What UAE enterprises with AI plans must do – put data first

Over four centuries ago, Francis Bacon, the Former Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain said, “Knowledge is power. The real test of knowledge is not whether it is true but whether it empowers us.

“Scientists usually assume that no theory is 100% correct. Truth, consequently, is a poor test for knowledge. The real test is utility. A theory that enables us to do new things constitutes knowledge.”

Data is the raw material from which information is derived and information is the processed and organized form of data that is meaningful. While leaders have stressed the power of data for centuries, its effective utilization has been a persistent challenge.

In today's AI-driven landscape, data is the cornerstone of unlocking an enterprise's full potential. To realize their AI visions, enterprises must prioritize data readiness.

The UAE has positioned itself as an AI hub, with initiatives like the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031, driving innovation across sectors. Enterprises in the UAE are investing in new technologies for increased productivity to give them a competitive advantage in the race, with AI integration and Generative AI promising to revolutionize their operations by automating processes, improving decision-making, and creating new revenue streams. However, the road to AI integration is fraught with challenges.

Many enterprises don’t have a solid plan for AI implementation and even lack reliable data foundation tactics that could enable them to leverage technology safely and with added value. Without a clear AI roadmap and robust data foundation, it will be difficult to address issues such as data silos, inaccuracies, poor governance, and quality concerns.

Prioritizing data readiness

To effectively leverage AI, enterprises must first address their data readiness challenges. The initial step involves improving data accessibility by establishing a single source of truth, leveraging hybrid cloud infrastructure, and implementing robust data governance. This ensures data is discoverable, accessible, and organized for optimal utilization.

The second phase focuses on creating an AI-ready storage environment. This necessitates adopting a disaggregated storage architecture and prioritizing low latency. By optimizing storage for both capacity and performance, enterprises can effectively support demanding AI workloads.

The final stage involves strengthening data security, automating data cleansing processes, and establishing ongoing data governance to maintain data quality and protect sensitive information.

Data is cornerstone of AI progress

Many enterprises face the ‘data dilemma’. While possessing abundant data, it's frequently fragmented, unstructured, and siloed. AI offers a solution by uncovering hidden patterns within this data, enabling enterprises to make informed decisions and optimize operations.

Data silos pose another challenge, a setback for value extraction. Once accessible, data must be effectively prepared for AI training. Building AI systems involves multiple stages, each with its complexities: data gathering, refinement, model construction, tuning, and deployment. Overcoming these challenges is crucial for successful AI implementation.

Regulatory guidelines, like the Dubai Data Strategy, can help organizations address these challenges to develop and implement a culture of seamless and secure data sharing and evidence-based decision-making. The strategy provides policies, checklists and toolkits that serve as a directive for all involved in the sharing of data.

An example of this is the Dubai Data Policies, which contain a series of data manuals and data standards, providing standards that cover most elements of data use, governance, and sharing that help organizations comply with the Dubai Data Law and advance their data readiness.

UAE enterprises must be data-driven

Whatever route the UAE enterprises choose to tackle their data challenges, maintaining focus and momentum will be critical. The journey to AI can be complex and confusing, however, once you have established a solid AI foundation including infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and your target, you can extract value of your data a lot faster, and those investments you made will start to pay off.

Ahmad Alkhallafi

The writer is Managing Director, UAE and Africa, Hewlett Packard Enterprise.