and diversity of needs can be from a physical or digital point of view. Mixed-latency requirements is just one example of how bespoke a client's requirements may be. This flexibility may present in many forms, and a DC company that possesses it, along with its parent attribute, creativity, is far more likely to achieve a certain level of success. The important point is that a client's needs in the DC space can be as varied as business culture itself. The current demand for atNorth’s services is higher than they’ve ever seen before. This means that they are building-out, based on the same principles, in highly flexible and modular data centre buildings. 120

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ATNORTH

“ The future of the Industry will be marked by major growth in Sustainability, AI, deep-learning and High Performance Computing” MAGNÚS KRISTINSSON CEO, ATNORTH

“We already have two DCs in the SouthWest and are currently very busy expanding our DC footprint, building a new site in the North of Iceland,” he says. “Sustainability is at the core of our value proposition; our data centres in Iceland are built on completely renewable energy. There is no other entity even on the grid in Iceland, which is exceptional. I think it's the only country in the world where you can find such conditions and although we already have access to all this renewable energy, we have still been designing our Data Centres so that they use even less energy than all other DCs do. We also select all the building materials very carefully, with the objective of reducing the carbon footprint of our buildings.”

We run on

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“ We use renewable energy only, and our DCs are designed with energy-efficiency in mind from the outset” MAGNÚS KRISTINSSON CEO, ATNORTH

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With ever-expanding connectivity demand and supply, big data, the push caused by COVID lockdowns, and an expeditiously evolving technological environment in general, the DC industry is quickly becoming one of the most in-demand technologies in the world. Then there is the concern about a seeming internal tension between such energy needs and a rising consciousness of the need for environmental protection and cultivation. “Everything is changing in the world of digitalisation,” says Kristinsson. “Our customers need to engage with partners that can provide them with the flexibility to cope with the rapidity of these developments, but also with the increasing demands that they have for sustainable solutions.” Asked what the next 12 to 18 months look like for atNorth, Kristinsson says: “We will be very busy onboarding new customers, due to accelerating demand, while also fitting out new spaces for our existing customers and finding and constructing new sites for our DCs.” In-line with this ever-increasing demand, atNorth is seeking to even further expand with a 50MW megasite in the Nordics, that will use 100% green electricity from renewable sources, making it one of the most sustainable and costefficient wholesale data centres ever built. Kristinsson concludes: “The future of the Industry itself will be marked by major growth in Sustainability, Artificial Intelligence, Deep-Learning and High Performance Computing which is the main driver of demand in our space.”

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CONSULTANCY

FIRMS

Many organisations are turning to artificial intelligence to improve operations, so here are the top 10 firms looking to support them with this transition WRITTEN BY: CATHERINE GRAY

o speed up the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), a number of consulting firms are playing a key role in supporting organisations to implement this technology. According to a 2021 survey by IBM and Morning Consult, one-third of companies have deployed AI and nearly half of them are exploring it. However, the survey found that there were some barriers to AI adoption, including limited expertise, data complexity and lack of tools for AI development. Consulting companies are bridging this gap by providing insights and the correct tools, playing a significant role in business development. Here, we look at the top companies providing AI consultancy services to boost AI adoption for enterprises. aimagazine.com

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Bain and Company Advising leaders on strategy, marketing operations and IT, Bain is a top management consulting firm. The firm's technology consultants serve eight of the ten largest tech conglomerates, three of the five leading software manufacturers, and many of the most influential players in the semiconductor industry. Bain’s Vector digital delivery platform supports customers with advanced analytics and automation. The company helps extract maximum value from all data assets and looks for ways automation technology will fit in with its customers' digital transformation strategy.

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Ernst & Young With the purpose of building a better working world, Ernst & Young (EY) provides insights and quality services to build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies. EY provides AI, analytics and intelligent automation consulting to help customers realise the benefits of this technology when successfully implemented in operations. Founded in 1989, the company saw its combined global revenues rise 7.3% yearon-year to US$40bn, offering a radically different approach to connecting strategy, transactions, transformation and technology.

McKinsey & Company Global management account company McKinsey & Company is a trusted advisor and counsellor to many of the world’s influential businesses and institutions. Founded in 1926, McKinsey combines bold strategies and transformative technologies to help organisations innovate more sustainably, achieve lasting gains in performance, and build workforces. To support clients with AI, the company provides a number of insightful articles and research papers to guide customers as they transform the ways they work to improve their business in substantial, sustainable ways.

07 UST

UST crafts disruptive solutions and provides both the resources and expertise clients need to bring them to life. The company offers solutions for automation and data and analytics. In terms of data, the company unlocks meaningful insights for its customers so they can respond in real-time to changes in the business. With automation, UST looks to ensure businesses run smoothly by eliminating inefficiencies in the tasks with solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing systems. aimagazine.com

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Accenture

Boston Consulting Group Founded in 1963, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a pioneer in business consulting, working closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefitting all stakeholders. BCG’s AI consulting team and practitioners help clients quickly launch AI at scale with initiatives using a variety of techniques, including machine learning, large-scale optimisation, and simulations. The company’s AI-at-scale approach – which is built on lessons from hundreds of client engagements – is to think big, start small, and grow fast.

Accenture is a provider of strategy, consulting, interactive, technology, and operations services with digital capabilities. The company aims to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity as well as help clients become the next and best versions of themselves. The firm has a number of technology-enabled services and for AI Accenture aims to provide consulting services and solutions that will help customers achieve business objectives faster while setting them up for sustainable growth.

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04 PwC

PwC helps organisations and individuals create the value they are looking for, by delivering quality in Assurance, Tax and Advisory services. With offices in 156 countries and more than 295,000 people, PwC supports a number of global clients and is among the leading professional services networks in the world. PwC’s AI specialists offer expertise and experience with natural language processing, machine learning (ML), deep learning, data engineering, automated ML, digital twins, embodied AI and responsible AI.

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03 Deloitte

Operating as a global professional services network, Deloitte offers audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and related services. The firm, which was founded in London in 1845, serves a number of industries including energy, life sciences and technology. For the AI industry, Deloitte focuses on helping companies harness the power of analytics and automation to uncover hidden relationships in vast amounts of data. The company helps clients implement the right strategy and technology that will balance speed, cost, and quality to deliver measurable business value.

Tata Consultancy Services

Part of Tata Group, India’s largest multinational business group, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is a global IT services, consulting, and business solutions leader that partners with the world’s leading businesses in their transformation journeys. With a wide range of offerings, TCS has a number of different insights into how companies can utilise technology to improve business operations from digital twin technology and IoT to automation and AI, TCS look to support clients with many business challenges. Looking specifically at automation and AI, TCS provides a number of insights to support customers as they adopt this technology. With its MFDM (Machine-First Delivery Model), TCS enables clients to turn Big Data into actionable insights.

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01 TOP 10

The IBM Ladder to AI

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IBM As an AI pioneer and renowned consulting company, IBM looks to support its customers with AI adoption in a number of ways. The technology giant creates intelligent workflows that utilise AI, data and analytics, and turn AI aspirations into tangible business outcomes. IBM helps customers drive a smart evolution of workflows, technology and the entire organisation. With its industry experts, IBM helps customers to implement a data-first strategy,

augment with third-party sources, and operationalise and accelerate AI integration across the enterprise to generate positive business growth. By augmenting human capabilities and performance, IBM also looks to improve outcomes for its clients’ customers, employees and other stakeholders. With its AI and ML capabilities, IBM enables customers to transform complex document digitisation and unlock value from unstructured data.

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