When it comes to the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), the Government has made its stance clear: the º£½ÇÊÓƵ could and should be a leader and its AI Opportunities Action Plan introduced at the beginning of the year will provide a route to realise this.
The plan recognises the transformative potential of AI in modernising public services by using technology to streamline processes.
As the public sector begins to make these changes, private enterprises in the West Midlands are already looking ahead.
KPMG's inaugural Private Enterprise Barometer, published in December, revealed that, of all the º£½ÇÊÓƵ regions, private firms in the West Midlands are the most likely to be investing in AI in the future.
In fact, 83 per cent of those surveyed were already making these plans, compared to the national average of 73 per cent.
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While it may seem challenging to keep up with the fast-moving opportunities AI offers, the most successful firms are those that see technology as an investment in their long-term resilience and growth, rather than a cost.
To unlock these benefits, it is important to introduce AI as a supplement to existing strengths, rather than starting from the ground up.
And this is where the Midlands' renowned manufacturing and engineering strengths can really shine. Our region is ripe for AI-led growth.
We recently published a report with º£½ÇÊÓƵTN which found that AI investment in our pre-eminent sectors - manufacturing and engineering - will be essential if our region's tech sector is to reach its target of achieving a £100 billion valuation by 2030.
We are fortunate to have one of the most vibrant and fast-growing tech sectors in the country, with more than 300 specialist AI businesses on patch that collectively employ over 11,000 people.
But more still needs to be done to take full advantage of AI and the first step for realising this will be getting business leaders on board. Cutting through the noise of discussions on AI to get to the core of the tech's benefits for business is key.
In engineering and manufacturing, AI has the potential to transform routine jobs like production scheduling while also optimising supply chains and even improving talent acquisition by identifying skills gaps and training needs.
Indeed, all businesses aim to increase efficiency in the workplace which is one of AI's particular points of strength.
Real life examples of this include introducing AI chatbots to improve customer experience, using AI to enter, manage and process data and also to monitor social media platforms.
On top of streamlining daily tasks that are often the biggest drain on employee time and resources, AI can also be used to carry out planning tasks, such as forecasting sales by considering multiple variable factors, providing businesses with long-term frameworks to give them a clearer picture of what the future could look like.
At the same time, AI can significantly reduce costs while also increasing revenue. For companies offering products, AI can be a key tool for inventory management, mitigating the prospect of overstocking costs.
Similarly, intelligent predictive maintenance systems can take the guesswork out of operations, reducing equipment downtime and repair costs.
Online, the use of AI can boost revenue by personalising and improving the customer journey all the way to check out. Finally, from a marketing perspective, the insight generated by AI can be used to help with timely product or service launches.
Ultimately, firms can leverage AI in a whole raft of areas - but planning is key. Once a company has set its sights on the uses of AI it can best capitalise on, it needs to have a reliable data structure in place - one that's customised and can be used to assess where any shortfalls in data quality and data integration lie.
Using this intel and experimenting with AI technology can lead to some quick and easy wins before scaling up to processes that will have a meaningful and direct impact on revenues or costs - and that are reliant on high volumes of data and insight - for maximum impact.
Businesses also need to focus on upskilling their workforce. The power of AI can be transformational - serving to boost productivity, enhance collaboration and ultimately create jobs.
However, it's essential the entire workforce embraces this era of change. By creating a data-led culture and investing in education and training, staff will be more likely to get behind the AI-drive.
Those firms that do this successfully can then reinvest productivity gains back into their workforce. AI opportunities in the region's businesses are vast and the momentum is undeniable.
By nurturing talent, continuing investment in new technologies and embracing novel ways of working, it offers the best opportunity to address sluggish growth and provide new opportunities for the region to prosper.
Andy Bostock is senior partner in the Birmingham office of KPMG
