By year’s end, generative AI will likely be a core part of enterprise technology stacks worldwide. At GITEX Africa 2024, IBM’s Saad Toma made a compelling case for businesses to go all-in on AI – or risk falling behind.
In his keynote address, Toma, General Manager for IBM Middle East & Africa, highlighted how three-quarters of global CEOs believe that “the organisation with the most advanced generative AI will have the ultimate advantage.” Moreover, 43% plan to leverage gen AI for strategic decision-making.
The transformative potential is immense. AI could unlock a staggering $16 trillion in value by 2030, per World Economic Forum estimates. Combined with automation, it promises to supercharge customer interactions, operational efficiencies and productivity.
While African enterprises have been relatively slow AI adopters, Toma noted half of regional CEOs expect significant returns from advanced analytics and AI. However, myriad obstacles persist – from costs and skills gaps, to infrastructure readiness and ethical concerns.
IBM’s prescription? Becoming an “AI-first” organisation by deeply integrating the technology across business functions. Toma posited industry leaders of the next decade will be those embracing this mindset.
To that end, IBM doubled down on watsonx, its open AI platform launched last year. At the recent THINK conference, watsonx gained enhanced data capabilities, with IBM open-sourcing its Granite code models and partnering with Red Hat on InstructLab to democratise large language model development.
Toma showcased watsonx’s real-world impact, from monitoring a Kenyan company’s gas supply to empowering Arabic language models in Saudi Arabia. In Kenya, IBM’s AI observability platform Instana enabled local gas provider M-GAS to gain real-time visibility into its critical applications. This allowed M-GAS to rapidly identify and resolve issues across its tech stack, minimising downtime to ensure uninterrupted gas supply.
Usage spans verticals like banking, energy, and transportation – the latter exemplified by watsonx underpinning maintenance efforts for over 10,000 London Underground technicians.
While extolling gen AI’s boundless prospects, Toma stressed the need for robust governance frameworks and the right ecosystem partnerships to navigate inevitable complexities. As AI’s ascendancy accelerates, IBM is betting big on watsonx being the connective fabric enabling enterprises to thrive amid transformative disruption.
