Yet compared with many private sector industries, it鈥檚 fair to say that public sector adoption of AI technology has been more measured. Governments and other public sector organisations face a number of significant challenges, from the availability of skills and investment funding, to demonstrating value and ensuring transparency about how decisions are made.

These challenges are reflected in the 麻豆原创 Institute for Digital Government鈥檚 latest report 鈥撀犅犫�� developed in partnership with the University of Queensland. While 80 per cent of public sector organisations are actively working towards data-driven transformation, fewer than 15 per cent have progressed beyond prototypes.

In order to drive greater uptake, the public sector needs to develop best practice frameworks and solutions for the development and use of AI systems that are accurate, robust, and scalable, but also reliable, fair, and transparent.

When building AI systems to meet these high levels of expectation, it鈥檚 vital that public sector workers are able to understand how these systems generate decisions and explain how this impacts results. This is known as AI explainability.

Read more of the article on Government News .

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Here are excerpts from their conversation, which was part of a series of innovation hosted by Pete Andrew, chief operating officer at .

Tech narrows the CX divide

Like everything else in the post-pandemic market, a personalized, seamless customer experience begins with data and ends with relevant action. However, a global CX survey conducted by Harvard Business Publishing, showed significant gaps between organisational CX priorities and actual implementations.

For example, 99 percent of respondents agreed that delivering a high quality customer experience was important to business performance. Yet fewer than one-third of executives said their organizations were very effective in delivering a good customer experience. In another gap, most respondents believed CX plays a key role in business performance, while only two-thirds of organisations had a clear, coherent customer experience strategy understood across the company. The top obstacles to delivering solid CX included organisational silos, lack of data integration and data quality, and the inability to find meaningful data.

鈥淭he bottom line is that consumers will continue to expect more from all companies in terms of choice, convenience, and personalisation,鈥� said Todd Pruzan, senior editor, research and special projects at Harvard Business Review Analytic Services. 鈥淭o effectively deliver on CX, organisations must significantly narrow the gap between the implementation and adoption of technology. Firms need to be flexible with secure app development technology and data management infrastructure that can quickly scale to meet and anticipate customer demand.鈥�

Learnings from Zespri鈥檚 connected data-driven strategy

Zespri, the world鈥檚 largest marketer of kiwi fruit, relies on integrated data to drive product quality, improve worker productivity and responsiveness, and enhance the customer experience. Headquartered in New Zealand, the company鈥檚 digital-first strategy is built on connected ERP fundamentals, along with targeted innovations.

鈥淲e鈥檙e on the journey of a transformation program to simplify our business processes, standardise our master data, and really drive off that new core capability,鈥� said David Scullin, chief digital officer at Zespri. 鈥淲e operate in a premium fruit market, making quality incredibly important as we measure every aspect of fruit, and even ripen it through our supply chain.鈥�

One innovation involves robotics that capture kiwi fruit images under their canopies. Data and insights produced from the images helps Zespri predict fruit volumes. Future plans involve combining this data with orchard management, climate, and other internal and external data, which will allow the company to better predict fruit quality for supply chain optimization and improved consumer experience.

鈥淥riginal business use cases change over time,鈥� said Scullin. 鈥淵ou need that underlying capability to move ahead with change in synch with new use cases. It鈥檚 not just about analytics. High quality data is the fuel of automated, productive, responsive processes, from vine to plate.鈥�

How to foster a data-driven culture

To successfully compete in New Zealand鈥檚 retail energy market, Mercury became a data-led organization. A suite of advanced analytics power the company鈥檚 evolving retail strategy and tactics. Mercury uses this constant feedback loop of data to proactively target at-risk customers, make customers more profitable, and deliver a better experience. By embedding data scientists and analysts within teams, Mercury makes data-driven decision-making an integral part of the entire CX process.

鈥淲e wanted to break out of that constant [customer] switching cycle for short-term gain without long-term profitability鈥o focus on acquiring and more importantly, keeping those higher value customers,鈥� said Julia Jack, chief marketing officer at Mercury. 鈥淲e needed to understand who those customers were, what they wanted, and the real drivers of long-term customer value鈥e encourage [our] people to use the data to find the opportunity. It鈥檚 not just about justifying an already held belief. You have to ask the right questions and see where the data leads you.鈥�

Quality data drives CX and business excellence

As every company has learned during the past year, technology fuels business resiliency. The good news from the same Harvard study was that 66 percent of respondents reported their technology kept workers connected with access to data and tools, and 47 percent said a big impact was the ability to continue improving CX 鈥� even during the pandemic. The perfect customer experience will always be aspirational, but technology, applied correctly, can deliver the connected data organizations need for a personalised, meaningful customer experience.

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To watch the Procurement Reimagined session with BHP’s Chief Procurement Officer, Sundeep Singh, you can .

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This post has a different twist 鈥� let鈥檚 look at why and how you can foster change and the art of innovation in your company by driving your company with data.

Background: data is a good thing

We鈥檝e been talking about being evidence-based, fact-based, and data-based for decades, but if you鈥檙e not up to speed with this, you aren鈥檛 alone. According to NewVantage Partners鈥� study, 69% of companies have failed to create a data-driven organization.

There is an avalanche of studies that support the business benefits, including this Forrester report indicates that data-driven companies grow at an average of more than 30 percent annually and are on track to earn $1.8 trillion by 2021.

Forrester did another study that concluded that businesses that rely on data management tools to make decisions are 58% more likely to beat their revenue goals than non-data driven companies.

Being data-driven isn鈥檛 only about revenue results. There鈥檚 also transparency and fairness. If everyone has access to the data driving decisions, we can establish reasonable data ethics policies that create even playing fields.

Why companies haven鈥檛 succeeded at this data-driven change

In my upcoming keynote at 麻豆原创鈥檚 , I鈥檒l give you real inspiration and tips so you can get started. That鈥檚 the hard part, right? A few sneak peeks:

1. This isn鈥檛 corporate altruism. The culture change, funding, and language start at the top. How do you do that? Attach your initiatives to real business outcomes. (No, 鈥渁gility鈥� is not a business outcome.) Here鈥檚 a highlight from McKinsey on how ShopRunner鈥檚 CEO made the change.

For tips on speaking the language of business, securing on-going funding, and getting buy-in from your executives, check out this free Data strategy master class.

In the end, this is a culture change. You need executives to model the right behavior, which requires you to get them analytics without days of manual assembly. You need executives to ask ad hoc questions of their analytics and brainstorm with other board members on innovative solutions. Are you there yet?

2. To understand what is possible, survey the current technology landscape for data and analytics offerings. Web searches are easy. The hard part is accurately assessing where you are now. Luckily, there are free assessment tools, including 麻豆原创鈥檚 Next Generation Database & Data Management Assessment, which offers a unique approach to enable best-in-class database & data management processes in support of strategic priorities.

3. Join 麻豆原创鈥檚 and you鈥檒l be able to schedule one-on-one time with industry veterans to discuss how to renovate your data landscape, and even put your hands on some free software trials.

Therefore, what?

Your supply chain is challenged. Your revenue model is under pressure. Your employees are dealing with unprecedented challenges. Do you know what you need to solve all of those problems? Real-time data and data literacy to interpret that data.

All the supply chain optimization, new business models, collaboration models, and new markets require timely and intuitive access to data to drive innovative ideas. It鈥檚 a mistake to entrust these ideas to only data geeks.

The goal is to be able to answer a simple question and foster innovation to jump to the next curve. The question is, 鈥淭herefore, what?鈥�

Data management is the 鈥渢herefore鈥� part. It enables you to see what鈥檚 happening to your organization, to see what trends are shaping the reality of your customers, and to read the tea leaves to understand what your opportunities.

Then you can take these insights and create the 鈥渨hat.鈥� In other words, what new products, services, and practices will enable you to meet and exceed the needs of your customers and 鈥渄ent the universe.鈥�

I invite you to and the entire for inspiration, encouragement, practical tips, and advice from other customers. Ask me questions. Ask the other presenters questions. Come away in two days with a plan that will motivate and drive your business.

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This was the message presented by the Hon Matt Kean, Minister for Energy & Environment in the New South Wales State Government, at the opening of the Pumped Hydro and Battery Storage conference held in Sydney recently. The conference attendees represented all facets of the energy industry, from consulting engineers through to the public sector, who were all there to discuss the latest developments in energy storage and sustainable power.

This view of the future 鈥� where seizing the opportunity presented by clean energy is an economic, not just environmental imperative 鈥� was echoed by many of the conference participants. One in particular, former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, used his keynote to highlight the importance of preparing for change, which he said will be led by the 鈥渆ngineers and economists鈥� in the room.

Practically, a proactive approach to sustainable energy presents a real economic opportunity. Not only from lower emissions and household power bills, but also through the ability to grow jobs and industry, with the potential for domestic manufacturing to be supplied by near zero marginal cost power in a clean energy future.

Solar energy technology has fallen in price by 90% in the past eight years and will be a key driver of a transition to low-carbon energy. However, reliable supply won鈥檛 be achieved without important investment and development of technologies such as hydro-electricity and battery storage to firm-up capacity.

To seize the economic opportunity and mitigate the risk of unreliable supply, many of the speakers drew attention to the need for better energy forecasting. They were calls for predictions on a ten year time-scale to enable investment decisions to be made, but also forecasts on different aspects of power supply on a much shorter scale 鈥� multiple times an hour to ensure sufficient supply to meet demand, from industrial activity through to the peaks and troughs of household consumers.

At the event, 麻豆原创 presented on the possibilities provided by software to solve some fundamental aspects of the prediction problem. Our Trader鈥檚 Toolkit solution was presented by Angus McDonald, Venture Architect.

This solution comprises two tools critical to energy traders and hydro-electric operators: the ability to forecast energy prices, as well as determine the value of water for use in hydro-electric generation, with the technology able to provide real time accurate insights for both metrics.

By applying 麻豆原创鈥檚 deep Machine Learning expertise and experience in the power utilities sector, this technology greatly improves prediction, empowering employees while allowing utilities to operate intelligently, hedging price risk and ensuring efficient power generation through the insights gleaned from massive data sets.

This solution is one of many steps in ensuring a fruitful energy transition for Australia in the coming years. By empowering experts in the energy industry, we can all capitalise on the opportunities that renewable energy will bring while foreseeing and addressing potential disruptions through the power of data-driven, machine learning insights.

To find out more about the Trader鈥檚 Toolkit and 麻豆原创鈥檚 other predictive technology solutions, please contact Angus McDonald angus.mcdonald@sap.com or Eamon Fenwick eamon.fenwick@sap.com.

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In our experience-driven economy, data is the most important ingredient for crafting deeply personalised experiences and delighting customers. Yet the companies most notorious for enabling this 鈥� including digital platforms Facebook and Google 鈥� are in the spotlight after an official inquiry was launched by the ACCC. The inquiry will examine how these platforms gather information about consumers and use it to target them with highly personalised advertising online.

Many marketers may worry these developments present a Catch-22 for their work. How can businesses meet these competing demands for more personalisation and more privacy?

As a starting point, it鈥檚 safe to assume a few things. Managing customer data will become an increasingly critical trust point in any business relationship and doing so effectively will only get harder the longer you leave it. Yet the rewards for businesses that get it right will far outweigh the difficulties in doing so 鈥� and it鈥檚 best to start early than risk getting caught out.

A changing data landscape

It鈥檚 clear that consumers are increasingly recognising the power of data and are far more educated on its impact and value. They鈥檙e also far more critical of companies they think manage data badly. In fact, among Australian consumers, a whopping 78 per cent believe companies aren鈥檛 taking adequate steps to protect their personal data, according to Deloitte鈥檚 annual Media Consumer Survey. Close to nine in ten (88 per cent) say they strongly value privacy over convenience, according to a survey by Privacy Australia.

To address this shift, governments around the globe are setting new standards for how businesses can use customer data, from 2018鈥檚 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU to Australia鈥檚 Notifiable Data Breach Scheme, which requires entities to notify individuals and the Information Commissioner about data breaches that are likely to cause 鈥渟erious harm鈥�.

The ACCC added to the debate with last year鈥檚 review of loyalty schemes, such as
frequent flyer, supermarket and hotel loyalty programs, calling on businesses that offer them to improve both their data practices and how they communicate with customers, to help consumers understand how these schemes operate.

Now it is doing so again with its announcement of two new inquiries into possible anti-competitive behaviour by digital platforms, and services allowing online advertisers to target Australian internet users.

A red line from data to value

The good news is it鈥檚 easier than many businesses imagine. Start by offering customers transparency and control of their own personal data. Not only will this give customers a better understanding of your data practices but it can also let them define their own experiences, which builds trust. There鈥檚 no better partner to businesses than an informed, empowered and data-driven customer.

To achieve this kind of partnership, businesses can no longer offer vague language and promises as to what they will give in exchange for personal information. Consumers want and need to know, in the simplest language possible, exactly how their information is being used.

Businesses should speak directly to customers as individuals, giving them confidence that they are actually a part of the process of building better experiences. In retail, for example, this could include asking for location data in exchange for push notifications alerting customers to a sale if they approach their favourite store.

It鈥檚 a simple shift, but one that eliminates doubt and treats customers as partners.

Treating customers as trusted individuals

One of the major global regulatory changes around consumer data revolves around the channels and methods we use to ask for information. Under GDPR, companies with complex, multi-page user agreements can now receive a hefty fine.

Consumer data protection laws are as unique as the regions they cover, but a common goal is to create more transparent relationships between brands and customers. Giving customers the ability to pick and choose what they sign up for and which brands they engage with is an important sign of respect.

Whether it鈥檚 the 鈥渆xplicit consent鈥� requirement of GDPR or the 鈥渞ight to opt-out鈥� requirements that other global initiatives include, the underlying regulatory trend is clear: give customers the explicit ability to pick and choose what they sign up for, which brands they engage with, and the specific manner in which they wish to be engaged. Make it easy to find, simple to access, and fast to change.

That includes regular 鈥� proactively shared 鈥� options to opt-out if they have been
stuck on an email list for five years.

Handing over the reins

Another emerging trend is the creation of a centralised, intuitive portal through which customers can manage their own data. Think of it like settings on your phone. Customers would get the ability to turn specific levers on and off depending on the brand they engage with.

While these rights vary depending on the specific regulation, the common thread is clear: this is the new standard. Making it a key part of your customers鈥� experiences will show that you鈥檙e taking their data as seriously as they do.

Resetting the relationship

The global conversation around data has evolved significantly in recent years. From hacking and data breaches to exceptional data-driven customer relationships, personal information has become the foundation through which brands either succeed or fall short. With increasing scrutiny, such as the ACCC鈥檚 latest probe, you should expect the way you handle data to become increasingly visible, whether you are ready or not.

Brands can stay ahead of customer expectations and build trust by putting customer needs first, setting the highest possible bar for transparency and giving customers control and choice when it comes to their personal data.

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