Trusted data is the foundation of trusted AI. As a result, 92% of analytics and IT leaders recently reported that the need for trusted data has never been higher.
But data accuracy is only one component: The data needs to be secure, available, and reliable for AI to make the most of it.
Salesforce representatives weigh in on how that could unfold.
The AI revolution will become a data revolution
“Organisations can only harness the full power of AI when it is fueled by accurate, comprehensive data,” says Wendy Batchelder, chief data officer of Salesforce. “We can expect a strong continued focus on data privacy and compliance, which includes implementing more robust data governance frameworks, establishing clear policies for data collection, storage, and usage, and continuous monitoring and auditing of training data.
“Many organisations also face overwhelming and siloed data volumes that lack a single source of truth. Data harmonisation will be a key priority for business leaders in order to better extract value from their data sources and effectively leverage AI. Fostering a strong data-driven company requires a focus on driving confidence, and ultimately trust, to drive adoption.”
Data will continue to get democratised … and smarter
“While analytics and dashboards are used widely to meet performance management needs, getting personalised insights for knowledge workers remains a challenge,” Southard Jones, Tableau chief product officer at Salesforce, comments.
“In 2024, the focus on democratising data and analytics will take a new turn. Data and analytics will become more proactive by automatically identifying anomalies in underlying business data, delivering insights in natural language, and providing users with the ability to ask questions and get answers quickly, without pulling in a data analyst.”
There will be a notable rise in the importance of design for enhancing customer experiences, product value, and market fit
According to Ethan Eisman, senior vice-president: design at Slack: “There is a growing need to recognize the critical role of design in achieving goals and delivering products that customers not only find useful but enjoy using.
“The overall user experience will be paramount and teams will need to take customer feedback into account and instill a design process to include prototyping, a commitment to user experience, and continuous improvement.
“This shift will reflect a deeper commitment to the craft and personality of software brands and build stronger connections with customers.”
A new era of cyber defence will take shape to address new threats.
“As AI advances, we will continue to see more AI-powered attempts to infiltrate and exploit systems across the entire digital ecosystem,” says Kelly McCracken, senior vice-president: detection and response at Salesforce. “Bad actors are using the technology for everything from code generation, password cracking, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, and identifying misconfigurations, to social engineering and deep fakes.
“On the other hand, AI can help companies automate tedious tasks like recognizing anomalies, detecting fraud and phishing attempts, and predicting behaviours. This not only allows security teams to increase their efficiency, but to also identify threats quickly, on a large scale, and shorten response times.” –