Innovative Use Cases: Enterprises unlock the benefits of AI, IoT and other cutting-edge solutions

Enterprises across various sectors accelerated growth by adopting cutting-edge technologies during 2023. They integrated new-age technology solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), generative AI (GenAI), internet of things (IoT), cloud computing and edge computing to enhance their operational performance as well as customer experience. Alongside the rapid evolution of these technologies, however, cybersecurity emerged as a crucial concern. Technology heads of leading enterprises share their insights on leveraging new technologies, and discuss private 5G adoption, emerging cybersecurity challenges and the way forward…

How have enterprises leveraged new-age technologies such as AI/ML, cloud computing, edge computing, GenAI and IoT to accelerate the digital transformation in 2023?

Kishore A.K.

In 2023, the media and entertainment sector embarked on an exploratory journey of adopting emerging technologies. It was primarily driven by the dual imperative of enhancing revenue and controlling cost. It involved laying the foundation for transformation across the media value chain, in collaboration with ecosystem partners.

AI/ML and, in particular, Gen AI, demonstrated the potential to unlock productivity through human-in-the-loop co-pilot and media workflow efficiency gains. It seamlessly integrates into the media value chain for content creation, personalised distribution of content and advertisement, subscription nudge, enhanced recommendations and cybersecurity threat detection.

Cloud computing served as a fundamental enabler of shifting the content supply chain to cloud, paving the way for streamlining the entire content life cycle, data unification and integration of AI/ML models. Depending on the solution maturity, certain workloads have already migrated, and it will continue.

Edge computing’s real-time processing demonstrated low latency and high quality augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) applications. It also helps in reducing the data transfer risk and associated cybersecurity threats to valuable media assets.

Srikanth Appana

In 2023, enterprises made significant strides in leveraging modern technologies such as AI/ML, cloud computing, edge computing, GenAI and IoT, thereby expediting their digital transformation efforts.

AI and ML witnessed widespread adoption, with robust tools emerging during the second year, aiding in unlocking value and providing a competitive edge. IBM’s innovative AI, quantum computing and industry-specific cloud solutions demonstrated a commitment to transparency, trust and inclusivity. Further, cloud computing became more central to business operations. Azure AI illustrated its potential in building, training, and deploying models from the cloud to the edge. Azure AI Studio established itself as a significant platform for developing GenAI solutions and custom AI helpers.

GenAI has also gained traction, with predictions that over 80 per cent of enterprises would make use of GenAI application programming interfaces (APIs) or deploy GenAI-enabled applications by 2026. IoT evolved further, aided by the advent of edge computing. Edge computing enhanced the efficiency and strength of IoT by directing enterprise applications closer to data sources, reducing the latency of data processing and decision-making.

Continuing advancements in these areas suggest that the digital transformation of enterprises is an ongoing, constantly evolving process, driven by the unique abilities and potentialities of these technologies.

Shobhana Lele

Almost every organisation has considered adopting one or another technology relevant to their business and the type of industry. For instance, AI/ML or GenAI technologies see rapid adoption in the BFSI or FMCG sectors, while information technology (IT)/operational technology (OT) and edge computing are gaining traction in manufacturing industries. Enterprises leverage these technologies to drive transformation within their organisation for employees as well as outside the organisation for customers and partners. The start of the journey may be slow, but once it gains momentum, transformation happens rapidly.

Pramod Mundra

In 2023, enterprises leveraged cutting-edge technologies such as AI/ML, cloud computing, edge computing, GenAI and IoT to expedite their digital transformation, marking the first full year of unrestricted in-person collaborations post-pandemic. This period of face-to-face interactions with colleagues, customers and partners fostered discussions on future business growth.

Organisations eagerly experimented with advanced technologies, including GenAI, edge computing and zero-trust frameworks, moving towards commercialising numerous pilot projects. This was particularly evident in fields such as cybersecurity, customer experience enhancement and operational efficiency. The focus was on applying these technologies to address tangible business challenges, rather than merely adopting new technologies for their novelty. By 2023, many businesses had successfully identified the emerging technologies that were most relevant to their goals, paving the way for strategic investments aimed at rapid scaling.

Cloud computing, in particular, emerged as the preferred platform for new deployments, signalling a shift from traditional infrastructure management towards optimisation, and maximising value. This transformation indicates a redefinition of traditional skills towards leveraging the full potential of digital technologies.

What are your views on private 5G adoption for enterprises?

Kishore A.K.

The adoption of private 5G in the media and entertainment sector holds significant promise. Media broadcast is the next frontier for private network adoption with the potential to elevate the capacity, certainty and quality of services.

The primary focus is on revolutionising the broadcast of in-stadium live and sports events while redefining audience engagement in global live concerts of million concurrencies. Ensuring improved connectivity, high quality streaming, immersive and augmented experiences, and enhanced engagement are also key focus areas.

Although at a nascent stage, enterprises are utilising AR/VR to create immersive and experiential storytelling, reshaping the gaming landscape with ultra-realistic virtual worlds, and redefining audience engagement. Brands are placing virtual ads and billboards within the metaverse.

Srikanth Appana

Private 5G networks can offer businesses a powerful tool for digital transformation, providing enhanced control and customisation that public networks often lack. Enterprises must, however, weigh the benefits against their individual requirements, resources and regulatory context.

• Speed and capacity: 5G networks substantially surpass 4G in terms of both speed and capacity. For data-driven industries, this means smoother operations and faster, more efficient data processing.

• Enhanced security: The controlled nature of private 5G networks increases security. The potential for network isolation implies a reduced risk of internet-based threats.
• Ultra-low latency: 5G offers unprecedented low latency, driving real-time communication. This feature is a boon for industries that rely on immediate information exchanges, such as auto­nomous vehicles and advanced robotics.
• Empowering IoT and Industry 4.0: 5G networks can significantly influence IoT devices and Industry 4.0. The massive bandwidth and speeds and low latency typical of 5G networks make them critical for effectively managing large-scale IoT ecosystems in real time.

The adoption of private 5G for enterprises looks promising but requires a strategic and thoughtful approach. A measured perspective and careful planning will be critical to their successful deployment in the business ecosystem over the coming years.

Shobhana Lele

5G may increase the adoption of technologies such as edge computing. It is currently at a preliminary stage and, therefore, it is too soon to predict its success due to the infrastructure requirements involved. The metaverse is still at the early stages of evaluation. While some organisations have adopted it, it will take a little longer to drive use cases and business cases for many organisations to enable its adoption.

“Investing in a security tool that spans or integrates the entire coverage area will greatly minimise the efforts required by security teams.”
Shobhana Lele

Pramod Mundra

Private 5G is expected to play a key role in digital transformation, as it enables next-generation innovation and collaboration. However, in India, regulatory guidance on the sourcing of spectrum will affect the adoption of this transformative technology.

From a utility point of view, private 5G networks will grant companies access to spectrum for a connectivity network that will only be accessible within its facility or infrastructure. This will allow companies to customise an internal network to exact required configurations, including cybersecurity standards, latency and bandwidth. Moreover, private networks reduce concerns around network congestion, and allow close monitoring of a closed-loop network free from external interferences. For the democratisation of private 5G, it must be commercially attractive, or else telecom operators may leave no stone unturned to meet their customers’ demands.

My view is that the time for the metaverse is a little away, maybe three to five years; however, it is not a journey that one would want to miss. All the pieces of the metaverse puzzle, such as platform, content, hardware and operating system (OS), are yet to come together, and there may not even be a “winner takes all” level of player. In the interim, enterprises must actively keep exploring the possibilities of the metaverse without allocating a large share of resources to this medium.

What are the cybersecurity trends in the industry? What measures are you taking to ensure data privacy and security in your organisation?

Kishore A.K.

The cybersecurity landscape is rapidly evolving due to the extensive growth of technology adoption, global connectivity and cloud services, coupled with the increasing influence of AI. A major focus area is zero-trust architecture and advanced threat exposure management.

Our primary commitment revolves around content security for both our partners as well as our 100 million monthly active user base. In a recent strategic move, we have overhauled our cloud infrastructure. This includes migrating to a leading cloud service provider and transitioning to a zero-trust architecture.

In addition, we have fortified playback and compliance through scalable digital rights management.

To further enhance our cybersecurity measures, we have adopted clean room technologies for secure data sharing between enterprises and cookie-less advertising to safeguard user information.

Layered on top of it is a data-driven AI/ML intelligence and reporting to spot in advance the trends and patterns of potential threats and piracy in every aspect of our digital footprint. Our coverage extends to devices, applications, service platforms and content delivery networks incorporating features such as automatic content recognition, profiling, scanning, fingerprinting and automatic Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

“Media broadcast is the next frontier for private network adoption, with its potential to elevate the capacity, certainty and quality of services.”
Kishore A.K.

Srikanth Appana

As the digital age continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, so does the complexity and threat level of cybercrimes. The increasingly interconnected world has opened up new avenues for hackers, requiring businesses to step up their security efforts like never before. To remain one step ahead, it is vital for enterprises to keep abreast of the latest industry trends in cybersecurity.

AI and ML are being increasingly leveraged in cybersecurity solutions to analyse threats and predict potential vulnerabilities. Sophisticated AI-powered systems are now capable of detecting and responding to threats in real time, significantly reducing potential harm. However, ironically, these same technologies also pose a threat as cybercriminals have started using AI and ML to launch more complex, automated cyberattacks. While organisations continue to defend against external threats, internal threats have seen a significant rise. With employees having access to sensitive information, the risk of data leaks, either malicious or unintentional, has been on the rise. Organisations are shifting their focus to include risk management strategies against such inside threats.

Adapting to the changing cybersecurity landscape is not just about incorporating the latest tools into a security strategy. It requires organisations to remain vigilant and proactive in understanding the shifting threat landscape, equipping themselves with a robust, dynamic security posture that can evolve with the changing times. Ultimately, a thorough understanding of these trends and their intelligent implementation will be a crucial differentiator in successful cybersecurity defence.

Shobhana Lele

Cybersecurity is beyond trends. The underlying principle is to prioritise security requirements and prevent incidents. AI is driving a lot of automation in this field to help identify potential breach areas and distinguish real alarms from a host of false positives.

The concept of zero trust is extended to data. It is not just important to secure data, it is equally important to identify access control mechanisms to prevent intentional leakage or misuse. Investing in a security tool that spans or integrates the entire coverage area will greatly minimise the efforts required by security teams. Finally, the age-old random monitoring and testing continue to ensure that the laid down processes are actually running well.

Pramod Mundra

I believe the following will be the trends in the cybersecurity space:

• More cybersecurity discussions in board­­­­­­room meetings
• AI, and GenAI-based attacks will evolve, such as deepfake audio/video and malware
• Cyberattacks in IoT, SCM and social engineering will continue to increase
• New regulations and acts for cybersecurity
• The zero-trust model will further evolve
• Cloud security for multi cloud environment (e.g., CNAPP, DevSecOps)
• Cybersecurity insurance
• User awareness and knowledge

We have implemented an effective governance risk and compliance model in line with applicable laws and regulations, including the Indian IT Act, Indian Com­puter Emergency Response Team, Reserve Bank of India, and Securities and Exchange Board of India directions, and the India Digital Personal Data Protection Act. We also leverage:

• Industry’s best risk management and information security standards/frameworks (COSO, ISO 31000, and ISO 27001: 2013)
• Defensc-in-depth, that is, implementation of management, technical and operational controls in a layered approach to protect information and information assets
• Regular vulnerability assessments
• Regular external audits (ITGC, ISO 27001, etc.) in line with applicable compliances

“Private 5G is expected to play a key role in digital transformation as it enables nextgeneration innovation and collaboration.”
Pramod Mundra

What will be the emerging trends for the enterprise segment in 2024? 

Kishore A.K.

As we step into 2024, enterprises are focused on unlocking productivity and driving growth through monetisation and profitability. The trends will revolve around scaling up AI/ML use cases, especially around operationalisation of GenAI to drive efficiency gains across value chains, and unlocking productivity with human-in-the-loop co-pilot implementation across back-office and support functions.

Automation will act as a force multiplier through AI-driven intelligent process automation, enabling systems to adapt and optimise processes dynamically. Zero touch and edge automation will gain prominence, reducing manual intervention and delivery latency respectively.

While AI implementation will proliferate, enterprises must ensure that it aligns with values such as fairness, transparency, accountability and inclusivity to mitigate potential risks and negative impacts while maximising benefits.

Data analytics will play a pivotal role in data unification, facilitating data demo­cracy while breaking down entry barriers and empowering a larger audience through self-serve capabilities. This will foster collaboration, reshape operational efficiency, and enable informed decision-making.

Cloud computing will be the foundation for the evolving technological landscape. With a comprehensive suite of computing services including storage, processing and applications that are secure by design, cloud computing will shape the way enterprises operate, interact and innovate.

Srikanth Appana

As we advance rapidly in the digital age, businesses constantly need to pivot, embracing new technologies to continue their growth and maintain their competitiveness. The trends set to define 2024 underscore the pivotal role that cutting-edge technology will play in the enterprise segment. The following are some of the transformative technologies:

• AI: It has been a game changer for enterprises for several years, and that trend is only going to magnify by 2024. We can expect AI and ML to be the backbone of many enterprise processes across sectors, providing a competitive edge with their predictive prowess, personalised customer engagement, operational efficiency and robust decision-making support.
• Extended reality (XR): An umbrella that includes AR, VR and mixed reality (MR), will come to the forefront. With AR and VR devices becoming more accessible, enterprises could leverage them for immersive training, customer engagement, virtual collaboration and product visualisation.
• Hybrid cloud: The adoption of hybrid cloud infrastructure is expected to maintain its momentum in 2024. Hybrid cloud offers the benefits of both public and private clouds. By keeping sensitive data secure in private clouds while using public clouds for high-volume, less sensitive data, a hybrid set-up offers balance, flexibility and scalability.
• The technological advances in drones, robotics, vehicles and appliances suggest that by 2024 a world full of autonomous things is not far-fetched. These auton­o­mous entities will significantly influence manufacturing, logistics, retail and several other sectors.

“The digital transformation of enterprises is an ongoing, constantly evolving process.”
Srikanth Appana

Shobhana Lele

I expect the following technologies to take centre stage:

• Cloud: Cloud is a never-ending journey. One must keep evolving, adapting and adopting in this journey.
• IT/OT: The manufacturing industry is catching up with new technologies. There will be more sustained efforts in identifying process areas for automation within the manufacturing industry.
• Customer experience (CX)/User experience (UX): Efforts in personalisation and customisation will continue to remain relevant.
• Cybersecurity: This would run horizontally across most initiatives and will continue to see investments and innovations to minimise and mitigate risks.
• Embedded AI: Embedded AI in most of the technologies is what CIOs would look for. AI has to be inherent in all technologies’ evaluation and implementation.

Pramod Mundra

According to several industry reports and our experiences, we believe the following will be the emerging trends:

• Proliferation of use cases leveraging GenAI
• Personalisation-at-a-scale and in a cost-effective manner
• Customer experience revolution with zero channel boundaries
• Remote and distributed work
• Business resilience and agility to operate in uncertain conditions.