This June, I had the pleasure of attending two events in Europe to discuss where Microsoft and its technology is driving us over the next 12-18 months.

One took place in Spain as part of our School of Innovation program. Hosted at the Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio (UAX) in Madrid and in partnership with its students and staff, it brought together a range of business leaders, academics and technical experts for two days of in-person learning, networking and collaboration to explore the latest developments and challenges in artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (gen AI).

In the Netherlands, we hosted clients with Microsoft at the local Envision event, which provided a valuable chance for us to connect with business leaders one-on-one as we discussed the future.

3 key considerations as we explore the new opportunity era
These discussions covered many topics including the current and future state of AI and generative AI, and how emerging technologies are creating new opportunities and responsibilities for businesses and individuals. For those adapting their business strategies and ways of working to this changing landscape, there’s a wave of AI-infused technology elevating how we connect, interact and learn. Consider this:

1. We’re in the middle of multiple platform shifts.
AI - and specifically gen AI - are not the only platform shifts that are happening right now. There are also shifts in the evolution of cloud and the internet, the energy transition, and what we think of as the “user interface”. These platform shifts are creating a massive era of opportunity, as well as challenges, for businesses and individuals.

To help us truly appreciate this exciting new frontier, we can examine how previous shifts have unlocked fresh routes to value. Consider the analogy given by independent technology analyst, Benedict Evans, where he explains how the invention of the car and widespread car ownership made Walmart’s out-of-town retail model possible. This billion-dollar company was unimaginable before the invention of the car, which in this analogy is the platform. (To learn more about this example, watch our recent Digital IQ: Flexible Future session recording.)

2. A new digital colleague is emerging.
With AI copilots we’re seeing the introduction of a new digital colleague: an increasingly competent and autonomous agent that can interact with humans and other agents, and can perform tasks that were previously done by humans. This starts with welcoming new digital colleagues to our workspaces.

Today, individuals can partner with a generative AI-powered digital teammate, like Copilot for Microsoft 365, to get more out of their day-to-day tasks. But, to optimize their digital colleague’s usefulness, the true value comes from business process or function reinvention. That requires core system shifts as well as a big focus on people. Our global research of 3,000 business and IT employees confirmed this: 98% agree that support will be required to train employees to use tools like Microsoft Copilot.

Beyond human skilling, this new opportunity also raises questions about how to design, trust, and collaborate with these agents, and how to manage the culture and behavior change that they entail.

3. Sometimes AI needs to forget.
Something very human about all of us is that we forget. As we explore this new era of opportunity, we need a new way of thinking about data and knowledge. That is, evaluating how we take all the data we have - including institutional knowledge that may be in workers' heads -and convert that into knowledge. We must also determine what we want remembered, and what needs to be erased. Just like there will be new approaches and an evolution of technology to manage what we capture, new products and services also need to be designed with the ability to forget.

That’s because more information doesn’t mean more valuable knowledge. While there is a need and drive to build up knowledge by feeding AI models more data, there is also a need to design for machine unlearning. This means enabling AI and generative AI systems to forget or update data that is no longer relevant, accurate, or ethical. The ability for AI to forget is becoming increasingly important for many reasons, including evolving regulations such as the EU AI Act.

Tips for realizing value and preparing for AI
This represents a lot of big change as many organizations look to grow their business. At this point in time, it’s important for leaders to remember:

These platform shifts are not just about technologies; they are also about people. It is important to be people-first in the approach, and to consider the human and societal implications of using AI and other technologies. It is also important to learn and share best practices and experiences with others, and to create a collective intelligence (between and across human and digital colleagues), that can benefit everyone.
This is not a new digital transformation. Stay the course with your business strategy. Gen AI, copilots and other technologies can be applied to existing business strategies, either to optimize or to reinvent them. You need to go through a process to prioritize those business processes or functions where you want to realize cost or efficiency vs. those that should be re-thought.
Things are moving fast, but it is OK to slow down and add friction on purpose. This means being thoughtful and methodical about where and how to use these technologies, and how to study and measure their impact and value. It also means being willing to experiment, fail, and learn from the mistakes.

Seize new opportunities by realizing more value from your Microsoft investments
Are you ready to unlock opportunities from the most significant platform shifts of this era?

At Avanade, we’ve partnered with Microsoft on AI innovation for almost a decade. As Microsoft’s ‘client zero’, we seize the chance for early experimentation with emerging technologies and solutions, and we turn this experience into best practices that help you innovate responsibly.

To discuss the long-term value of your investments for your organization, get in touch. I’m looking forward to seeing where we’ll go together.

Exploring the opportunity era