Hurdle #2: Where to apply limited dollars for GenAI Investment?

Continuing my series “From Hurdles to Solutions”, I now explore the next “hurdle” that some might face when tasked with implementing Generative AI (GenAI) technologies: where to invest with a limited or shrinking IT budget.

The term “Shadow IT” was made famous during the period between 1980-1990 when personal computing became more accessible, and employees began to use their own devices/software to perform work-related tasks.  The IT organization often imposed limitations which caused employees to bypass or find alternative ways to accomplish tasks.  This same challenge could be in store for the GenAI experience if organizations don’t provide approved solutions for employees in advance of user needs.  The same outcome experienced in the 80s – 90s could result in corporate data being at risk as leadership learns “where there is a will, there is a way”.

Doing nothing related to GenAI may not be the best alternative, and many leaders are faced with providing GenAI innovations to the organization but lack direction on where to start.  With such a large addressable market by GenAI, the following diagram could serve as a valuable starting point to guide this journey:

In this model, innovation can be classified in these four ways:

1. Product Innovation – Refreshing an existing product line or bringing new products and/or services to the market
2. Process Innovation – Improving processes to increase efficiency and drive higher-quality outputs
3. Business Model Innovation – Developing new revenue models or how an organization creates and captures value
4. Management Innovation – Innovating how a company is organized, managed, and led

Ask yourself, where can GenAI provide the greatest return on your investment for your organization?  For instance, companies with a large employee base could greatly benefit from investing in GenAI to improve day-to-day operations and processes.  Here are a few examples of process innovations for GenAI:

Customer Service/Support

• Enhance customer service interactions with tailored chatbot assistants
• Answer detailed questions related to internal data or knowledge bases with search chatbots

Marketing

• Generate relevant SEO keywords to optimize search engine rankings
• Analyze vast amounts of data and channels to identify customer sentiment and address issues before they escalate

Content Creation

• Scale content creation while tailoring it to individual customer preferences
• Reduce time and effort to complete client narratives/reports using data storytelling

Financial Analysis

• Optimize portfolios by considering many variables like risk, return, and diversification
• Leverage real-time analysis to detect fraud by identifying hidden patterns that evolve over time

Related to leveraging GenAI to innovate on an organization’s existing products and/or services, here are a few examples:

Microsoft

• Enhanced the popular M365 platform with integrated GenAI capabilities in their office products branded as Copilot (automated data analysis in Excel, custom support chatbots, improved document creation).

ServiceNow

• Created “Now Assist” to streamline IT operations by automating tasks and improving incident resolution.  Also, ServiceNow generates case summaries and resolution notes.

Headstorm

• Created AgPilot which is a GenAI product for Agronomists to provide real-time customer decision making, actionable recommendations, and proactive alerts based on a number of dynamic factors

Microsoft GenAI Innovations

By leveraging Microsoft GenAI technologies for process improvements, companies often experience a more immediate impact on their bottom line compared to developing product innovations from the ground up. In response to this challenge, Microsoft has promoted Microsoft 365 Copilot (since March 2023) as the “easy button” for incorporating GenAI technology into daily tasks, thereby alleviating the security concerns linked with other GenAI consumer tools.

From a tools perspective, the Copilot landscape is a bit confusing and ever evolving as Copilot is constantly being updated and leveraged within the M365 ecosystem.  At a high-level, the following outlines the current Copilot offerings and plans:

Copilot Pro (Individual user) and Copilot for Microsoft 365 (Organizations)

• AI powered chat which sits beside the user within each M365 app – Integrated with Teams, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Access to latest models (like OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo)
• Ability to build custom Copilot GPSs using Copilot GPT Builder

Copilot for Service

• GenAI-powered conversational assistant to bring relevant, and more meaningful answers that have been enriched with your company data with the intent to revolutionize customer service.

Copilot GPT Builder

• Tool which allows you to create and customize your own Copilot GPTs using corporate data

Azure AI Studio

• Currently in preview, Azure AI Studio enables developers and AI engineers to test, deploy, and evaluate pre-trained LLMs available with Azure AI services

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What can you do today?

If your organization holds the appropriate licenses (refer to the list below), users can already utilize large language models like GPT-4 and DALL-E3 at no additional cost to enhance responses, boost efficiency, and foster creativity within your current tenant. User and business data remain secure and will not be exposed outside of your organization when accessing CoPilot through various methods:

• Access https://copilot.microsoft.com
• Open the sidebar in Bing/Edge browsers
• Click the Copilot icon directly in the task bar within Windows

• Mobile (Copilot App, Bing, Edge, Microsoft Star, and other M365 apps)

Eligible licenses (as of 3/29/2024)

• Enterprises
• Microsoft 365 E3 or E5
• Microsoft 365 F1 or F3
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Premium, or Basic
• Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise or business
• Office 365 E1, E1 Plus, E3, or E5

Education faculty and higher ed students (18+)

• Microsoft 365 A1, A3, or A5
• Office 365 A1, A3, or A5

Microsoft Training Offerings

Microsoft Learn: This is a free online platform that offers self-paced, hands-on training modules on various Microsoft products and services, including Azure OpenAI Service, which enables you to use the latest generative AI technology1.

Virtual Training Days: These are free live events that cover topics such as AI, data, cloud, and security. You can learn from Microsoft experts, get practical guidance, and earn vouchers for Microsoft Certification exams2.

Microsoft Learn TV: This is a free video channel that features shows, live streams, and events on the latest Microsoft technologies and trends. You can watch experts and community members share their insights, tips, and demos3.

Microsoft Learn Community: This is a free online community where you can connect with other learners and experts, ask and answer questions, share resources, and join events. You can also participate in fun challenges, such as Cloud Games and Cloud Skills Challenge4.

Generative AI Professional Certificate: This is a free online course developed by Microsoft and LinkedIn, which teaches you the fundamentals of building generative AI applications. You can also earn a professional certificate upon completion5.

Generative AI Skills Grant Challenge: This is a global grant program that supports nonprofit, social enterprise, and research or academic institutions that are developing new ways of training workers on generative AI. You can apply for the grant and get access to funding, mentorship, and resources.

Up Next

In the next article, the “hurdle” of data security will be discussed to ensure sensitive data is protected and secured when using GenAI technology within the Microsoft ecosystem.