IT companies and consulting firms are on a relentless quest to stay innovative in a rapidly evolving digital world. Industries worldwide are embracing the digital landscape, using AI to help transform their operations and adapt to new challenges.

Digital transformation integrates digital technologies into all operational areas, streamlining processes, enhancing customer interactions, fostering a forward-thinking work culture, and improving overall strategic planning. By embracing digital transformation, companies have the potential to save money while maximizing efficiency.

A Grim Reality: Economic Challenges and Layoffs

In response to economic challenges, including significant layoffs in the tech sector, companies must innovate and adapt swiftly. Digital transformation, especially through AI, provides a lifeline.

In 2023, 1,186 tech companies laid off 262,682 employees and this year alone, 168 tech companies have laid off 42,324 employees. Major consulting firms are also at risk. This is forcing them to stay ahead of the curve and innovate before it is too late.

Why Digital Transformation Matters

Digital transformation, especially when incorporating AI, can be a strategic solution for the challenges in the tech sphere. Imagine this: a mid-sized IT company experiencing fast-declining revenues and an increase in operational costs integrates AI into its workflow. AI acts as a catalyst to streamline processes and reduce manual errors while freeing up time for employees to focus on more strategic tasks. This results in increased productivity, efficiency and profitability. This is what companies need to stay ahead of competition.

By 2027, AI tools are expected to be used for digital transformation to cut process costs in half and reduce modernization expenses by 70%.

But despite its potential, digital transformation is much more difficult for companies to adopt than it seems. Only 35% of businesses have successfully adopted digital transformation efforts which highlights a pressing issue: many organizations are not fully prepared to embrace digital change and integration.

The Challenges: Skills Gap and Readiness

According to recent surveys, 54% of IT professionals believe their organizations lack the necessary IT skills or transformation expertise to properly adopt digital processes. Further, 56% of IT leaders do not feel prepared to handle digital transformation disruptions, and more than 70% of IT experts do not see their company’s IT attributes as supportive of rapid generative AI adoption.

Without a skilled workforce that’s well-versed in AI and other digital technologies, organizations will naturally struggle to keep up with the constant changes digital transformation requires.

The Benefits: Reduced Costs and Efficiency

While many IT companies don’t feel readily prepared for digital transformation, it doesn’t take away its benefits. AI-driven technology has the potential to cut company costs and improve efficiency. It does this by automating routine tasks, analyzing large volumes of data to inform better decision-making, and optimizing resource allocation. 69% of IT decision-makers believe that digital transformation can boost process efficiency. Additionally, 39% of organizations are expanding their utilization of AI – meaning more companies are recognizing the value of AI to help them reach their goals. Simply put, digital transformation through AI can ultimately help save a company’s future.

Strategies for Successful Digital Transformation

While adopting new technologies can seem daunting, companies who open their doors to the world of digital transformation will find new opportunities. To overcome the challenges and reap its benefits, organizations can consider adopting several key strategies:

1. Invest in Strong Data Systems: Reliable data systems are essential for supporting AI initiatives. Investing in scalable and flexible data solutions helps companies effectively manage and use data.
2. Build a Skilled Workforce: Companies have to invest in ongoing training and learning programs to equip their teams with the skills needed for AI and digital technologies.
3. Focus on Talent Retention: Keeping skilled employees on the team is extremely important. They are needed to train new hires effectively. Creating a supportive work environment helps with this.
4. Create Internal Task Force: Companies can also create task forces centered around AI where teams can work together to experiment and develop new ideas quickly. This approach encourages a flexible and creative work culture to help companies innovate faster and stay competitive.
5. Use AI to Increase Flexibility: Embracing AI can make organizations more adaptable and responsive, which is key to handling the complexities of digital transformation.

The Role of Digital Transformation Firms

Companies that want to make the most of AI and digital transformation can also consult digital transformation firms. These firms specialize in digital and tech transformations and act as catalysts for organizational change – offering expertise in AI services, data engineering, and cloud operations. Partnering with these specialists allows organizations to  accelerate their digital transformation journey and stay ahead of the competition.

Digital transformation is the future of business. By embracing it now, companies can turn challenges into growth opportunities and thrive in the evolving digital landscape. IT companies looking to protect and evolve their operations can rely on this approach to ultimately tackle economic challenges and layoffs. By investing in skill building, promoting innovation and planning accordingly, organizations can turn the challenges they face to opportunities of growth. While adopting digital transformation strategies may be difficult now, it is the future of business. Companies who embrace it can thrive in the evolving digital landscape.

About BlueCloud    

BlueCloud is not just another entity in the cloud computing space; it stands as a trailblazer in the digital transformation revolution. Positioned as architects of the future, BlueCloud leads the way for enterprises seeking to thrive in the digital age with its bold vision and unwavering commitment to innovation. The company’s comprehensive portfolio, encompassing avant-garde AI services, data engineering solutions, and transformative digital strategies, has propelled businesses into a new era, resulting in a staggering 185% year-over-year revenue growth and securing a valuation surpassing $100 million, thanks to its partnership with Hudson Hill Capital. By serving titans of various industries and forging collaborations with technology behemoths like Snowflake and ThoughtSpot, BlueCloud has demonstrated its prowess in navigating the intricacies of the digital domain. More than merely transforming businesses, BlueCloud is on a mission to reshape the digital landscape itself, one innovative cloud solution at a time. Visit www.blue.cloud.    

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Introduction:

Murali, Could you begin by providing us with an introduction and detailing your career trajectory as the Senior Vice President, Engineering at Skillsoft?

I joined Skillsoft in 2016 as the VP of engineering after a career spanning over two decades at IBM, where I led the build out of large-scale enterprise solutions and innovative software products. 2016 was an exciting time to join Skillsoft as the learning industry was undergoing major disruption. To stay competitive, Skillsoft was in the process of building an innovative, AI-driven learning platform called Percipio. With the support of a new leadership team, we were able to build the platform from the ground up and bring it to market within a year.  

The project involved not only building a new product but changing the culture and operations of our technology team, including the launch of a new tech stack built on the AWS public cloud infrastructure. Over the past years, we have grown the product family and organization to include new products and services, and in the process, took ownership to transform the cloud operations organization. 

We managed to modernize how we build, deploy, and support our products in the cloud through continuous integration and deployment to deliver new capabilities to the market at lightning speed while maintaining a highly secure, resilient, and performant learning platform that serves millions of learners. 

Over the years, we built a strong culture of innovation within our engineering team, which is one of the most exciting parts of my job today. Every quarter, we do an innovation sprint, where team members organically produce ideas to advance platform capabilities. Our philosophy is to establish a grassroots mindset to produce innovative ideas that solve our customers’ business problems and improve experiences for our learners. Many of our AI and machine learning innovations have come out of this process, helping to make our platform smarter and our learning experiences more personalized.  

Can you provide a brief introduction to CAISY (Conversation AI Simulator) and its role in Skillsoft’s offerings?

CAISY, which is an AI-based conversation simulator that helps learners build business and leadership skills, was born out of one of our innovation sprints. The original idea was implemented on a simple terminal text-based interface using GPT 3.5, though we saw the power of the concept and decided to progress it to be customer-facing. Skillsoft launched CAISY out of beta in September using generative AI and GPT 4, to help learners practice and role model various business conversations. While Skillsoft has extensive learning content on how business, management, and leadership conversations should be handled, learners can now practice and apply these skills in real time. Developments in generative AI allow us to leverage our knowledge and expertise in this area while providing a hands-on environment for our learners, so that they can practice conversational skills in a safe and secure zone before implementing them in the real world.   

Overview of CAISY: 

How does CAISY simulate real-world conversations, and what types of scenarios can it be used for?

CAISY is built around a system of AI agents that power, simulate, and evaluate the conversation. We have guardrails to ensure that the conversations are on topic, safe, and unbiased. Different AI agents act as subjects and actors, emulating different roles so that the end-to-end conversation mimics a real-world conversation.  

In our initial launch, CAISY offered ten conversation scenarios for practice, including topics across performance management, sales motion, change management, and more. As we continue to build and release more scenarios, we are focusing on key areas like first-time managers and coaching. For example, we’ve found that 60% of first-time managers fail to meet their performance goals in their first two years on the job and 52% struggle with giving feedback to their team members. We believe CAISY can make an enormous impact for our customers in these critical areas.  

What are the key benefits that organizations and learners can expect to derive from using CAISY in their training programs?

CAISY provides a personalized simulated and interactive experience where learners can practice and test their business conversation skills in real time. The evaluation and feedback from CAISY provide a clear understanding of the learner’s conversational and communication abilities. We provide learning resources based on the learner’s skill levels and provide personalized recommendations and pathways to improve their knowledge and capabilities. Organizations can analyze the skill level of their business leaders and implement learning strategies to advance their workforce.  

Using AI Ethically and Responsibly: 

Ethical use of AI, particularly in training and learning applications, is a growing concern. How does Skillsoft ensure that CAISY mitigates biases in training data and maintains ethical AI practices throughout its operation?

Ethical use of AI is a fundamental principle for everything we build. We’ve developed a system of guardrails and test methodologies to ensure that these conversations are unbiased, safe, and relevant for learners. These guardrails ensure that any deviations within the conversations that are found to be unsafe, biased or unethical are immediately stopped. 

Given your expertise, could you shed light on the ethical considerations you personally emphasize when working with AI and technology in education?

Generative AI is here to stay and will continue to evolve at a rapid pace over the next few years. I anticipate Gen AI becoming a necessary tool for future productivity needs, like how email and Excel emerged as critical parts of our daily work lives. Just as GenAI itself will become necessary in the future of work, so too is the need for AI ethics at the organizational and individual level. Organizations that incorporate AI ethics into their corporate DNA – via how they build products and educate their employees – will be most successful.  

Finally, Murali, what advice would you give to aspiring professionals who are looking to follow in your footsteps and make an impact in the field of AI-driven education and technology?

Think big. Imagine ideas that seem impossible today but may be possible in the future. From there, build things step by step.  As they say, Rome was not built in a day. Embrace change, be curious and become a lifelong learner to grow and keep your skills on pace with innovation. Be a technologist at heart and build things to make a difference to the world. 

Murali Sastry

SVP Engineering at Skillsoft

Murali Sastry is a seasoned IT executive with 20+ years of experience in leading large-scale engineering organizations and developing innovative products. Currently residing in Westford, MA, Murali has a strong history of building transformative software products and teams. As the SVP of Engineering at Skillsoft, Murali manages a global team of engineers developing and supporting Skillsoft’s learning platforms. Under his leadership, Skillsoft launched the award-winning AI-powered learning platform “Percipio.”  Before joining Skillsoft, Murali worked at IBM for 20+ years where he was instrumental in competitive SaaS products such as IBM Connections, IBM Sametime, Bluepages and building W3 – IBM’s intranet and workplace for 400K employees. Murali is a proven leader, distinguished by his ability to inspire and manage high-performing teams in today’s dynamic IT landscape. Murali has a Bachelor’s in Electronics from JNTU, India and an MBA from Babson Olin School of Management.

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