SUSTAINABLE

AI COMPANIES

May 2024 | aimagazine.com

MACHINE
LEARNING
Reshaping global
operations

AI & BIG DATA

Data chunking
and RAG

THE FUTURE OF
AI HARDWARE How AI hardware is revolutionising how the likes
of Tesla, Google and Amazon solve problems

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LEAD DESIGNER VIDEO PRODUCTION MARKETING MANAGER
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 FOREWORD

The Hardware
Powering the
Generative AI Boom
Without the rapid advances in processors,
memory, storage and specialised AI chips,
many of the AI applications we now take for
granted would still be science fiction

While the incredible achievements of AI often steal

the spotlight, it’s important that we don’t overlook the
pivotal role of hardware innovation in making the AI
breakthroughs of today possible.
Without the rapid advances in processors,
memory, storage and specialised AI chips, many of
“Without the the AI applications we now take for granted would
rapid advances still be science fiction.
Just think about how far we’ve come in a relatively
in processors, short time. A decade ago, training a large language
memory, storage model like GPT-4 would have been unimaginably
difficult and costly. But thanks to more powerful
and specialised GPUs, TPUs and other AI-optimised chips, we can
AI chips, many now deploy transformer models with billions of
parameters to handle complex natural language
of the AI processing tasks.
applications we On this subject, this month we take a look at how

now take for

hardware is revolutionising how the likes of Tesla,
Google and Amazon solve problems.
granted would Elsewhere this month, we highlight the impact of

still be science
generative AI on cybersecurity, feature an exclusive
interview with Gaurav Pathak, Vice President of
fiction” Product Management at Informatica, and explore
the Top 10 sustainable AI companies.
Enjoy the issue.

AI MAGAZINE MARCUS LAW

IS PUBLISHED BY
marcus.law@bizclikmedia.com

© 2024 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

aimagazine.com 5
 CONTENTS
12 M ONTH IN REVIEW
Stories from April 2024 16
you may have missed

14 PEOPLE MOVES
Executive moves this month

16 E XECUTIVE INSIGHT
Gaurav Pathak, VP of
Gaurav Pathak, VP of Product Product Management,
Management, Informatica Informatica

24 LIFETIME OF
ACHIEVEMENT
IN AI 24
Daphne Koller, Founder
and CEO, Insitro

32 TOP 10
Sustainable AI Companies
Daphne Koller,
Founder and CEO,
Insitro

32

SUSTAINABLE
AI COMPANIES

6 May 2024
 MAY 2024

50

Abdul Khaled,
Head of Digital and Customer
Experience, E.ON Next

50 E.ON NEXT Jay Park,

Customer-centric approach 76 Founder
and Chief
drives business success
Development
Officer,
64 GENERATIVE AI Digital Edge
Navigating the Impact of
Gen AI on Cybersecurity

76 DIGITAL EDGE DC
Data centre sustainability
front and centre

94 MACHINE LEARNING
APPLICATIONS
How machine learning is 94 106
penetrating diverse sectors

106 ATOS
Atos edge transformations
are driving business value

120 AI AND BIG DATA Arnaud Langer, Global

Managing Partner –
Overcoming AI challenges Edge & IoT, Atos
with data chunking and RAG

aimagazine.com 7
 CONNECTING
TECH & AI LEADERS
ACROSS EUROPE
21 MAY 2024
VIRTUAL CONFERENCE, LONDON

1,000+ 100s 1-DAY

VIRTUAL NETWORKING LEARNING AND
ATTENDEES OPPORTUNITIES NETWORKING EVENT

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 MAY 2024
132 BSI GROUP
How BSI is helping businesses
navigate AI regulation 146
146 AI HARDWARE
Revolutionising how we
solve complex problems

156 REXEL
Security and connectivity
on the road to cloudification

176 OLD MUTUAL

Cloud migration drives Old Mutual’s
transformation journey

194 ZENDESK
A CX leader promoting
value chain sustainability
132

176 156

Shengyuan Su,
Sustainability Director,
Zendesk

May Govender,
Chief Information Officer,
Old Mutual 194

aimagazine.com 9
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 MONTH IN REVIEW
UK & US REACH
LANDMARK AGREEMENT
TO ADVANCE
RESPONSIBLE AI
The UK and the US have reached
a landmark decision to collaborate
to prioritise AI safety. Both countries
seek to test advanced AI tools
as part of a pledge to champion
safe AI systems and to share
capabilities to ensure risks can
be tackled effectively.
12 May 2024
EU AI ACT: REGULATING
TECH'S FUTURE AS
WORLD-FIRST LAWS PASS
European Parliament has now
approved the world-first framework
to regulate AI across the continent.
The EU AI Act is designed to set
ground-breaking legislation on AI
technology so it complies with the
protection of fundamental human
rights. It places the EU at the forefront
of addressing global AI risks.
W
We consider some of the leading stories that have recently
captivated public attention and started thought-provoking
conversations over the future of AI

MICROSOFT IN JAPAN:
INVESTING IN AI SKILLS
TO BOOST FUTURE

As part of its pledge to upskill

millions of workers around the
world, tech giant Microsoft has
dedicated itself to Japan. As part of
a US$2.9bn investment, Microsoft
seeks to increase hyperscale cloud
computing and AI opportunities by
expanding digital skills programmes.

DEMIS HASSABIS
KNIGHTHOOD: FROM TECH
PRODIGY, TO AI LEADER
For his services and commitment
to AI innovation, Google DeepMind
founder and CEO Sir Demis Hassabis
was given a knighthood in the UK.
Recognition of his achievements
within the world of digital
transformation further cements
his legacy as a thought leader in AI
development and responsible use.
SAP CONTINUES
TO DEVELOP ITS
ENTERPRISE AI
CLOUD STRATEGY
SAP launched the new SAP
HANA Cloud vector engine
to help businesses combine
LLMs with company-specific,
real-time data in one multi-
modal database. This aligns
with the company’s 2024
commitment to restructuring
its business operations to
prioritise AI moving forward.

aimagazine.com 13
 PEOPLE MOVES
We explore some of the latest shifts in the global
AI business world as new executives take up the
digital transformation gauntlet

Mustafa Suleyman,
CEO of Microsoft AI
“It’s been an
amazing journey,
with so much
more to come”
MUSTAFA SULEYMAN
CEO,
MICROSOFT AI
MUSTAFA SULEYMAN
JOB FROM: CO-FOUNDER & CEO
AT INFLECTION AI
JOB TO: CEO OF MICROSOFT AI
Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of
DeepMind (now Google DeepMind) and
Inflection, was appointed CEO of Microsoft
AI to run a new consumer AI unit. With his
extensive background in AI, he is set to lead
all consumer AI products and research
at Microsoft, including Copilot, Bing
and Edge.
Mustafa’s appointment is the latest
move by Microsoft to cement itself as
one of the largest global companies.
He brings with him more than 15 years
of experience as an entrepreneur,
technologist and AI leader and joins the
company alongside longtime collaborator
Karén Simonyan, in addition to 70 staff
members from Inflection.
THOMAS ZACHARIA
JOB FROM: LABORATORY DIRECTOR
AT OAK RIDGE NATIONAL
LABORATORY
JOB TO: SVP OF STRATEGIC
TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS
AND PUBLIC POLICY AT AMD
Joining AMD in March 2024, Zacharia leads
the company’s global expansion of public/
private relationships with governments,
NGOs and other organisations. He aims to
fast-track AMD-powered AI solutions to
meet rising customer demand.
SHAN SHAN WONG
JOB FROM: COO OF STABILITY AI
JOB TO: INTERIM CO-CEO
OF STABILITY AI
Shan Shan Wong's most recent role at Stability
AI was as COO. She joined the company in
November 2023 and works closely with the
leadership to define the company’s vision as
well as its strategy and objectives. Based in
London, she holds valuable experience as
a board member and investor.
CHRISTIAN LAFORTE
JOB FROM: CTO OF STABILITY AI
JOB TO: INTERIM CO-CEO
OF STABILITY AI
With more than 25 years of experience in
the technology industry, Christian has held
senior roles in several leading technology
companies. He has also founded and grown
technology startups. As co-CEO, he and
Shan Shan Wong seek to steer the company
forward in developing and commercialising
industry-leading generative AI products.
aimagazine.com 15
 EXECUTIVE INSIGHT

INFORMATICA’S
GAURAV PATHAK:
JOURNEYING
TOWARDS
ETHICAL AI
AI Magazine speaks with Vice President of Product
Management at Informatica, Gaurav Pathak, about
how businesses can capitalise on ethical AI
WRITTEN BY: AMBER JACKSON

16 May 2024
aimagazine.com 17
F
or businesses to successfully
implement AI, high-quality data
is essential. With the success of
generative AI (Gen AI) being built
on data, organisations implementing
Gen AI initiatives need to ensure that it is
unbiased and secure. To succeed in this,
businesses can benefit from investing in
data management solutions to improve
the quality of their data.
This month, we speak with Gaurav
Pathak, Vice President of Product
Management at Informatica, about how
Informatica is moving towards ethical AI
and what businesses can do to achieve
fast AI in a responsible way.

Q. INFORMATICA’S RECENT
CDO SURVEY FOUND THAT THE
QUALITY OF DATA IS THE TOP
DATA-RELATED OBSTACLE TO
IMPLEMENTING AI. WHY DO
YOU THINK THIS IS THE CASE?
» There’s an old IT proverb – garbage in,
garbage out – or simply, you are what you
eat. Just as high-performance athletes
can’t expect podium-worthy results
on a diet of chips and soda, the output
of LLMs and AI solutions are directly
influenced by the quality of data that
nourishes them.
The reality is – at the enterprise level
– everyone claims to be ready for AI,
but is their data? Hybrid, multi-cloud,
multi-vendor data estates remain largely
fragmented and incredibly complex,
disparate, burgeoning ecosystems
of structured, semi-structured and
unstructured data that, according to our
recent survey results, are only expected
to worsen in the months ahead due
to demands from Gen AI projects.
This is death by data: a corporate
paralysis that comes from organisations’
inability to properly manage their
most important asset. This lack of trust
and confidence is justified, given that
organisations have not focused on data
quality and governance as much as they
should have.
And now Gen AI is bringing new but
similar requirements like identifying
and correcting/removing inaccurate,
incomplete, or irrelevant sections
from unstructured data, removing
confidential and sensitive information
about customers and employees,

18 May 2024

excluding content based on freshness/
data ranges and more in addition to
ensuring structured data is in good
shape. Realising tangible ROI from Gen
AI requires high-quality, secure, and well-
governed data and the time to act is now.
Q. HOW CAN BUSINESSES BEST
ACCELERATE THEIR AI USE?
» Get their data houses in order. There
was hardly an enterprise that wasn’t
eager to board the Gen AI hype train
last year, but without tracks built on
sound data, business leaders flirt with
a catastrophic – and costly – derailment
in 2024 as they move from AI exploration
to actual implementation.
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
GAURAV PATHAK
TITLE: VICE PRESIDENT OF
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
COMPANY: INFORMATICA
INDUSTRY: SOFTWARE
LOCATION: CALIFORNIA, US
Gaurav Pathak has worked with
Informatica for more than a decade,
having held a range of roles in
product management, big data,
connectivity and more recently AI
and metadata. Prior to working at
Informatica, he held senior software
positions at leading technology
companies, Oracle and Wipro.
aimagazine.com 19
 EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
We know data fragmentation and
complexity continue to be a real struggle
for many organisations, regardless of
geography or vertical. Our recent survey
found that four in 10 data leaders struggle
to balance 1,000+ data sources, and eight
in 10 anticipate this number will only
increase this year.
For organisations to bring calm to
this data chaos and accelerate their
AI adoption, they need to put the cart
back behind the horse and invest in the
integrated data management solutions
that can deliver trusted, secure data,
reduce costs and drive measurable
growth. As our CEO Amit Walia relayed to
Jon Fortt of CNBC during recent earnings
conversations, “Gen AI has made data
management a business process; without
a good, clean data layer, there isn’t
Gen AI.”
Q. WHY IS ETHICAL AI SO
IMPORTANT AND HOW CAN
BUSINESSES ENSURE RESPONSIBLE
AI OPERATIONS?
» Accuracy, bias and hallucinations
are all valid, well-documented concerns
when it comes to AI, particularly
around LLMs and the Gen AI solutions
they power. Without implicit trust
in the output, these innovations are
little more than advanced party tricks.
Unsurprisingly, nearly 40% of data leaders
we surveyed cite AI ethics as a key hurdle
to AI adoption.
AI and Gen AI must be never
considered a ‘set it and forget it’ tool –
human oversight to continuously refine
and fine tune models must be built
20 May 2024
“The reality is,
at the enterprise
level, everyone
claims to be
ready for AI, but
is their data?”
into the lifecycle. Regular and ongoing
feedback loops are paramount to limit
the impacts of this unwelcomed trinity.
From a data perspective, responsible
AI operations should be anchored
around two key ingredients – privacy and
governance. Our survey confirmed data
privacy and protection are top challenges
to AI and Gen AI adoption, and they’re
also the data management capabilities
most in demand by leaders to support
their data strategies.
Q. WHAT ARE SOME AI
INNOVATIONS THAT INFORMATICA
IS WORKING TOWARD AT
THE MOMENT?
» Our journey with AI predates the
current hype era by three or four years.
In 2018, after we completely revamped
our business trajectory and product
suite to be cloud only, we unveiled
CLAIRE – the industry’s first metadata-
driven, AI-powered engine for
data management.
CLAIRE, which automates and scales
thousands of intensive tasks across the
enterprise, currently processes 86+
trillion monthly cloud transactions,
a volume that increases at a rate of about
60% year-over-year. It’s the backbone
to the Intelligent Data Management
Cloud, our holistic data management
platform, and each of our bespoke
products and solutions.
Last year, we announced a suite
of new AI copilot capabilities and
CLAIRE GPT, the next generation, Gen
AI-powered version that leverages
the simplicity of a natural language-
based interface, which will dramatically
accelerate how enterprises ingest,
process, manage, explore and store data.
With CLAIRE GPT, which will be GA in the
first half of the year, customers will enjoy
dramatically improved productivity,
reduced costs and increased self-service
for users of all technical abilities.
Additionally, we invested significant
resources to advance many of our
strategic partnerships with other industry
leaders throughout 2023, such as AWS,
Microsoft, Snowflake and MongoDB,
with an eye to expand this ecosystem
further in 2024. These included deeper
integrations that will empower joint
customers to gain a better grasp of their
data landscapes in preparation for AI and
Gen AI workloads.
Q. MOVING FORWARD, HOW WILL
INFORMATICA ENSURE THAT IT
WILL WORK TOWARD ETHICAL AI?
» Many Informatica products and
services feature technology that enables
our users to process information with
an increasing degree of autonomy.
At Informatica, we understand the
aimagazine.com 21
 EXECUTIVE INSIGHT

profound impact of AI that makes this

automation possible, and we guide our AI
development with an ethical, responsible,
and comprehensive set of principles.
These principles are designed to
ensure that the AI technologies we
create and deploy are developed and
used in a way that respects human
rights, contributes to societal benefits,
upholds privacy and security, prioritises
transparency and explainability and
strives for inclusivity and diversity.
We aim to democratise AI, providing
tools that are accessible to all users
regardless of technical expertise. Our
commitment also extends to not
designing AI for deployment in ways that
can potentially cause harm or undermine
the values that we stand for.
We understand that the field of AI
is rapidly evolving, and thus, we will
reassess and update these principles
to keep pace with technological
advancements and emerging ethical
considerations. We firmly believe that by
adhering to these principles, we can drive
progress while ensuring the responsible
use of AI.

Q. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE

LOOK LIKE WHEN IT COMES
TO ETHICAL AI?
» Often, we think of external forces
as the main obstacle to growth and
transformation, but our survey findings
reiterated an uncomfortable truth –
internal resistance due to bad quality
and ungoverned data affects AI and Gen
AI priorities the most. Nearly all data

22 May 2024
“We aim to
democratise
AI, providing
tools that are
accessible to all
users regardless
of technical
expertise”
leaders we canvassed (98%) admitted
organisational malaise holds back their
data strategies, with the primary culprits
being lack of leadership support, inability
to justify ROI and lack of alignment
between teams.
But our findings also reinforced
what we already knew – there is an
indisputable, intrinsic connection
between secure, sound data
management and successful AI,
and an investment in these advanced
technologies continues to fuel mutual
investment in data management
capabilities like privacy, quality and
integration. It’s little surprise that nearly
eight in 10 data chiefs predict an increase
in their data investments this year while
all plan to specifically invest in data
management solutions.
We believe for today’s enterprises
to be tomorrow’s market leaders, they
must sit at the intersection of cloud,
data and AI – which is exactly where
you’ll find Informatica.

aimagazine.com 23
IMAGE: CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
 LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT IN AI

DAPHNE
KOLLER,
COURSERA
CO-FOUNDER
AI Magazine examines the life and legacy of Daphne
Koller, as she continues the advancement of digital
learning and utilising AI within biomedicine
WRITTEN BY: AMBER JACKSON

aimagazine.com 25
 LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT IN AI
M
ore than 30 years ago,
Daphne Koller was the
first machine learning hire
in Stanford University’s
Computer Science department. Now,
she is a celebrated professor, thought
leader and biomedical machine
learning pioneer.
In addition to being well-known for
her contributions to computer science,
machine learning and biomedical
engineering, Daphne co-founded
online education platform Coursera
with Andrew Ng in 2012. Until 2016, she
served as the organisation’s co-CEO and
President, democratising access for all
to achieve a world-class education.
Koller also co-founded the digital
learning platform Engageli and currently
serves as a board member for
the organisation.
A pioneer in AI biotechnology
Completing her PhD at Stanford
University in 1993, Daphne’s research
interests are primarily in representation,
inference, learning and decision-making
and their applications to computer vision
and computational biology.
Her work in this field led her to be
elected a member of the National
Academy of Engineering in 2011 for
contributions to probabilistic models with
applications to robotics, vision and biology.
After leaving her position as Chief
Computing Officer at Calico (an Alphabet
subsidiary) in 2018, she founded Insitro,
a startup organisation committed to
drug discovery and development. As
founder and CEO, Daphne oversees the
26 May 2024
DAPHNE KOLLER
TITLE: FOUNDER AND CEO
COMPANY: INSITRO
INDUSTRY: AI
LOCATION: SAN FRANCISCO,
UNITED STATES
For much of her career, Daphne
Koller has operated within the
boundaries of machine learning
and biomedicine. She is one of the
co-founders of the online education
platform Coursera and was
a professor in Computer Science
at Stanford University.
organisation’s processes, which includes
fusing machine learning and genomics to
predict and test treatments for diseases.
Daphne has also been the recipient
of numerous awards and accolades,
including the MacArthur Foundation
Fellowship in 2004 and the ACM Prize
in Computing in 2008. More recently,
she was made a fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014
and a member of the National Academy
of Sciences in 2023.
With the healthcare industry seeing
increasing difficulties in medicine
development, Daphne states that the key
will be to train powerful machine learning
techniques on enough high-quality data
to succeed.
“We believe that, for many of these
phases, we can develop machine learning
models to help predict the outcome
 LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT IN AI
“We need to actually
create systems that
are trained using
reinforcement
learning on students
who are in the
process of learning”
of these experiments and that those
models, while inevitably imperfect,
will outperform predictions based
on traditional heuristics,” she says on
her LinkedIn.
Insitro: Producing data
at scale with machine learning
To achieve this goal, Daphne
is spearheading the construction
of a diverse team that spans numerous
disciplines within life science and
machine learning. The company
brings together cutting-edge methods
in functional genomics and lab
automation to build a bio-data factory
28 May 2024
that can produce relevant biological
data at scale, allowing it to create
large, high-quality datasets that
enable the development of novel
ML models.
“I think we’re only beginning
to appreciate the impact that
[machine learning technology] will
have,” Koller said in an interview
with Fierce Pharma. “This is not
a niche technology. It’s going to be
like computers - you’re going to use
it in every place, and the value of the
technology will be limited primarily
by your imagination of where it can
be deployed.”
 Daphne Koller: AI should not seek
to replicate human cognition
WATCH NOW
Likewise, at an event in San Francisco
in 2023, Daphne said: “We need to
create systems that are trained using
reinforcement learning on not just any
people, but on students who are in the
process of learning.”
insitro aims to bring together high-
quality data from humans, whilst also
developing cutting-edge methods that
can produce large amounts of in vitro
data relevant to human disease and
therapeutic interventions.
Daphne explains how AI and
quantitative biology are merging to
create digital biology, a pioneering field,
saying: “This is the ability to read the
biology digitally at this incredible
fidelity at an unprecedented scale,
interpret what we see using tools such
as machine learning and AI, and then
write biology using techniques like
CRISPR and combinatorial chemistry,
and all sorts of other things to make
biology do things that it wouldn't
otherwise do."
This new area will have “repercussions
in human health, but also in the
environment, in energy, in bio-materials,
and sustainable agriculture, and many
other disciplines that will help make our
world a better place, which is why I think
it's a really exciting place to be.”
aimagazine.com 29
S U S TA I N A B L E
AI COMPANIES
AI Magazine discovers how leading technology
brands are using innovative AI solutions to drive
environmental change and promote sustainability
WRITTEN BY: VIKKI DAVIES

I
n a world increasingly focused on
sustainability, major corporations
are leveraging the power of artificial
intelligence (AI) to drive environmental
change. From reducing carbon footprints
to optimising resource management,
these companies are at the forefront of
sustainable innovation. Let’s explore 10
renowned brands that are using AI to
pioneer eco-friendly solutions.

32 May 2024
 TOP 10

aimagazine.com 33
 TOP 10

10
APPLE
REVENUE: US$383BN
EMPLOYEES: 161,000
CEO: TIM COOK
FOUNDED: 1976

Tech giant Apple integrates AI into

its supply chain to optimise processes
and reduce energy consumption.
Over 250 of the company’s suppliers
have committed to 100% renewable
energy for Apple production, totalling
TIM COOK, APPLE

over 20 gigawatts of clean energy.

AI plays a crucial role in enhancing
Apple’s sustainability ambitions, from
sourcing materials more efficienctly
to recycling products.

34 May 2024
 TOP 10

09
IBM
REVENUE: US$61.86BN
EMPLOYEES: 282,200
CEO: ARVIND KRISHNA
FOUNDED: 1911

Global technology company IBM,

harnesses AI to tackle environmental
challenges. Through its Watson AI
platform, IBM develops solutions
for monitoring, conservation and
sustainability. By analysing data, IBM’s
AI provides insights for informed
decisions, from predicting weather
patterns to optimising resources.
Institutions like Mohamed Bin Zayed
University of Artificial Intelligence, the
ARVIND KRISHNA, IBM

Government of Kenya and NASA, all use

the platform in their climate efforts.

aimagazine.com 35
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08
GOOGLE
REVENUE: US$307.39BN
EMPLOYEES: 156,500
CEO: SUNDAR PICHAI
FOUNDED: 1998

Google says it prioritises sustainability

with AI-driven initiatives. DeepMind,
its AI subsidiary, develops energy-
efficient technologies to cut carbon
emissions. Utilising DeepMind AI, Google
claims to have achieved a 40% reduction
SUNDAR PICHAI, GOOGLE

in data centre cooling expenses, setting

new sustainability standards. Google’s
AI algorithms optimise resource
allocation, reducing waste and
preserving the environment.

aimagazine.com 37
 TOP 10

07
MICROSOFT
REVENUE: US$211BN
EMPLOYEES: 221,000
CEO: SATYA NADELLA
FOUNDED: 1975

Microsoft’s AI for Earth programme

tackles environmental challenges.
Leveraging AI, the initiative facilitates
reforestation efforts, enabling the
planting of over 50 million trees
worldwide. The collaborative efforts
SATYA NADELLA, MICROSOFT

involve various organisations,

communities and individuals.
Additionally, the programme monitors
and safeguards 10 million hectares
of ecosystems, supporting habitat
preservation, while predicting trends
to advance conservation endeavours.

38 May 2024
 TOP 10

06
AMAZON
REVENUE: US$574.8BN
EMPLOYEES: 1,525,000
CEO: ANDY JASSY
FOUNDED: 1994

Amazon utilises AI to drive sustainability

across its operations, optimising logistics
and reducing energy consumption
through its AWS AI services. The
algorithm accelerates environmental
impact assessments for products,
ANDY JASSY, AMAZON

reducing previous mapping times from

a month to hours on its platform. It
claims its AI-driven initiatives boost
operational efficiency, promote global
environmental stewardship and facilitate
the adoption of renewable energy.

aimagazine.com 39
 TOP 10

05
TESLA
REVENUE: US$96.8BN
EMPLOYEES: 140,473
CEO: ELON MUSK
FOUNDED: 2003

Tesla incorporates AI to drive

sustainability in transportation.
AI-powered features like autonomous
driving and energy management
optimise energy usage, reducing carbon
emissions. By leveraging AI algorithms,
ELON MUSK, TESLA

Tesla enhances vehicle efficiency, setting

new eco-friendly standards. According
to Tesla, its customers avoided releasing
about 13.4 million metric tons of CO2e
into the atmosphere in 2022.

40 May 2024
 TOP 10

04
META
REVENUE: US$134BN
EMPLOYEES: 67,317
CEO: MARK ZUCKERBERG
FOUNDED: 2004

Meta’s AI research division has come up

with innovative solutions for data centre
optimisation, energy reduction and
renewable energy promotion. Leveraging
AI, Meta says it enhances its efficiency,
minimising its global environmental
MARK ZUCKERBERG, META

footprint. AI initiatives also enable

resource management and waste
reduction for the business.

aimagazine.com 41
 THE TOP 100

WOMEN
OUT NOW
Championing women from global
organisations, celebrate those who
elevate the industry day in, day out

Read Now
 TOP 10

03
SAMSUNG
REVENUE: US$198.2BN
EMPLOYEES: 270,372
CEO: HAN, JONG HEE &
KYUNG, KYE HYUN
FOUNDED: 1938

Global electronics manufacturer

Samsung integrates AI for sustainability
across its product range and
manufacturing sites. Smart appliances
and eco-friendly manufacturing
KYUNG, KYE HYUN, SAMSUNG

methods powered by AI,

decrease energy consumption,
minimise waste, and boost efficiency
in its electronics divisions. Samsung
has also joined RE100 to slash its
indirect carbon emissions, aiming to
transition all electricity to renewable
energy by 2050. It aims for renewable
energy at all overseas operations
by 2027.

aimagazine.com 43
 TOP 10

02
CISCO
REVENUE: US$12.79BN
EMPLOYEES: 84,900
CEO: CHUCK ROBBINS
FOUNDED: 1984

Cisco says it is currently achieving

a 30% reduction in its carbon emissions
through AI-driven networking solutions.
This approach optimises resource
allocation, minimises waste and
integrates eco-friendly features into
product development.
By applying networking to power
and connecting it with data, Cisco
says energy networking and Power over
Ethernet can provide comprehensive
visibility and benchmarking of existing
emissions and an access point to
optimise power usage, distribution,
transmission and storage, as well
as measurement and reporting.
Using advances in energy
networking and improved energy
efficiency, Cisco aims to significantly
reduce the world’s energy needs
by 2050 by pioneering AI-driven
technologies in the sustainable space.

44 May 2024
CHUCK ROBBINS, CISCO
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TECH & AI LEADERS
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Services (UK & EMEA)

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Senior Vice President and Chief
Chief Transformation Officer Head of CIO Strategic PMO Chief Digital Officer (CDO)
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48
May 2024
 TOP 10

01
INTEL
REVENUE: US$54.23BN
EMPLOYEES: 124,800
CEO: PATRICK P. GELSINGER
FOUNDED: 1968

Intel claims it has successfully

reduced its carbon emissions by 25%
through its AI-driven innovations.
Energy-efficient processors and
smart manufacturing cut its energy
consumption, while AI optimises its
resource usage, minimising waste and
enhancing efficiency globally. Intel’s
AI initiatives in product development
promote eco-friendly features,
reducing environmental impact.
The company is developing more
power-efficient machine learning
techniques, that work by weeding
out unnecessary content from
training datasets while they are still
in a compressed form. The result, Intel
says, is a vast improvement in power
efficiency when training AI models, while
still being able to maintain accuracy.
As a wider business, Intel is advancing
more sustainable computing across
all aspects of its business – from
enabling eco-conscious semiconductor
manufacturing to integrating circularity
practices throughout product life cycles
to improving the energy efficiency of its
technologies, platforms and software.

TO READ MORE TOP 10s,

CLICK HERE

aimagazine.com 49
Customer-Centri
Approach Drives
Business Success
AD FEATURE
WRITTEN BY:
MARCUS
LAW

PRODUCED BY:
LEWIS
VAUGHAN

50 May 2024
 E.ON NEXT

ic
s

aimagazine.com 51
 E.ON NEXT

Energy startup E.ON Next is

revolutionising customer experience and
sustainability in the UK with its innovative
and customer-focused approach

T
he energy sector today is navigating
tough challenges. Fuel shortages and
record prices have resulted in a global
energy crisis driving up bills for consumers
and businesses, while energy suppliers are
under greater pressure than ever to consider
sustainable energy to meet customer needs.
According to McKinsey, customer
expectations are also on the rise, informed
by customer experience (CX) leaders in
other industries like Amazon, Uber and
digitally native companies: all of which offer
seamless and personalised experiences.
Amid these challenges, energy
suppliers must think differently. E.ON
Next, a startup company from the main
E.ON Group, was founded with the aim
to challenge and innovate the energy
space in the United Kingdom.
As Abdul Khaled, the company’s
Head of Digital and Customer Experience,
explains, E.ON Next was built from the
ground up with new direction, leadership
and culture, embracing a startup mentality
to get closer to customers.
A core principle of E.ON Next, he says,
is the mantra of customer-centricity and
breaking the barriers between departments
and functions. Becoming one organisation
working towards a common goal can lead
to business success.
“We’ve got engineers sitting alongside
customer service agents, really trying to
bridge the gap between delivery and

52 May 2024
 Abdul Khaled,
Head of Digital and
Customer Experience,
E.ON Next

aimagazine.com 53
 E.ON NEXT
“We’ve got engineers sitting
alongside customer service
agents, really trying to bridge
the gap between delivery
and those that are really
close to the customers”
ABDUL KHALED
HEAD OF DIGITAL AND
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE,
E.ON NEXT
those that are really close to the customers,”
Khaled explains. “That’s been a real driving
factor behind the culture of E.ON Next.”
E.ON Next: Building an award-
winning culture of excellence
Emphasising his passion to build
and craft products and experiences,
Khaled began his career as a developer.
His broad skills and experience have
shaped him for the corporate world,
working with companies such
as Cisco.
Today, looking after a team of
product managers, engineers,
designers, testers and analysts, Khaled’s
current role at E.ON Next utilises
his varied background of hands-on
engineering, development, design,
managing and building products
and represents an interesting challenge.
He adds: “The industry we’re in is very
difficult. When I entered it it was
a low interest category: getting
customers to engage with the energy
company is difficult at the best of
times. When you add the energy crisis
on top of it, it’s now not just a low
54 May 2024
interest category – it’s probably looked
upon quite negatively by a lot
of customers.
“As an industry, I think we’ve got to hold
our hands up and say that we haven’t done
enough to break some of those myths that
are out there. We also haven’t done enough
to be as transparent as customers need
and want us to be, especially through
difficult times.”
To help overcome some of these
challenges, Khaled has built his team
at E.ON Next from the ground up. “We’re
now a team of over 40, and we will probably
end up at 50 by the end of the year, he adds.”
With that comes the empowerment to
actually drive and shape the team, which is
an immense privilege. It’s not an opportunity
that you get in many places.”
Building a team which is striving and
thriving for excellence is clearly a source
of pride. As Khaled describes, building
a team with a culture of empowerment
and creativity has been key to the
organisation’s success.
“Getting people in is one thing, building
a culture around it is something else,” Khaled
explains. “We’ve got a culture of enjoyment,
of empowerment, of creativity, and it’s
a really enjoyable place to come and work.”
This approach to the team at E.ON Next
has already started to see results. Last year,
in its second year of existence, the company
was awarded or nominated for five different
award categories in the industry. “We’ve
got one of the highest app rating scores
in the industry, and we’ve got one of the
highest-rated digital experience scores
on Trustpilot,” Khaled adds. “We’re really
punching above our weight, and we’re seeing
great achievements on the back of it. And
I think that’s always something to be proud
of when you can see people really enjoying
ABDUL KHALED
TITLE: HEAD OF DIGITAL AND
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
COMPANY: E.ON NEXT
LOCATION: UNITED KINGDOM

Abdul leads the digital and

customer experience function at
E.ON’s new challenger brand in the
UK – E.ON Next. With extensive
digital experience, Abdul has been
involved in leading digital strategy,
transformation and growth at global
brands, as well as driving innovation at
several start-ups both nationally and
internationally. At E.ON Next Abdul
is building a new digital-first product
and CX team tasked with disrupting
and revolutionising the energy space.
His focus is on high performance,
innovative ways of working and
culture building. He regularly shares
his expertise through webinars,
conferences and thought
leadership pieces.

aimagazine.com 55
 E.ON NEXT

what they do, delivering results, getting

recognition for it and making an impact
on customers’ lives.”

Moving beyond a startup mentality,

and focusing on customer-centricity
As E.ON Next evolves from a startup
to a more established entity, managing
more than over five million customer
accounts, it grapples with the challenges
of scaling while maintaining its core focus
on customer-centricity.
“One of the challenges is as the customer
base has gone bigger, the company has
gone bigger,” Khaled says. “And as the
company has gone bigger, there have been
more functions and departments that
have emerged and more people in the
organisations are owning and managing
different parts of the customer journey.”
Khaled stresses the importance of
breaking down silos and reaffirming
the company’s commitment to putting
customers at the heart of their operations.
“I think the benefit of E.ON Next is being
able to understand and rectify certain
situations before they become too much
of a problem,” he says. “And because we
understand that, the focus on customer-
centricity has now reemerged within the “If we want to get back to becoming
organisation. We started off being very customer-centric and really living
customer-centric and we see as we’ve and breathing it in all the halls and
gone through those growing pains that you corridors and departments that we have
can slightly move away from that ambition. around the organisation, it’s even more
“Where we are now is really trying to important to ensure that that customer-
get that customer-centricity back into centricity is not just something that’s said,
the agenda.” but it’s something that’s practical.
“A lot of companies fall short
Living and breathing customer-centricity when they come in with all the right
As part of this mission to build a customer- intentions of being customer-centric,
centric approach, Khaled described that but what does that really mean?
it is vital for this to not only be something What does that mean for you as an
that is said, but is practical. individual working on a spreadsheet,

56 May 2024

“We’re now a team of over
40, and we will probably
end up at 50 by the end
of the year. With that comes
the empowerment to
actually drive and shape
the team, which is an
immense privilege”
ABDUL KHALED
HEAD OF DIGITAL AND
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE,
E.ON NEXT
Use more image
captions as often
as possible
or someone on the phone lines
talking to customers?”
Aiming to answer these questions is
E.ON Next’s CX enablement programme.
“We’re really trying to implement how we
enable the organisation to have not only the
skills, the tools and the processes, but the
overall strategy and the blueprint to drive
a customer experience initiative,” Khaled
explains. “And that starts with culture.”
When it comes to E.ON Next’s strategy,
Khaled explains that it boils down to
three topics: transparency, personalisation
and simplicity.
aimagazine.com 57
 WATCH NOW

58 May 2024
 E.ON NEXT

“Especially in the industry that we’re in,

we know that customers want honesty and
transparency. They want the message, even
if it’s a hard message, they want it to be
transparent, they want it honestly, and they
want it proactively.
“With personalisation, they need
things that are catered to them and that’s
important across any and every industry.
Personalisation has been something on
top of the agenda for more than a decade.
I don’t think any industry or company
has fully mastered it and I think it’s
always on the agenda.
“And then simplicity: we want to make
the action that the customer wants to
do easy, simple and clear.”

Using metrics and insights

to provide better CX
For any business today, getting the right
customer experience tools for its people
to leverage is essential. Tools to leverage
data insights can empower organisations
to be more customer-centric.
As Khaled describes, E.ON has
a department it refers to as CX Intelligence
with the aim to build a 360-degree
picture of the customer.
“A lot of organisations have voice of
customer programmes, which are fantastic,
but you tend to speak to a handful of
customers and listen to their feedback
in certain control situations and that
almost gives you a piece of the puzzle.
What we like to do is get the full picture.”
To paint this picture, E.ON Next aims
to understand what customers are saying
through various channels, thanks to a tool
from Customer Experience Intelligence
platform Chattermill. Collecting feedback
and insights from customers across
multiple channels – from reviews on

aimagazine.com 59
“We’ve got a culture
of enjoyment, of
empowerment, of
creativity, and it’s a
really enjoyable place
to come and work”
ABDUL KHALED
HEAD OF DIGITAL AND
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE,
E.ON NEXT

Trustpilot to a phone call or email

– Chattermill’s AI-driven platform uses
natural language processing (NLP)
technology to understand what the
true sentiment behind any particular
piece of feedback is.
“A customer giving you feedback can
sometimes be positive and negative,” Khaled
shares.” So a customer can say, ‘Great
customer service on the phone, shame
about the wait time’. With NLP technology,
you’re able to really categorise that feedback
and quantify it into different categories.”
“That allows us to get really granular
insights and also understand true
customer sentiment.”
From there, E.ON Next can flesh out
this data with surveys and interviews,
collaborating with customers to drive
better experiences. “We have a number
of ideas, concepts and prototypes
that we try and test with customers
in real settings. So you’ve got the full
360-degree view there: understanding
what customers say, looking and analysing
how customers behave, really collaborating
with customers to get to solutions and
then validating them really gives us that
CX intelligence.”

60 May 2024
 E.ON NEXT

Ensuring CX initiatives are

solving customer problems
When it comes to delivering these CX
initiatives, the company employs an
S-curve model to manage CX projects,
ensuring a tight feedback loop between
customers and the delivery teams. This
approach allows E.ON Next to iterate
quickly based on real-time customer
feedback, enhancing the relevance and
effectiveness of their solutions.
“S-curving is really paramount to the
way that we work,” he says. “The idea is
going back to the culture and the startup
mentality of taking the problem finders
– which are usually the people on the
phones who know the customer better
than anyone – and the problem solvers
– which are your product delivery
teams – and bringing them together
and making sure there isn’t a gap
between us and the customer.”
When launching products, especially
CX initiatives, E.ON Next goes through
an S-curving group: launched to sort
a database of audience which is assigned
to one of the company’s customer
service teams. This means that when
those products are live, any feedback or
interaction that the customers are having
with one of E.ON Next’s customer service
agents is fed immediately back into its
delivery teams.
“One of the things that you lose
in a CX initiative is that connection
with the customer immediately.
Being able to adapt, react, iterate,
optimise based on immediate customer
feedback is so crucial, especially if you
want to be customer-centric,” Khaled
says. “That S-curve model really allows
us to make sure we get products out
there at a very low cost model,

aimagazine.com 61
 E.ON NEXT
get immediate feedback, iterate, improve,
optimise and continuously launch the
next iterations of the products with
confidence that it’s actually solving
customer problems.”
Future ambitions: Building customer
connections and increasing value offering
When it comes to the future, E.ON Next
will be looking in two phases. The first
phase, Khaled says, is about getting back
to basics and enabling connection with
customers. “I think we’ve got a long journey
62 May 2024
ahead, but that’s definitely priority number
one: being a customer-centric organisation
for our customers,” Khaled shares.
“Phase two is how do we increase the
value offering,” he adds. This will involve
expanding E.ON Next’s value proposition
beyond traditional energy supply to
innovative home solutions, such as electric
vehicles (EVs), solar panels and heat pumps.
“We want to be known for more than just
providing energy,” Khaled says. “One of
our taglines is powering everything and
everyone, and that’s what we want to do.”
 When it comes to the future, Khaled
believes that AI will be a valuable tool.
“I think AI is definitely something that
everyone needs to capitalise on. It’s going
to empower and accelerate and create
more efficiencies across the board,
but it will also enable new product lines.”
With personalisation being a key driver
of CX, AI will have a key part to play in
providing better experiences. He explains
“Personalisation has always been a difficult
one for people to truly get. I think AI can
really drive the agenda when it comes
to hyper-personalisation. It can allow
services to be offered pretty much
on demand as and when.
“I think if we get together as an
industry to really harness the capabilities
and fine tune it, I think we’ll all be better
for it,” Khaled concludes. “AI is definitely
the biggest innovation right now and
the biggest trend that we all need to
get behind.”
aimagazine.com 63
NAVIGATING THE
GEN AI ON CYBE
A recent report by the National Cyber Security Centre
(NCSC) has highlighted concerns about the increasing
impact of AI on cyberattacks. We take a look

WRITTEN BY: VIKKI DAVIES

64 May 2024
 GENERATIVE AI

E IMPACT OF
ERSECURITY

aimagazine.com 65
 GENERATIVE AI

A
recent report by the National
Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
has highlighted concerns
about the increasing impact
of AI on cyberattacks over the next two
years. The report emphasises that AI is
already being used for malicious cyber
activities and is expected to amplify the
frequency and severity of cyber threats,
particularly ransomware.
The NCSC says that the use of AI lowers
the entry barrier for less skilled cyber
criminals, including hackers-for-hire and
hacktivists. This allows them to conduct
more effective access and information-
gathering operations. The enhanced
access, combined with AI’s improved
targeting capabilities, is anticipated
to contribute to a heightened global
ransomware threat in the near term.
“We must ensure that we both harness
AI technology for its vast potential
and manage its risks – including its
implications on the cyber threat,” said
Lindy Cameron, the NCSC’s former CEO.
“The emergent use of AI in cyber
attacks is evolutionary, not revolutionary,
meaning that it enhances existing threats
like ransomware but does not transform
the risk landscape in the near term.”

The emergence of criminal generative AI

The report highlights the emergence of
criminal Generative AI (Gen AI) and Gen
AI-as-a-service, enabling cyber criminals
to access improved capabilities.
However, the effectiveness of Gen AI
models is constrained by the quality
and quantity of the data on which they
are trained.

66 May 2024

OZ ALASHE MBE
TITLE: C
 EO & FOUNDER
COMPANY: C
 YBSAFE
INDUSTRY: CYBERSECURITY
LOCATION: U
 NITED KINGDOM
Oz Alashe MBE is the chief
executive and founder of
CybSafe. A former British army and
special forces lieutenant colonel,
Oz has a successful track record of
developing and leading the specialist
application of intelligence, cyber and
risk management capability to tackle
sensitive challenges in business
and government.
GENERATIVE AI
The National Crime Agency (NCA)
warns that advancements in AI are likely
to increase the ransomware threat in
the coming years. The NCA notes that
AI services reduce entry barriers, attract
more cyber criminals and enhance their
capabilities by improving the scale,
speed and effectiveness of existing
attack methods.
Oz Alashe MBE, CEO of CybSafe, tells
AI Magazine: “While organisations explore
the opportunities generative AI provides,
it’s essential to consider the other side
of that coin. With business leaders
highlighting the power this technology
gives cybercriminals to create more
convincing phishing campaigns,
deepfakes and more, the onus is on
organisations to equip their people
with the tools to effectively identify
and mitigate these growing threats.
“With only 21% of people believing
they can discern an AI-generated
piece of text from human-written text,
cybersecurity professionals have their
work cut out. As we use this technology
aimagazine.com 69
“We must strengthen
our defences across
the board, and the
same can be true
for any emerging
technology”
KRIS BURKHARDT
GLOBAL CHIEF INFORMATION
SECURITY OFFICER,
ACCENTURE

more and more, the line between real
and fake will continue to blur. As a result,
organisations must engage their staff,
moving beyond compliance to build
and promote positive cybersecurity
behaviours to combat the rising tide
of cybercrime.”
2024 Global Cybersecurity
Outlook report
In the World Economic Forum’s 2022
Global Cybersecurity Outlook report,
approximately half of leaders said that
automation and machine learning
would have the greatest influence on
cybersecurity in the following two years.
Nearly two years later, executives still
feel the same – this year, approximately
half of leaders still agree that Gen AI
will have the most significant impact
on cybersecurity in the next two years.
Industries such as cybersecurity (65%),
agriculture (63%), banking (56%) and
insurance (56%) all had the largest
percentages of leaders choosing Gen AI
as the biggest influence on cybersecurity.

70 May 2024

Kris Burkhardt, Global Chief
Information Security Officer from
Accenture, states: “We must strengthen
our defences across the board, and
the same can be true for any emerging
technology. A lot of the attack vectors
seem to be the same, they just tend
to be amplified.”
Leaders in the 2024 Global
Cybersecurity Outlook report
also expressed concerns about the
impact on cybersecurity in the near
term. This year, 56% of leaders said that
GENERATIVE AI
NCSC’S SUGGESTED
QUESTIONS TO ASK
ABOUT THE SECURITY
OF YOUR ORGANISATION’S
AI SYSTEMS:
• Where does AI/ML security
responsibility lie in our organisation?
• Are all stakeholders informed
enough about AI systems for
effective risk assessment?
• How does security influence ML
product adoption decisions?
• How are ML-related risks integrated
into governance processes?
• How are critical ML assets protected?
• What are the potential consequences
of an ML tool failure?
• What’s our plan for responding to a
serious ML-related security incident?
• Do we understand and scrutinize our
ML supply chains for security?
• How do we address gaps in ML
security knowledge and skills?
aimagazine.com 71
 GENERATIVE AI

Work, Workforce, Workers:

Reinvented in the age of Gen AI

WATCH NOW

Gen AI will advantage cyber attackers

over defenders in the next two years.
“We must ensure More specifically, their greatest
that we both concern about Gen AI is that it will
advance the adversary’s ability to
harness AI undertake actions that defenders are
technology for its already fighting against such as phishing,
developing custom malware and
vast potential and propagating misinformation.
manage its risks The same attack vectors that have
been employed by cybercriminals
– including its are still being used; however, new
implications on technology paves the way for nefarious
activity. Gen AI chatbots are making
the cyber threat” it much easier for cybercriminals to
create believable phishing emails
LINDY CAMERON and write custom malware. Although
CEO, NCSC popular commercial chatbots have
built-in censors and proactive controls

72 May 2024
 GENERATIVE AI

to prevent abuse, cybercriminals are

adopting large language models to
design malicious subscription-based
services. Chatbots such as FraudGPT
and WormGPT are lowering the skills
required to commit complex and
convincing campaigns.

How can leaders help ensure

that AI is developed securely?
Guidelines for Secure AI System
Development, published by the
NCSC and developed with the US’s
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency (CISA) and agencies
from 17 other countries, advise on
the design, development, deployment
and operation of AI systems.
The NCSC says that, crucially,
keeping AI systems secure is as much
about organisational culture, process,
and communication as it is about
technical measures. “Security should
be integrated into all AI projects and
workflows in your organisation from security. You should understand
inception. This is known as a ‘secure whether your organisation is legally
by design’ approach, and it requires compliant and adhering to established
strong leadership that ensures security best practices when handling data
is a business priority, and not just related to these systems.”
a technical consideration,” it says. The NCSC says the burden of using
“Leaders need to understand the AI safely should not fall on the individual
consequences to the organisation if the users of the AI products; customers
integrity, availability or confidentiality of typically won’t have the expertise to fully
an AI system were to be compromised. understand or address AI-related risks.
There may be operational and That is, developers of AI models and
reputational consequences, and your systems should take responsibility for the
organisation should have an appropriate security outcomes of their customers.
response plan in place. As a manager, Ensuring the secure development and
you should also be particularly aware deployment of AI systems is
of AI-specific concerns around data paramount as they become increasingly

74 May 2024

integrated into cybersecurity.
leaders suggest prioritising the secure
development and deployment of AI
systems within cybersecurity. They
advocate for a “secure by design”
approach at the inception of AI projects
and emphasise understanding the
potential consequences of AI system
vulnerabilities and preparing robust
response plans. Guidelines, such as
those from the NCSC, offer valuable
frameworks for guidance. By promoting
cybersecurity awareness and vigilance,
leaders can effectively suggest measures
to mitigate evolving threats posed by AI
and safeguard their organisations.
KRIS BURKHARDT
TITLE: G
 LOBAL CHIEF
INFORMATION SECURITY
OFFICER
COMPANY: A
 CCENTURE
INDUSTRY: INFORMATION
SECURITY
LOCATION: E
 LMHURST, ILLINOIS
As Accenture’s CISO, Kris
Burkhardt leads a global
team of security experts charged
with protecting company, client
and employee data. He oversees
global infosec operations including
security technology architecture and
operations, client data protection,
risk reduction strategies, incident
response and employee training.
Prior, Kris helped create Accenture’s
global infosec capability, and led the
technology and operations areas,
including Accenture’s global SOC.
aimagazine.com 75
Data Centre
Sustainability
Front and Ce
WRITTEN BY:
TOM CHAPMAN

PRODUCED BY:
LEWIS VAUGHAN

76 May 2024
 y
entre
 DIGITAL EDGE

Jay Park,
Founder and Chief Development
Officer at Digital Edge

78 May 2024
 DIGITAL EDGE

Jay Park, Founder and Chief Development

Officer at Digital Edge, explains how the
company ensures sustainability stays at
the forefront of operations

D
igital Edge is a company
on a determined mission
to bridge the digital divide
across Asia, taking world-
class infrastructure in the
form of data centres to all four corners
of the continent, including developing
and developed markets.
Some, like Japan and South Korea,
are well positioned in this space, but
nations including Indonesia, the Philippines,
and India lag significantly behind in many
key areas.
Digital Edge is, therefore, working
round the clock to close the gap, primarily
by establishing state-of-the-art, energy-
efficient data centres.
Since 2020, the organisation has acquired,
built and now operates data centres in
China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea
and the Philippines, while more are
under construction in India.
It also offers interconnection and
fibre services to enable customers
to access a broader digital ecosystem.
Backed by Stonepeak, a leading
international alternative investment firm
that has made a US$1bn capital commitment,
Digital Edge is well on the way to establishing
a market-leading data centre platform.
Growth over the past four years has been
exponential, to the extent that the business
now has 17 data centres in six markets and
more than 450 employees spread across

aimagazine.com 79

“We’re reducing
our PUE by 0.4
in comparison
to the average
site, which
is huge”
JAY PARK
FOUNDER AND CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER,
DIGITAL EDGE
the region. Its EDGE2 data centre recently
opened in Jakarta, while it is anticipated
that the new SEL2 facility in Seoul will
come online in the autumn of this year.
Improving power usage effectiveness
It’s fair to say sustainable data centre
design has become more important than
ever before, given the power-hungry AI
and hyperscale deployments which are
increasingly dominating the industry.
According to Wavestone, data centres
currently account for around 4% of global
electricity consumption, while the carbon
footprint of the wider IT sector is estimated
at 1.4% of overall global emissions. AI server
deployment will inevitably require more
power and more water.
80 May 2024
JAY PARK
TITLE: FOUNDER AND CHIEF
DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
INDUSTRY: TELECOMMUNICATIONS
LOCATION: UNITED STATES
Jay Park is a seasoned leader
with more than three decades of
experience in the high-tech industries,
with the past 20 spent in the design,
construction and operation of data
centres. Prior to joining Digital Edge,
Jay was Vice President of Data Center
Infrastructure at Facebook, where
he spearheaded the design of the
company’s first owned data centre
and built numerous state-of-the-art
facilities globally. He has obtained six
patents for data centre design, with his
innovative concepts proven to deliver
the most energy-efficient and cost-
effective facilities in the world. Jay has
a Professional Engineer (PE) licence
in Electrical Engineering.
DIGITAL EDGE
Unlock new opportunities for data
centers through the energy transition.

With the rise of big data, edge computing and the cloud,
data centers are under pressure to be more high-
performing, sustainable and cost-effective than ever,
without compromising resilience or security. At the same
time, new opportunities and revenue streams require
faster speed-to-market. With our digital intelligence,
world-class cyber-secure products and services, reliable,
compatible solutions and engineering expertise, we help
data centers realize real business benefits today while
optimizing their operations for the future.

Our Data Centers as a Grid approach enables data

centers to reshape their electrical infrastructure
to drive new levels of efficiency, sustainability and
revenue growth.
“To achieve true
sustainability,
we need to
look beyond
the data centre”
JAY PARK
FOUNDER AND CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER,
DIGITAL EDGE
Jay Park, Founder and Chief Development
Officer at Digital Edge, says the key to
reducing electricity consumption and
carbon footprint is to improve power
usage effectiveness (PUE), while he also
advocates a more considered approach
towards water consumption.
Park points to research carried out by
the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE), which found it takes
approximately four gallons of water to
produce one kWh of power.
“For the 20MW data centre, which is
equivalent to our Jakarta EDGE2 data centre,
if we reduce PUE by 0.2 we’ll be able to save
140 million gallons of water per year at the
power-generation end,” he reveals.
“This equates to 200 Olympic-sized
swimming pools. If we’re talking about
the bigger companies, which are building
100MW data centres, it would be more
than 1,000 pools each year – and that’s
a lot of water.”
Leveraging tech to enhance efficiency
Park’s take is that, as a data centre
constructor and operator, investing
in energy efficiency can only be
a win-win situation for Digital Edge.
aimagazine.com 83
 DIGITAL EDGE

Evidently, some servers will operate

at a higher temperature, while others will
require more air. What’s important is that
even making “little savings” is helping to
reduce the overall carbon footprint.
An innovative cooling system at Digital
Edge’s data centre in Jakarta, for example, has
resulted in electricity savings that could power
around 1,500 residential homes, while it’s
estimated the technology has achieved water
savings to fill 200 of those Olympic pools.
Digital Edge is, in fact, the first co-location
data centre company in Asia to install Nortek
StatePoint® liquid cooling technology, having
done so at both its newly-built sites in Manila
and Jakarta.
“This means we’re able to reduce power
and water consumption significantly
compared to current technologies –
a typical water-cooled chiller and DX
system,” Park explains.

84 May 2024
 DIGITAL EDGE

A useful demonstration of its

effectiveness can be found by examining
the Manila facility, NARRA1, which
achieved a PUE of 1.15 at 75% load during
phase on commissioning, surpassing an
already-ambitious design PUE of 1.193.
This compares to a global PUE
average of 1.55.
“You can see we’re reducing our
PUE by 0.4 in comparison to the
average site, which is huge,” adds Park.
“We believe this makes NARRA1 one
of the most energy-efficient data
centres in the Philippines.”

Taking a holistic approach

Power usage effectiveness is, of course,
a standard metric for measuring power
consumption in data centres, pitting the
energy used by computing equipment
against the energy delivered.
While using PUE is a popular and
easily-applied method for calculating
energy efficiency, it has its limitations
in that it doesn’t necessarily take into
account all internal and external factors.
Despite Digital Edge’s impressive PUE
performance across its various sites,
Park contends that operators should be
looking beyond PUE and taking a more
holistic approach.
“To achieve true sustainability, we
need to look beyond the data centre,” he
says. “What I mean is we must look from
start to end – the power plan all the way
to the servers. It can’t just be the data
centre piece, but the whole thing.”
A number of other factors must also
come into the equation, including the
sourcing of renewable energy.

aimagazine.com 85
WE KEEP IT RUNNING.
CLIMATE. CUSTOMIZED.
Since its foundation in 1947, the STULZ company has evolved into
one of the world’s leading suppliers of air conditioning technology.

Our solutions for the air conditioning of business-critical

applications and sensitive systems have made us a
leading company in the Data Center industry worldwide.

OUT OF THE BOX THINKING

Digitalization grows fast. The number and sizes of DC deployments

are reaching a new dimension. That new infrastructure demands
project-specific cooling solutions to fit the building design.

STULZ offers Best-Fit solutions and anticipates

the requirements of the DC operator at the same
time; optimizing cooling on the smallest footprint while
considering easy unit handling and reduced system
complexity. STULZ’s customized Air Handling Units
can deliver up to 1000 kW of cooling capacity.

LET’S CUSTOMIZE YOUR CLIMATE

 DIGITAL EDGE

“We’ve worked
with vendors
that provide
data centre
piping made
from recyclable
plastic, where possible, in addition to educating
customers about new technologies and

which has innovations that will help reduce their

carbon footprint.

a lower carbon Sustainability: At the heart

footprint” of design and build

JAY PARK
FOUNDER AND CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER,
DIGITAL EDGE
Digital Edge’s EDGE1 data centre in
Jakarta, for example, is 100% renewable.
“For some data centres renewable
energy isn’t available and we understand
that,” Park continues, “but, where it’s
available, we need to procure that power.”
The firm’s development lead also
advocates using recycled or sustainable
build materials for new data centre projects
As implied by Park, there exists a belief
at Digital Edge that sustainability must
be positioned right at the heart of the
data centre design and build process.
“Baking” environmentally beneficial
elements into each data centre from day
one is a lot more straightforward than
retrofitting at a later date.
As a minimum, Digital Edge aims for LEED
silver certification for green building across
all its new sites, which has already been
exceeded by its two most recent projects.
Ultimately, the company is focused on
three key areas from day one: greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions, resource management
and the circular economy.

aimagazine.com 87
 DIGITAL EDGE

“With GHG emissions, every little thing

helps,” Park adds. “We have to look at every
detail that will make our carbon footprint
smaller and smaller.
“At some sites we’ve worked with vendors
that provide data centre piping made from
recyclable plastic, which has a lower carbon
footprint than the metal alternative.”
Resource management, meanwhile, is
centred on maximising energy efficiency,
achieved via methods such as the
aforementioned use of innovative cooling
technology to significantly reduce annual
power usage.
Finally, Digital Edge considers the full
lifecycle of any data centre development
and prioritises circular economy principles.
The NARRA1 facility in Manila, for
example, is located on a brownfield site
that reused 100% of the building envelope,
while recycled materials were used for
construction wherever possible.

Partnerships propel Digital Edge forward

Digital Edge is fortunate in that it can count
on a host of key partners to help turn vision
into reality.
Eaton, Eetarp, Stulz, Kohler, Cummins,
Caterpillar, Schneider Electric and Nortek are
just a handful of those cited by Park as being
crucial to facilitating innovation and ensuring
operations run smoothly.
Park estimates that electrical equipment
makes up around 30% of each data centre
project for Digital Edge. As one of the world’s
largest suppliers of such materials, Eaton
provides Digital Edge with transformers,
distribution boards, breakers and beyond,
while consistently supporting the business
when tight schedules come into view.

aimagazine.com 89
UNLOCKING YOUR DATA CENTER
POTENTIAL WITH EETARP GRAPHENE

Our innovative software-based analysis and management system

seamlessly integrates diverse equipment within Data Centers.
With Graphene, you gain unparalleled insights into your Data
Center’s entire data, providing in-depth and real-time
information at your fingertips.

In an era where data is everything, we understand the

importance of reliability, efficiency, and precision.
We are here to provide you with all three.

JOIN US IN SHAPING THE FUTURE OF DATA CENTRE MANAGEMENT

LEARN MORE
 DIGITAL EDGE

“We have to Meanwhile, air handling units make

up around 10%, which is why Digital

look at every Edge looks to the reliability of Stulz for

the provision of these units – allowing

detail that important projects such as those in

Manila to be delivered on time.

will make our Eetarp is another firm with which

Digital Edge has worked closely to

carbon footprint monitor power usage, the air control

system and cooling system. The business

smaller and was “tremendous”, says Park, during the

commissioning phase for the new

smaller” Manila site and in helping get

the data centre online.
“It’s so important to establish close
partnerships because we can’t win
JAY PARK
FOUNDER AND CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, unless we get the right supplies from
DIGITAL EDGE our vendors,” he adds.

aimagazine.com 91
 DIGITAL EDGE

“It’s so
important to
establish close
partnerships
because we
can’t win unless
we get the right
supplies from
our vendors”
JAY PARK
FOUNDER AND CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER,
DIGITAL EDGE

In future, Digital Edge intends to share its

plans and build schedules with vendors early
on in a bid to avoid supply and procurement
issues arising further down the line.
“We recognise our partners have their
own suppliers of parts and materials,”
Park concludes.
“The plans we share don’t have to be 100%
accurate but, just by sharing our schedule
as closely as possible, we can better
understand our partners and the challenges
and hardship they’re going through.
It’s going to be essential to our business.”

aimagazine.com 93
REVOLUTIONISING
ORGANISATIONS GL
WITH MACHINE LEAR
 ML APPLICATIONS

LOBALLY
We explore how machine learning
is penetrating diverse sectors from

RNING
healthcare to finance and retail
and reshaping operations

WRITTEN BY: VIKKI DAVIES

aimagazine.com 95

T
he integration of machine
learning (ML) into various
sectors has ushered in
a new wave of innovation,
revolutionising the way businesses
operate and individuals interact
with technology. From personalised
recommendations on streaming
platforms to predictive maintenance
in manufacturing, ML applications have
become ubiquitous, promising efficiency,
accuracy and unprecedented insights.
As AI continues to evolve, the synergy
between machine learning algorithms
and real-world applications is reshaping
industries at an unprecedented pace.
The global machine learning market
was valued at US$19.45bn in 2022 and
is projected to reach US$188.34bn by
2030, growing at a CAGR of 37.47% from
2023 to 2030. This exponential growth
highlights the increasing adoption of
ML technologies.
Machine learning has transcended
traditional boundaries, empowering
organisations to unlock valuable
insights from vast datasets. Whether
it’s enhancing customer experiences
through personalised recommendations
or optimising supply chain operations,
ML is driving tangible value
across industries.
Machine learning
revolutionising healthcare
In healthcare, machine learning
algorithms are revolutionising patient
care, diagnosis and treatment strategies.
By leveraging ML algorithms, healthcare
ML APPLICATIONS
providers can analyse medical
images with unparalleled accuracy,
facilitating early detection of diseases
such as cancer and expediting
treatment decisions.
At Carnegie Mellon University in the
US, Sridhar Tayur, the Ford Distinguished
Research Chair, and his team have
spearheaded innovative research in
applying machine learning to healthcare
diagnostics. Their recent study focuses
on leveraging advanced classification
techniques, such as support vector
machines, in conjunction with quantum-
inspired computing to enhance the
diagnosis of pneumonia – a condition
notorious for its impact on respiratory
health and mortality rates, particularly
among children under the age of five.
“Machine learning is used for
prediction and in healthcare we want
to predict if somebody has a disease or
not,” he says. Through their investigation,
Tayur and his colleagues demonstrated
the effectiveness of their approach,
noting that it yields fewer errors and
expedites the diagnostic process
compared to traditional methods.
This breakthrough has the potential
to revolutionise pneumonia detection
by harnessing the power of machine
learning algorithms to analyse chest
X-rays and identify patterns indicative
of the infection.
Moreover, predictive analytics
powered by ML are enabling healthcare
organisations to forecast patient
admissions, optimise resource allocation,
and improve operational efficiency.
aimagazine.com 97
Enabling educators.
Empowering students.
Explore how we accelerate student discovery, learning
and innovation with our Digital Education 3D Experience.

EXPLORE THE 3D EXPERIENCE

 ML APPLICATIONS

Machine learning algorithms can analyse

vast volumes of patient data to predict
disease outbreaks, optimise hospital
workflows and ultimately save lives.

Empowering financial services

In the financial services sector, machine
learning is reshaping how institutions
approach risk management, fraud
LEON GORDON detection and customer engagement.
TITLE: C
 EO By employing advanced ML models,
financial institutions can detect
COMPANY: O
 NYX DATA
fraudulent activities in real time,
INDUSTRY: DATA safeguarding against cyber threats
LOCATION: U
 K and protecting consumer assets.
Furthermore, ML-driven algorithms
Leon is the Founder and CEO of are revolutionising investment strategies,
Onyxdata. Outside of Onyx Data, he is enabling asset managers to identify
a Microsoft MVP and a member of the lucrative opportunities and mitigate
Forbes Technology Council. market risks. Machine learning algorithms
analyse market trends, consumer

aimagazine.com 99
 ML APPLICATIONS

MACHINE LEARNING
STATISTICS

• 49% of organisations using ML

and AI in their marketing and sales
processes, whether currently in
production or in pilots, apply it to
identify sales prospects, and 48% -
to gain insight into their prospects
and customers.
(Harvard Business Review)
• 67% of respondents to a recent “The ability
survey from Harvard Business
Review Analytic Services agree that
to scale is
ML and AI in marketing and sales extremely
important
will be critical to their company’s
ability to compete in the future.
(Harvard Business Review)
• 31% of respondents who are using in retail”
ML and AI in sales and marketing
say they have increased their LEON GORDON
CEO,
revenue and market share.
ONYX DATA
(Harvard Business Review)

100 May 2024

behaviour, and economic indicators to
generate actionable insights, empowering
investors to make informed decisions.
According to the Bank of England, the
number of UK financial services firms
that use machine learning continues
to increase. Overall, 72% of firms that
responded to its machine learning survey
are using or developing ML applications.
These applications are becoming
increasingly widespread across more
business areas.
The Governor of the Bank of England,
Andrew Bailey, says: “AI is something
that I think we have to embrace with our
eyes open. It is very important and has
potentially profound implications for
economic growth, productivity and how
economies are shaped going forward.”
Transforming retail experiences
In the retail sector, machine learning
algorithms are reshaping the customer
experience, from personalised
recommendations to demand forecasting.
By leveraging ML algorithms, retailers can
analyse consumer preferences, purchase
history and browsing behaviour to deliver
personalised shopping experiences,
driving customer loyalty and sales.
aimagazine.com 101
 ML APPLICATIONS
Azure Machine Learning Studio
WATCH NOW
Moreover, ML-driven demand
forecasting models enable retailers to
optimise inventory management, reduce
stockouts, and minimise overstocking.
Machine learning algorithms analyse
diverse data sources, including
sales data, social media trends and
macroeconomic indicators, to forecast
demand with precision, enabling retailers
to optimise their supply chain operations
and enhance profitability.
Leon Gordon, a renowned expert in
data analytics and artificial intelligence
and CEO of Onyx Data, says: “The ability
to scale is extremely important in retail.
It allows businesses to keep up with rapid
demand and momentum, especially
102 May 2024
during massive spikes in user traffic
around holidays and sales days, without
compromising on quality or efficiency.”
Retail giant Marks & Spencer has
a system that can handle the ebbs
and flows of customer sales and meet
customer traffic without disruptions
in customer service. Marks & Spencer
has more than 30 million customers
and large amounts of data that require
systems that can scale to process it.
The company uses Azure Machine
Learning to build machine learning
solutions that can scale and give
customers personalised offers. This
is just one example of how machine
learning is being utilised in retail.
aimagazine.com 103
 ML APPLICATIONS

“AI is something that I

think we have to embrace
with our eyes open”
ANDREW BAILEY
GOVERNOR,
THE BANK OF ENGLAND

ANDREW BAILEY
TITLE: G
 OVERNOR OF THE BANK
OF ENGLAND
COMPANY: B
 ANK OF ENGLAND
INDUSTRY: FINANCE
LOCATION: U
 K

Andrew Bailey served as Chief Executive

Officer of the Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA) from 1 July 2016
until taking up the role of Governor.
As CEO of the FCA, Andrew Bailey
was also a member of the Prudential
Regulation Committee, the Financial
Policy Committee, and the Board of
the Financial Conduct Authority.
Looking ahead:
The future of machine learning
As machine learning continues to
advance, its transformative potential
across industries is boundless. From
healthcare and finance to retail and
beyond, ML-driven solutions are
driving innovation, efficiency, and
value creation. However, with great

104 May 2024

power comes great responsibility. As
we embrace the potential of machine
learning, it’s imperative to prioritise
ethical considerations, transparency
and accountability to ensure that AI
technologies benefit society as a whole.
The fusion of machine learning with
real-world applications is causing
a shift, redefining the possibilities of
AI and shaping the future of industries
worldwide. As organisations harness the
power of machine learning to unlock
insights, optimise operations and drive
innovation, the journey towards AI-driven
transformation continues to unfold,
promising a future where intelligent
technologies empower humanity to
achieve greater heights.
aimagazine.com 105
Atos Edge
Transformations
are Driving
Business
Value
WRITTEN BY:
MARCUS LAW

PRODUCED BY:
LEWIS VAUGHAN

106 May 2024

 ATOS

Arnaud Langer, Global Managing

Partner – Edge & IoT for Atos, on
how the company’s innovations
are driving business success,
turning data into decisions

I
n today’s world data is more valuable
than ever. Famously referred to
as ‘the new oil’ in 2006 by British
mathematician Clive Humby, by
2025 the world is set to produce
463 exabytes of data per day.
But when it comes to harnessing this
vast quantity of data, organisations today
must focus on creating business value.
Illustrating this is Arnaud Langer, Global
Managing Partner – Edge & IoT at Atos.
With more than 15 years of experience
in the IT industry, Langer first studied as
an electrical engineer, before later moving
to Atos. There, his initial projects around
connected vehicles not only marked
successes in Europe but also paved his way
to the US, where he expanded Atos’ offerings
in big data, AI and machine learning.
With extensive experience across the
fields of IoT and big data, Langer discusses
the early days of IoT, where the emphasis
was on connectivity for its own sake. “The
goal was really to connect everything,
without necessarily knowing what we
would be able to do with the connected
things themselves,” he observes.
This insight extends to big data initiatives,
where companies amassed vast data lakes
without a clear strategy for deriving value.
It was this realisation that spurred a strategic
pivot at Atos, under Langer’s leadership, to
focus on the end goal of creating business
value from data. “We need to collect data

aimagazine.com 109
 ATOS
from something, even if it’s remote, and then
we need to connect it so that the whole data
chain makes sense,” he asserts. “That’s why
I decided to create that offering and then that
line of business within Atos. We take the data
from wherever it is needed, but ultimately
we start with the end goal, which is to make
money with what we’re creating.”
Atos’ approach under Langer’s guidance
has been to develop a platform that –
while complex – delivers a comprehensive
solution to customers at what the company
describes as the Far Edge: edge computing
infrastructure deployed in a location farthest
from the core data centre and closest to the
users. “We’ve been able to develop the whole
platform so that it can be a giant black box
that we deliver to the customer,” he explains.
“We’ve got the right hardware and the
whole data platform. We’ve been partnering
with a few companies out there, but I’m
pretty happy that now we have an offering
that makes sense. That offering is pretty
complex, but at the end of the day we now
have a good opportunity to make money with
data which, as we all know, is the new oil.”
Atos supporting customers
on their edge transformations
The edge is – like Atos’ black block solutions
themselves – a complex environment.
At the heart of Atos’ strategy for edge
transformations is recognising these
complexities, and simplifying these
journeys for clients.
Highlighting the challenges of managing
devices in diverse and remote locations,
this complexity is twofold.
“First, the device is in the field, and not in
a data centre anymore,” Langer explains. “As
a result, you cannot have your IT department
available 24/7, ready to look at why a box is
blinking red, instead of green.
110 May 2024
“You have to have
automation and
the right level of
decision–making
that is automated
by the management
platform, so that you
can be successful
in deploying edge
deployments”
ARNAUD LANGER
GLOBAL MANAGING
PARTNER – EDGE & IOT, ATOS
“Secondly, you have a different scale
of management. If you have a complex
infrastructure in a data centre, it’s a few
racks. At the edge, you’ve got thousands of
locations and therefore you have all sorts
of diversity in the field. One location will be
cold, the other one will be hot. One location
will have cellular network available, the
other one will be cable only.”
The scalability, diversity and management
of edge devices call for a nuanced approach,
emphasising automation and foresight to
avoid repeating past mistakes.
“You have to have automation and
the right level of decision–making that is
automated by the management platform, so
that you can be successful in deploying edge
deployments,” Langer says, advocating for a
thoughtful approach to edge deployments.
“Otherwise, you’re going to have the exact
same issues that we had 15 years ago when
we started with IoT.”
ARNAUD LANGER
TITLE: GLOBAL MANAGING
PARTNER – EDGE & IOT
INDUSTRY: IT SERVICES AND
IT CONSULTING
LOCATION: UNITED STATES

Arnaud Langer, with over a decade

of expertise in program and product
management, currently spearheads
the Edge and AI Strategy at Atos. His
educational foundation, a Master
of Engineering in Electronics and
Computer Science from ESEO in
France, equips him to navigate the
entire data spectrum, emphasising
the linkage from hardware nuances to
sophisticated analytics, always with a
keen eye on driving tangible business
results. His international tenure, having
worked extensively in France and Spain
before settling in the US, underscores
his adeptness at uniting cross–cultural
teams towards common goals. His
strategic vision not only serves Atos
but also mirrors his appetite for
technology and cars, showcasing a
harmonious blend of professional
drive and personal passion.
Scale Up
AI at the Edge
The rise of real-time analysis and AI
inferencing outside the data centers and
cloud has accelerated edge computing.

Businesses must manage such distributed

edge solutions at scale to remain focused
on critical business outcomes.

Hence, Dell Technologies is on a mission

to reimagine edge operations.

Learn more
How Dell Technologies is Reimagining Edge Operations
Dell Technologies is utilising
the groundbreaking Dell
NativeEdge platform to turn
the challenges associated
with edge operations into
opportunities
Edge computing has accelerated
thanks to the rise of real-time
analysis and AI inferencing
outside data centres and the
cloud.
However, it has introduced
several unique challenges: a
harsh environment; the need
for hardware diversity; security;
distributed and siloed systems;
a lack of IT support.
Explaining the dispersed nature
of the edge, Pierluca Chiodelli,
VP Engineering Technology
at Dell Technologies, says:
“You may want to create a
preventative maintenance
solution, but in the same place
you may want a smart building
solution. The two things don’t
speak together, so you prescribe
an entire stack every time you
deploy a new solution.
“That creates this problem where
the edge is siloed because each
solution is bespoke.”
Streamlining edge
operations at scale
Dell Technologies is on a
mission to reimagine edge
operations, turning challenges
into opportunities.
Enter Dell NativeEdge, an edge
operations software platform
that centralises deployment
and management of edge
infrastructure and applications.
“With Dell NativeEdge,
organisations can manage
that complexity and streamline
edge operations at scale,” adds
Chiodelli.
“Also, the idea is to reduce the
time to deploy new solutions.
You can carry out a POC in a
matter of hours—instead of
days or months—in the case of
a normal solution because you
have the ability to completely
automate the deployment.”
Atos helps Dell
integrate NativeEdge
Dell Technologies and Atos have,
for many years, enjoyed a strong
partnership – especially when it
comes to edge computing.The
pair jointly developed SmartEdge
for Business Outcomes, an
end-to-end solution consisting
of a technology stack and
a consulting service to help
enterprises achieve their desired
business outcomes.
NativeEdge is at the core of this
stack to deploy, manage and
secure the edge infrastructure,
Atos analytics, the AL/ML
modelling portfolio and other
certified ISV applications using
blueprints. Specifically, with
the SmartEdge for Business
Outcomes engagement,
enterprises stand to gain
flexibility, scalability, accuracy
and relevancy. Chiodelli
concludes: “Atos helps us
integrate NativeEdge in many
different use cases and, on top
of that, they can bring their own
approved solutions.”
 ATOS

WATCH NOW

“I’m all for Atos SmartEdge for Business Outcomes:

Turning data into decisions
having all the Atos’ SmartEdge for Business Outcomes
initiative highlights the company’s expertise
data of the world in turning data into strategic decisions.
By taking a holistic approach, Atos enables
available. Specific clients to leverage data effectively, balancing
companies do the need for detail with the imperative for
cost–efficiency and scalability.
that, but that’s “Over the years we have been able
to combine a pretty deep portfolio of
not what every technological items, so that we can provide
enterprise an offering that’s completely abstracted
from the technology to our customers,”
should do” Langer says, highlighting how Atos’ approach
involves a tiered structure of Core, Edge,
and Far Edge computing, ensuring that data
ARNAUD LANGER
GLOBAL MANAGING management and processing are optimised
PARTNER – EDGE & IOT, ATOS across different environments.

114 May 2024

 With these complex ecosystems,
with different infrastructures and sets of
software, Langer describes how it is crucial
to have the right software in place.
“You have to have a unifying software
that brings everything as a whole so that
you don’t lose control and you still are
able to run automation for management,
monitoring, deployment, security
all together.”
Real–time data and applied
AI driving business value
Real–time data and applied AI stand as
the cornerstones of Atos’ strategy to drive
business value. Langer advocates for a lean
approach to data management, focusing
on essential data points to ensure cost–
efficiency and scalability.
When it comes to extracting value from
data, businesses should consider two things:
the amount of data, and where the value
comes from. To illustrate this, Langer uses
the example of performing analytics using
computer vision on video feeds.
“You could say that you want the best
camera to have the clearest picture, to make
sure that the AI runs right and can detect a
specific kind of dog, instead of just identifying a
dog. But the business question is, do I need that
quality, or do I need to know that information?
“If you are using a 4K camera instead of an
HD camera, you are multiplying the number of
pixels and therefore multiplying the amount of
analytics that you want to run. Therefore, you
are getting into a more expensive infrastructure,
with more energy consumed, more
maintenance and more potential failure points.”
aimagazine.com 115
 ATOS

By following Atos’ approach,

organisations can be more lean when
it comes to data – reducing the cost
of infrastructure and leading to
widespread benefits.
“I’m all for having all the data of the world
available. Specific companies do that, but
that’s not what every enterprise should do.
And that’s exactly the opposite of what I’m
advising my customers to do,” Langer adds.
“If you want to use ChatGPT internally,
go for it. But if you want a specific business
case, we need to be very lean. What we
plan for our customers is scaling up.
We start with a single business case so
that we can establish a good foundation,
but still scale up the infrastructure and
the software, so that everything is flexible.”

How Atos edge and cloud solutions

have delivered benefits for customers
By employing edge–enabled predictive
maintenance, Atos has improved
customer experiences and operational
efficiency. Langer cites a specific case
with a theme park in Orlando where
predictive maintenance has reduced
queue times for rides, enhancing the
overall customer experience.
With theme parks attracting thousands
of visitors each day, ensuring that all
attractions function properly and are
open to the public on a continuous
basis is a question of reputation and
customer loyalty.
“One of the ways to have happy
customers is for customers to wait less
in a queue to get on a ride,” Langer explains.
“How do we make them wait less? We make
the ride get more people every hour on it.
How do we do that? We need to make
sure the ride works. How do we do that?
We predict failures.”

116 May 2024

 ATOS

As a result of Atos’ solution, the theme

park operator has been able to eliminate
inefficient preventive maintenance and
carry out more highly targeted predictive
maintenance, leading to less downtime,
lower costs and happier visitors.
“By having the right data management,
AI and everything, you can predict failures.
If you predict failures, the ride is available
for more people, and the customer is happy.”

Atos’ vision for the future of Edge

Looking ahead, Atos envisions a future
where edge technologies blur the distinction
between operational technology (OT) and
information technology (IT). Langer foresees
a landscape where edge devices resemble
smartphones in their ease of use and
integration, and as a result democratising
data access and analytics.
“One part of our vision is how we can
automate the whole ecosystem. We’re
already working with partners on automating
the onboarding of devices, similar to when
you switch a smartphone to the newer
model, where you input a username and
password and it gets all your data, contacts
and applications.”
As Langer describes, Atos also aims to
bridge the gap between OT and IT. “I’ve
heard customers, who were really on the
OT side, telling me that our solution seems
very IT heavy. In OT, usually you don’t
run software updates. You install some
equipment and 15 years later you change it,
but in the meantime, no one connects to it.
“We are getting to a point where that
piece of equipment can run for 15 years,
but we need to extract data from it. The
more we are going to evolve at the edge,
the more previously isolated and protected
devices and data will become connected
and smarter.”

aimagazine.com 117
 ATOS

“I really see an

explosion in our
market in both
Edge and AI”
ARNAUD LANGER
GLOBAL MANAGING
PARTNER – EDGE & IOT, ATOS

World starting to acknowledge

the need for the edge
Langer anticipates a surge in the market for
both edge computing and AI. He foresees
widespread adoption of AI and edge
technologies by large companies, driven by
a growing recognition of their importance.
The concept of Sovereign AI also highlights
an emerging trend where businesses seek
to develop bespoke AI solutions tailored to
their specific needs and data governance
requirements. This approach ensures that
AI models are not only customised but also
operate within the regulatory and ethical
frameworks pertinent to the business or region.
“How we get that AI on board and just make
it for us is where the market is going,” Langer
predicts. “I don’t see any large company that
will not have any sort of AI or Sovereign AI
or edge in the next 18 months. I think overall
we are going to have a widespread AI and
development and utilisation across the board.
“I think that the world will start to
acknowledge the need for the edge. AI is
becoming mainstream, and the question is not
if companies are going to embrace AI, but how?
Therefore, they start getting to understand that
edge will be part of the equation. I really see an
explosion in our market in both edge and AI.”

aimagazine.com 119
 AI AND BIG DATA

OVERCOMING AI C
WITH DATA CHUNK
We discover how innovative techniques like data
chunking and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)
are reshaping the landscape of AI
WRITTEN BY: VIKKI DAVIES

120 May 2024

CHALLENGES
KING AND RAG

aimagazine.com 121
 AI AND BIG DATA

T
he management and processing
of data remain pivotal in the
ever-evolving landscape of AI.
As data sets grow exponentially
larger and more complex, traditional
methods of handling information
become increasingly inefficient.
However, amidst this challenge, data
chunking is an innovative approach
that not only streamlines data
management but also enhances AI
capabilities, fostering more efficient
and scalable solutions.
At its core, data chunking involves
breaking down large volumes of data
into smaller, more manageable chunks
or segments. This process facilitates
easier storage, retrieval, and processing
of information, enabling AI systems to
handle vast data sets with enhanced
efficiency. By partitioning data into
manageable chunks, AI algorithms
can operate more swiftly, reducing
processing times and resource utilisation.

The potential of data chunking

Data chunking holds immense potential
across various industries, revolutionising
data management practices and
unlocking new possibilities for AI-driven
solutions. In healthcare, for instance,
medical imaging data can be chunked
for faster analysis and diagnosis, leading
to improved patient outcomes. In
finance, large-scale transaction data
can be segmented for fraud detection
and risk assessment, bolstering security
measures. Similarly, in manufacturing,

aimagazine.com 123
 CONNECTING
FINSERV, BANKING & INSURANCE
LEADERS ACROSS THE U.S. & CANADA

17 JUNE 2024
VIRTUAL CONFERENCE, NEW YORK

GET YOUR FREE TICKETS BECOME A SPONSOR


“Generative AI will
only be as good as
the data that you
can put in”
DOM COULDWELL
HEAD OF FIELD ENGINEERING EMEA,
DATASTAX
sensor data from IoT devices can be
chunked for real-time monitoring and
predictive maintenance, optimising
operational efficiency.
Deloitte Research Leader Chris
Areknberg says: “If data is the new
oil, as many have said, large language
models (LLMs) and diffusion models
may offer a higher-performance engine
to help make it work. Many companies
have accumulated large amounts of
AI AND BIG DATA
data that generative AI can help them
operationalise. Generative AI (Gen AI) can
offer them a better lens on their data,
combining a conversational and visual
interface with the ability to reckon with
vast troves of data far beyond human
reasoning. Gazing across 2024, more
companies may see the influence of
Gen AI not only on their operations and
product lines but also within their C-suite
and boardrooms.”
Dom Couldwell, Head of Field
Engineering, EMEA at DataStax adds:
“When you get started with Gen AI, you
might be happy to use the responses
that a public LLM can prepare for you.
However, if you want to provide more
value to your customers you’ll need to
leverage your own company data around
products and customers to personalise
results. To achieve this, you will have
to prepare your data for Retrieval
Augmented Generation, or RAG.”
aimagazine.com 125
 WHAT IS DATA CHUNKING?

Data chunking involves breaking

down large volumes of data into
smaller, more manageable chunks
or segments. This process facilitates
easier storage, retrieval and
processing of information, enabling AI
systems to handle vast data sets with
enhanced efficiency. By partitioning
data into manageable chunks, AI
algorithms can operate more swiftly,
reducing processing times and
resource utilisation.

RAG combines pre-trained language

models with a retrieval system that
enables you to talk to your company’s
own data. “RAG is incredibly useful
because it reduces hallucinations,
helps LLMs to be more specific by
using enterprise data and can be
refreshed as quickly as new information
becomes available. It’s also a more
resource-efficient approach as the
embedded retrieval inference costs are
substantially lower than batch training
custom models.”
To get RAG right, Couldwell suggests
organisations should look at ‘Day 1’
and ‘Day 2’ problems. ‘Day 1’ issues are
those that exist around getting started,
like preparing your data for RAG. ‘Day
2’ problems exist around how to make
systems work at scale, which can be
a significantly bigger challenge.

126 May 2024

 AI AND BIG DATA

Couldwell’s ‘Day 1’
data problems explained
“To get started around RAG, you have
to look at what data you have, what
formats it exists in and how to get this
ready for use with Generative AI. This
can be unstructured data or structured
data that exists in a variety of formats.
All this data you have will then be turned
into document objects that contain
both text and associated metadata.
This data is then split into smaller
portions called chunks that can be
indexed and understood.
“The chunks are indexed and
converted into vector embeddings,
which capture the semantic relationships
between concepts or objects in
mathematical form. These vectors are
stored in a vector database for future use.
“Each of these steps is needed to
get your data ready to search when
a query comes in from a user. That
query gets turned into a vector, which
then gets used for a search comparison
against all the information held in the
vector database. The system finds the
information that has the closest semantic
match to the query, and then shares that
information back to the LLM to build
the response.
“As an example, say you ask a retailer
for product information around “scarlet
Nike sneakers” - a traditional search
engine would look for exact matches to
that term, while a vector search would
understand that “scarlet” is a synonym
for “red”, that “Nike” is a brand name,
and “sneakers” equates to “trainers” or

aimagazine.com 127
 AI AND BIG DATA
WATCH NOW
“shoes.” The vector search should deliver
a mix of results that match the search
idea, not just the words involved, and
provide that customer with a better set
of results in context.
“To implement RAG effectively,
you have to pick the right embedding
model, data chunking strategy and index
approach. Each of these approaches is
tailored to specific scenarios and types
of texts. With multiple different chunking
approaches to consider, you can
experiment with different methods to
determine which best suits the specific
needs of your RAG application.”
128 May 2024
Cauldwell’s ‘Day 2’ problems explained
“Beyond getting your data prepared, the
next problem to consider is how to run
at production levels. While you might be
able to use data in test implementations
and get relevant results, how does
that same implementation scale up
to thousands or millions of requests
coming in? The complexity of accessing
structured and unstructured data can
introduce latency that impacts the
user experience.
“Up to 40% of that latency can come
from calls to the embedding service
and vector search service. Reducing
that overhead per transaction can have DOM COULDWELL
a huge impact on the user, while also TITLE: H
 EAD OF FIELD
affecting the cost for those transactions ENGINEERING EMEA
as well. If transactions are more efficient, COMPANY: D
 ATASTAX
then the cost to service customers will
INDUSTRY: AI
be reduced and it is therefore more likely
that the application will deliver on its LOCATION: U
 K
business case.
“To achieve this, developers have two Dom Couldwell has over
choices - you can either manage the two decades of experience
components themselves over time, or across a variety of verticals including
you can look at employing a stack that Financial Services, Healthcare and
comes pre-integrated. Implementing Retail. He is currently the Head of
your own components enables you to Field Engineering, EMEA for DataStax.
pick the best approach and toolset for

aimagazine.com 129
“Many companies
have accumulated
large amounts of
data that generative
AI can help them
operationalise”
CHRIS AREKNBERG
RESEARCH LEADER,
DELOITTE
 AI AND BIG DATA

your application, but it does require

management and development
overhead as tools are changed or
updated. Conversely, a stack-based
approach can support those different
tools in one overall solution, letting your
developers concentrate on how the
application expands rather than tending
to the components.
“Alongside your performance around
data retrieval, you will want to look at
how you scale up your data deployment.
Running in multiple locations requires
you to host your data in different regions
and keep it consistent. This is necessary
because you will want to hold your
data closer to your users rather than
only having it in one location. This also
makes it easier to streamline testing and
validation processes as you can replicate
your staging environments to different
regions, ensuring you can thoroughly
test performance in geographically
diverse settings. This is also beneficial
for managing increasing demands
without sacrificing performance or
availability as user data volumes grow.
“Generative AI will only be as good as
the data that you can put in. Using RAG
can help improve your responses, but
this has to be implemented so that you
can scale up your approach to cope with
customer demand. Once you have RAG
in place, you will also have to look at your
Day 2 issues, so you continue to get the
value out of Gen AI that you want.”

aimagazine.com 131
 BSI

How BSI
is Helping
Businesses
Navigate AI
Regulation
AD FEATURE
WRITTEN BY:
MARCUS LAW

PRODUCED BY:
JONATHAN CROPLEY

aimagazine.com 133
 BSI
Founded in 1901, BSI is
one of the world’s largest
certification bodies.
Now, it has launched a unit
to help ensure AI systems
meet stringent standards
T
he regulation of AI is one of
the most significant challenges
of our time. As countless
organisations and individuals
harness the technology’s
potential, the rapid acceleration of AI
has led to extensive calls to ensure its
use is ethical and trustworthy.
 With the passing of the EU’s AI Act
in March 2024, adhering to regulations
has become increasingly paramount.
Representing the first-ever legal framework
on AI, the AI Act aims to address the risks
of AI and position Europe as a leading global
player, with the US, UK and China now
working to publish their own guidelines.
Since 1901, BSI has been creating
an enduring legacy of transformation for
the benefit of all. Today, the organisation
is well established to tackle today’s
challenges, including ensuring the
responsible use of AI for the benefit
of society. Operating within the Testing
Inspection Certification (TIC) industry,
aimagazine.com 135
 Mark Thirlwell,
Managing
Director, AI
Regulatory
Services at BSI
BSI is one of the world’s largest certification
bodies, working to ensure businesses adopt
best practices mandated by regulations
or voluntarily embraced for improved
efficiency and service quality.
With a legacy spanning 120 years,
BSI’s commitment to ethical conduct
and excellence is upheld through its
Royal Charter status, signifying a
dedication to societal impact beyond
profit motives.
“What we aim to achieve is to make a
meaningful impact towards fostering a
fair society and a more sustainable world,”
explains Manuela Gazzard, Group Director
of Regulatory Services at BSI. “This involves
136 May 2024
tackling cutting-edge problems and
advancing societal progress.”
Tackling the task of AI regulation is one
of those cutting-edge challenges. Today,
BSI’s foray into AI regulation marks a pivotal
moment in its history. Mark Thirlwell,
Managing Director of BSI’s AI Regulatory
Services Business Unit, outlines the need to
ensure AI systems meet stringent standards.
“We’re not here to stifle innovation or
impede AI’s progress,” he says. “We aim to
facilitate innovation. For AI to reach its full
potential, it must adhere to principles of
fairness, accessibility and transparency.”
BSI is actively assisting organisations
in bringing AI products to market in a manner
 BSI

“We now provide a comprehensive

suite of services to customers,
particularly those operating in high-risk
environments subject to the AI Act”
MARK THIRLWELL
MANAGING DIRECTOR,
AI REGULATORY SERVICES,
BSI

that is fair and transparent – with an initial
focus on medical applications.
“Currently, our focus is primarily on
medical devices, although we anticipate
extending our services to all industries
where AI is utilised in high-risk scenarios.
We already have more than 40 clients in
the medical field whom we are reviewing
against ‘state-of-the-art’ practices,”
Thirlwell adds.
“Having worked across various industries,
I’ve never felt more fulfilled in my role.
Witnessing the impact of our clients’ work
– whether it’s aiding children with ADHD,
detecting cancers or identifying fetal
anomalies – is truly remarkable.”
MARK THIRLWELL
TITLE: MANAGING DIRECTOR,
AI REGULATORY SERVICES
COMPANY: BSI
Mark joined BSI in an interim capacity in
April 2022, before being appointed as the
permanent Managing Director of the AI
Regulatory Services team in March 2023.
Mark has over 18 years’ experience
working for Accenture, PwC and, most
recently, The Berkeley Partnership.
During this time Mark has shaped
and led the definition and delivery of
transformational strategies across a range
of industries. He is increasingly focussed
on how cutting-edge digital innovation
can be used to address society’s most
pressing issues, including climate change.
“For AI to reach its full
potential, it must adhere
to principles of fairness,
accessibility and
transparency”
MARK THIRLWELL
MANAGING DIRECTOR,
AI REGULATORY SERVICES,
BSI
BSI helps customers
navigate the AI landscape
By offering a suite of services encompassing
AI management, product design assessment
and algorithm auditing, BSI aims to support
organisations in navigating the complex
regulatory landscape and instilling trust
among stakeholders.
As BSI prepares to establish itself as
an AI-notified body – an organisation
designated to assess the conformity of
AI products before being placed on the
market – Mark explains that its aim is not
only to fulfil regulatory requirements
but also assist the industry in enhancing
safety, fairness, trustworthiness and
regulatory readiness.
138 May 2024
“We are in the process of developing
capabilities and services that will fall
under our role as an AI-notified body,”
he says. “These services are being gradually
introduced to give customers confidence
in the development of their AI systems,
ensuring they meet the necessary
quality standards.”
Essentially, he describes that BSI’s
approach can be likened to peeling
layers off an onion. At the outer layer,
this involves the focus on the management
of AI within companies, and evaluating
whether companies have effective
AI management systems in place,
encompassing people, processes
and governance.

Here, BSI assesses compliance against
the ISO/IEC 42001 standard, a standard
which BSI has played a central role in
developing and provides guidelines for how
AI management systems should function.
“Moving inward, we assess the design
of AI products on a case-by-case basis,”
he explains. “This entails conducting
technical design assessments to ensure
that the AI’s design aligns with established
standards, addressing factors such as bias
and accuracy.”
The innermost layer involves evaluating
the actual functionality of the AI system,
where a significant shift in regulatory
approach occurs. “Unlike traditional
medical devices, where assurance is largely
BSI
Use more image
captions as often
as possible
Colleagues at
the BSI Milton
Keynes office
derived from design and management
practices, AI necessitates scrutiny of the
underlying data sets and algorithms due
to continuous development and reliance
on training data.”
To address this, BSI has partnered
with Citadel AI, a company specialising
in algorithm auditing software, to
offer algorithm auditing and data set
testing services.
“We now provide a comprehensive suite
of services to customers, particularly those
operating in high-risk environments subject
to the AI Act,” he adds.
“This ensures they are well-prepared,
transparent and compliant, enabling them
to reassure investors and customers of their
aimagazine.com 139
“Our main concern lies with customers who
have never engaged with a notified body
before because their products have not
previously fallen under its regulations”
MANUELA GAZZARD
PRESIDENT, REGULATORY SERVICES,
BSI

safety and transparency.

When regulatory mandates come
into effect, these companies will be
in a strong position to undergo scrutiny
by AI-notified bodies.”
Implications of
Implications of AI
AIregulation
regulationonon
customers: Navigating
Navigatingthe
thetransition
transition
As Gazzard highlights, there are several
potential challenges faced by customers
unfamiliar with working with notified bodies,
particularly startups venturing into regulated
domains. The transition to AI regulation
may pose hurdles, necessitating early
engagement and preparedness to avoid
disruptions to innovation.
“There are customers already working
with notified bodies at the moment.
For them, it’s essentially an extension,
as they are familiar with the process of
working with a notified body,” she explains.
“Our main concern lies with customers
who have never engaged with a notified
body before because their products have
not previously fallen under its regulations.”
MANUELA GAZZARD
TITLE: PRESIDENT,
REGULATORY SERVICES
COMPANY: BSI
Dr Manuela Gazzard was appointed in
July 2018, having joined BSI in April 2017
to head up its healthcare sector strategy as
Managing Director of Healthcare. Manuela
has over twenty years of leadership
experience in the global life sciences
sector including pharmaceuticals, medical
devices, biotech, and other related fields.
Her extensive experience includes
positions as Managing Director, NovaPrep
and Lab Services at Novacyt; Group
Commercial Director, Johnson Matthey/
MacFarlan Smith; and Director positions
at Johnson & Johnson/Janssen and
Boehringer Ingelheim. Manuela worked
internationally in cancer research prior
to her corporate career.

140 May 2024

 BSI

Manuela Gazzard,
President, BSI
Regulatory Services
 BSI

This process is rigorous – particularly

for an AI market filled with startups and
scaleups that may have not previously
engaged with notified bodies such as BSI.
“Many startups operate in this space,
which fosters innovation and introduces
new concepts. However, many of these
companies have never dealt with a notified
body before, and accessing third-party
consultancy services to prepare for this
might prove challenging.”
As a result, she strongly advocates for
the availability of various tools to assist,
such as training courses offered by BSI
and other providers. “We also produce
white papers, conduct roadshows and
actively engage to ensure readiness for
when these regulations come into effect.
Otherwise, the consequence could be
a slowdown in innovation.”
BSI, being a notified body, does not offer
consultancy services as this would be breach
of impartiality.
Thirlwell underscores the importance
of taking proactive measures, stressing
the benefits of early adoption in gaining
competitive advantage and fostering trust
among consumers and investors. Businesses
will have a two-year transition period to
comply with the AI Act from it entering into
force, but Thirlwell warns that action should AI Act and the risks it aims to mitigate right
be taken today. now. Currently, AI is being used in various
“When people hear about a two-year high-risk scenarios, such as medical devices,
transition period for the AI Act, it might robotics in manufacturing and semi-
sound like a lengthy period, but in reality, autonomous vehicles. These are risks we
it isn’t,” he says. “We can only achieve so must manage without delay. Let’s not wait
much within that time frame. If everyone for regulation to force us into action.”
waits until just two months before the
end of the transition period to apply, it will BSI’s future
future trajectory:
trajectory:Pioneering
Pioneering
undoubtedly cause issues. We should be solutions
solutions for
for aa sustainable
sustainableworld
world
addressing the standards underlying the Looking ahead, BSI remains steadfast in

142 May 2024


its commitment to addressing society’s most
pressing needs. Gazzard envisions a future
centred on sustainability and digitisation,
with BSI playing a pivotal role in setting
standards and providing innovative solutions.
As she highlights, BSI’s focus is twofold.
“Firstly, there’s a significant emphasis on
sustainability: encompassing areas such
as reducing greenhouse gases, improving
waste management, establishing ethical
supply chains and developing sustainable
Craig Civil, Director
of Data Science and
AI, presenting at the
World Summit AI,
Amsterdam, 2023
infrastructure. Secondly, we’re prioritising
digitisation, particularly in terms of digital
governance, risk management, data
stewardship and the integration of AI.
“We recognise the importance of
practising what we preach,” she adds.
“We must undergo our own digital
transformation, and adapt our service
delivery methods accordingly. We’ve moved
beyond relying on clipboards, for instance,
but there is still progress to be made.”
aimagazine.com 143
 BSI

Gazzard also foresees

“What we aim to achieve a significant shift in the
is to make a meaningful TIC industry towards
data collection. “Rather
impact towards fostering than simply identifying issues,
we’ll be gathering valuable
a fair society and a more data to anticipate and prevent
sustainable world” problems. This approach not
only enhances safety but also
recognises the immense value
MANUELA GAZZARD
PRESIDENT, REGULATORY SERVICES, of data. Therefore, we must embark
BSI on an internal transition journey
while simultaneously supporting our
clients externally.”

Thirlwell echoes this sentiment,
highlighting AI’s potential to drive
productivity and solve complex challenges
such as sustainability. By leveraging its
expertise and international partnerships,
BSI aims to navigate the complexities of
AI regulation and usher in a future guided
by fairness, trustworthiness and
technological advancement.
On the AI front, Thirwell explains that
there is still plenty of work to be done.
“Given BSI’s international reputation
and partnerships, I believe we can play
a significant role in navigating complexities
The AI Act will impact
high-risk AI uses in a
wide range of industries
surrounding international regulations.
It’s simply not acceptable for AI
developers to have to comply with
15 different sets of regulations from
various international regulators.
“AI is a powerful force for good.
Every day, we hear about its potential
to enhance productivity. Humanity
finds itself facing significant challenges,
and I see AI as a tool to help us
overcome them.”
aimagazine.com 145
AI HARDWARE:
REVOLUTIONISING
HOW WE SOLVE
COMPLEX PROBLEMS
AI Magazine looks at how AI hardware is revolutionising
how the likes of Tesla, Google and Amazon solve problems
WRITTEN BY: VIKKI DAVIES

A
rtificial Intelligence (AI)
stands at the forefront of
technological innovation,
driving profound
transformations across industries.
According to Next Move Strategy
Consulting, the market for AI is expected
to show robust growth, with its value
of nearly US$100bn projected to grow
twentyfold by 2030, reaching nearly
US$2tn. This exponential growth
underscores the transformative
potential of AI in shaping the future
of businesses worldwide.
At the core of this revolution lies
specialised hardware meticulously
engineered to meet the unique
computational demands of AI
algorithms. Graphics Processing Units
(GPUs), Tensor Processing Units (TPUs)

146 May 2024


and AI accelerators have emerged
as indispensable tools, propelling
the market to new heights.
GPUs, TPUs and AI
accelerators explained
Graphics Processing Units (GPUs),
originally intended for rendering
graphics, have evolved into powerful
accelerators for AI workloads. Their
AI HARDWARE
parallel processing capabilities make
them ideal for tasks such as deep
learning training and inference, excelling
in image and video analysis, natural
language processing, and more.
Meanwhile, Tensor Processing Units
(TPUs), pioneered by Google, stand out
as specialised accelerators tailored for
machine learning tasks. Renowned for
their efficiency and performance, TPUs
aimagazine.com 147
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optimise neural network inference
and training processes, significantly
contributing to AI hardware design.
Deep learning (DL), a subset of
machine learning, plays a pivotal role
in shaping AI hardware. Deep neural
networks (DNNs) revolutionise industries
like healthcare and autonomous vehicles.
Leveraging DL techniques, AI-driven
hardware enhances efficiency and
power, optimizing electronic systems.
This specialised hardware is
instrumental in accelerating AI
tasks, offering unparalleled processing
capabilities optimised for neural network
operations. Recent breakthroughs in
AI hardware design have ushered in
a new era of efficiency and performance,
empowering businesses to leverage AI
technologies for innovation and growth.
AI HARDWARE
As businesses recognise the
transformative potential of AI,
investments in specialised hardware
are poised to soar, further propelling
the market to new heights.
Companies integrating AI hardware
A prime example of AI hardware
integration is the work being done at
Tesla. The company’s vehicles boast
advanced AI hardware and software
components, including GPUs and
custom-designed AI chips, driving
innovations like Autopilot and Full
Self-Driving (FSD) capabilities.
Tesla’s Autopilot system harnesses
AI hardware, notably GPUs, to process
data from an array of sensors, including
cameras, radar, and ultrasonic sensors.
This AI-driven infrastructure enables
aimagazine.com 149
GPUS AND
TPUS EXPLAINED

Graphics Processing Units (GPUs),

originally intended for rendering
graphics, have evolved into powerful
accelerators for AI workloads. Their
parallel processing capabilities
make them ideal for tasks such
as deep learning training and
inference, excelling in image and
video analysis, natural language
processing, and more.
Tensor Processing Units (TPUs),
pioneered by Google, stand out as
specialised accelerators tailored for
machine learning tasks. Renowned
for their efficiency and performance,
TPUs optimise neural network
inference and training processes,
significantly contributing to AI
hardware design.

features like adaptive cruise control,
lane-keeping assistance, and automated
lane changes, enhancing driving safety
and convenience.
Taking AI hardware to new heights,
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving package
incorporates the Full Self-Driving
Computer (FSD Computer), a bespoke
AI chip. Engineered specifically for
autonomous driving, this potent
hardware facilitates advanced tasks
such as precise object detection, path
planning, and decision-making, paving
the way for fully autonomous vehicles.
Tesla MD Elon Musk recently shed light
on the company’s substantial investment
in AI hardware. In a post on X in January,
Musk revealed that Tesla will spend
more than US$500m on Nvidia hardware
in 2024. “The table stakes for being
competitive in AI are at least several
billion dollars per year at this point,” he
said, highlighting the significance of AI
hardware in maintaining competitiveness
and driving innovation.
Amazon also recently announced
it was using new chips for training and
running AI. Amazon’s next-generation
chips will be used for a wide range of
cloud-based workloads and AI training
models with the promise of better
performance and energy efficiency.
One of the new chips is Trainium2,
meant for AI model training and said to
deliver up to 4x better performance and
2x energy efficiency when compared
to its predecessor. It is also expected to
offer 3x more memory capacity than the
first-gen Trainium chips.
AI HARDWARE
“Our GPUs are driving
AI breakthroughs
across industries.
From medical
imaging to self-
driving cars,
AI hardware is
revolutionising
how we solve
complex problems”
JENSEN HUANG
CEO,
NVIDIA
David Brown, VP of Compute and
Networking at Amazon Web Services
says: “With the surge of interest in
generative AI, our chips will help
customers train their ML models
faster with better energy efficiency.”
Revolutionising AI hardware
at Google and Microsoft
Several other industry leaders are also
leveraging AI hardware to revolutionise
their respective domains. Google, for
example, utilises TPUs extensively in
its data centres to accelerate various
AI workloads, enabling breakthroughs
in natural language processing, image
recognition, and more. Sundar Pichai,
CEO of Google and Alphabet, states:
“TPUs have been transformative for
aimagazine.com 151
 AI HARDWARE
WATCH NOW
Google. We’ve been using these to
improve our own algorithms, and now
we’re making this technology available
to others through Google Cloud.”
Microsoft employs AI hardware in
its Azure cloud platform to enhance
AI-driven services such as Azure
Cognitive Services and Azure Machine
Learning. Satya Nadella, CEO of
Microsoft, says the company is infusing
AI into every product and service it offers.
“This includes investing in AI hardware
to accelerate innovation and empower
our customers to achieve more,”
he says.
152 May 2024
Nvidia’s GPUs power AI applications
in various sectors, from healthcare to
finance, enabling breakthroughs in deep
learning and accelerating AI research.
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, says:
“Our GPUs are driving AI breakthroughs
across industries. From medical imaging
to self-driving cars, AI hardware
is revolutionising how we solve
complex problems.”
Meta Platforms utilises AI hardware
to enhance user experiences, personalise
content, improve ad targeting and
develop advanced AI algorithms for tasks
like content moderation and language
translation. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of
Meta Platforms, says: “AI is at the core
of our mission to connect people. With
advanced AI hardware, we’re building
technologies that bring people closer
together and enable new ways of
communication and interaction.”
According to a report from McKinsey,
the future of AI hardware holds
significant promise, particularly in
opening new opportunities for chip
(semiconductor) companies. Yet
McKinsey says to grasp the potential
of AI in the chip industry, it’s essential
to consider the technology stack.
The company says developers often
encounter challenges related to the
hardware layer, which encompasses
storage, memory, logic, and networking.
Semiconductor companies have
a unique opportunity to address these
challenges by providing next-generation
accelerator architectures that enhance
computational efficiency and facilitate
data transfer.
In essence, McKinsey’s report suggests
that the future of AI hardware lies in the
hands of chip companies capable of
delivering innovative solutions to address
the evolving needs of AI applications. By
aimagazine.com 153
 AI HARDWARE

“AI is at the core

of our mission to
connect people”
MARK ZUCKERBERG
CEO,
META PLATFORMS

focusing on improving computational

efficiency, enhancing data processing
capabilities, and optimising memory
and storage solutions, they can seize the
burgeoning opportunities presented by
the AI revolution.

Advances in hardware
driving AI innovations
There is no doubt that the integration
of specialised hardware like GPUs and
TPUs has been instrumental in advancing
AI across industries. Companies like
Tesla and Amazon have led the way in
leveraging AI hardware for innovations
like autonomous driving and cloud
computing. Meanwhile, tech giants such
as Google, Microsoft, Nvidia and Meta
Platforms are driving AI breakthroughs
in various domains.
McKinsey’s report highlights the
significant potential for semiconductor
companies in the AI hardware market.
By addressing challenges in
computational efficiency and data
processing, chip companies can seize
opportunities in the AI revolution. As AI
continues to transform industries, the
future of AI hardware remains pivotal
in shaping technological innovation.

aimagazine.com 155
SECURITY & CO
ON THE ROAD TO C
WRITTEN BY:
MARCUS
LAW

PRODUCED BY:
LEWIS
VAUGHAN
ONNECTIVITY
CLOUDIFICATION

aimagazine.com 157
 REXEL

Developing innovative and sustainable

solutions to respond to customer
needs, security and connectivity is
central to Rexel’s hybrid cloud journey

W ith a mission to offer customers

worldwide innovative and sustainable
solutions to improve the comfort, security
and energy performance of installations,
infrastructure and buildings, Rexel has been
a major player in the professional electrical
supplies distribution market in France and
worldwide for more than 50 years.
In an energy world undergoing transition,
Rexel develops custom solutions to
respond to all its customers’ needs,
every day. The company is a worldwide
expert in the professional multichannel
distribution of products and services
for the energy world, with a revenue of
€19.2bn (US$20.7bn) in 2023.
One of the main challenges Rexel faces
today is staying ahead of rapidly evolving
cybersecurity threats. “New threats and
techniques emerge every day, so we
need to continually conduct research
and raise awareness on this topic,” says
Pierre-Emmanuel Leriche, Group Chief
Information Security Officer. Additionally,
as he highlights, instilling a consistent
cybersecurity culture across Rexel’s multi-
local business model is an ongoing priority.
Another major challenge stems from
Rexel’s multi-local business model. With
entities across different regions, it can be

158 May 2024

aimagazine.com 159
difficult to instil the same level
of cybersecurity understanding and
culture everywhere, where people have
varying backgrounds when it comes to
cybersecurity knowledge.
“We are actively working to build a global
community around this issue,” Leriche
says. “Our goal is to ensure everyone in the
company is on the same page and operating
with a consistent, high level of cybersecurity
proficiency.”
Jye Sutton, the company’s Chief
Technology Officer, highlights talent
management and development on a
global scale as a key challenge, along with
ensuring consistency and standardisation
across regions with differing technology
maturity levels.
Rexel’s top priority, he explains, is
maintaining stable and secure technology to
support the business operations. “From this
clear mandate, two key challenges arise. One
is talent management and development on
a global scale and the second is ensuring
consistency and standardisation across our
many regions with differing maturity levels.”
Rexel frequently acquires new companies
and integrating their technologies into its
standardised platforms and processes
poses questions.
“Do we merge them into our standards
or do we keep them standalone? The
overarching challenge is achieving the
right balance – implementing consistent
global technology standards, while still
allowing flexibility to meet local business
requirements as needed.
“Adapting to enable this standardisation,
paired with appropriate customisation, is
one of our biggest priorities today. We must
get it right to move the business forward
effectively worldwide.”

Jye Sutton
TITLE: CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
(CTO) AND SECURITY FACTORY
DIRECTOR FOR REXEL GROUP
Sutton is an innovative and results-driven
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) dedicated
to shaping the digital future of organisations
on a worldwide scale. With his proven track
record in leading transformative technology
initiatives, he has successfully orchestrated the
development and implementation of solutions
that drive business growth and enhance
operational efficiency. “My strategic vision is
rooted in leveraging the right level of emerging
technologies, fostering a culture of innovation
and building empathetic high-performance
teams that thrive in dynamic, cross-cultural
environments.”
REXEL
Pierre Emmanuel Leriche
TITLE: CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY
OFFICER (CISO) FOR REXEL GROUP
Leriche, a seasoned professional with over
20 years of experience in cybersecurity,
currently serves as the Chief Information
Security Officer (CISO) at Rexel where he
leads the information security management.
With a strong technical background and
transversal skills, Leriche, is responsible
for shaping the security strategy, risk
management, governance, and security
assurance at Rexel.
Passionate about knowledge sharing,
Leriche, is dedicated to contributing to
cybersecurity associations, conferences,
and groups, where he actively imparts his
experiences and insights. His professional
journey began in consulting, where he
spent 12 years, initially focusing on the
technical aspects before transitioning to
compliance and governance. For the past
eight years, Leriche, has been key in leading
cybersecurity efforts at Rexel, strengthening
its security posture.
aimagazine.com 161

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 REXEL

“The point of
cloudification is that
it’s helping us stay and
be agile at scale”
BRUNO DE LA BRETÈCHE
HEAD OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
FOR REXEL GROUP

Bruno De La Bretèche
TITLE: HEAD OF DIGITAL
TECHNOLOGIES FOR REXEL GROUP
Bruno de la Breteche, Head of Digital
Technologies at Rexel Group, believes in
passion at work. Claiming more than 20 years
of interest in development and 10 years of
solid expertise in house, his focus is to extract
the best of technology to enhance digital
customer experience at large and Web, apps
and customers’ experience in store. As an
agile evangelist, he pushes the tech teams to
innovate at the fastest pace, but also to stay
extra-close to the business while fostering
the industry environment with this famous
motto Think Global, Act Local.
Kaya Demircigil
TITLE: HEAD OF CLOUD AND
COLLABORATION FOR REXEL GROUP
Demircigil is responsible for Cloud
infrastructure supporting Rexel’s digital
transformation. He excels at tailoring cloud
hybrid solutions alongside application and
security teams to deliver business agility
in digital that keeps Rexel ahead of the
competition. Demircigil is not alone: he
has an amazing team that supports Rexel’s
global activities, allowing anything to be
possible for Rexel in the digital era where
excellent digital platforms are the basics.

164 May 2024

The move to a hybrid cloud approach
As a global company, Rexel operates across
19 countries, necessitating a constant
embrace of change. The centralisation of
IT has enabled better security controls and
economies of scale.
Kaya Demircigil, Rexel’s Head of Cloud,
has witnessed Rexel’s transformation from
a classical legacy IT firm to an IT company
driving transformation and leveraging data.
“We need a robust IT backbone that
supports the business. Because if we have
problems there, it could hugely impact our
revenue. We must secure those platforms
and ensure they are scalable on demand and
agile enough, with a fast time-to-market.
“When I joined Rexel, we started talking
about these digital transformation needs. But
our backbone wasn’t ready, so we moved
from a more classical legacy IT company to
an IT company driving transformation and
using data to improve. We’re still bulk sellers,
but our backbone is that we are IT experts.”
With Rexel continuing to grow and
acquiring other businesses, Sutton highlights
some of the challenges to negotiate when
dealing with legacy IT. “There’s a lot of legacy
IT when we acquire businesses that need
uplifting to operate in the modern world.
That’s one challenge we have. That’s where
we start talking about hybrid networking
elements – we have to look at how we do
all of this securely, maintaining legacy while
innovating to meet the business’s digital
requirements.”
As the organisation continues to embark
upon this transformation, Rexel has invested
significantly in cybersecurity to keep pace
aimagazine.com 165
 REXEL

166 May 2024

“Our goal is to ensure
everyone in the
company is on the same
page and operating
with a consistent, high
level of cybersecurity
proficiency”
PIERRE-EMMANUEL LERICHE
CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER
FOR REXEL GROUP

with the evolving threat landscape. Cloud

acceleration has also been a major focus,
requiring a shift from traditional perimeter
security to protecting data itself via
techniques like zero trust.
“The traditional ‘castle’ approach of
securing the perimeter is no longer viable,”
Leriche says. “We need to protect the data
itself, not just how it is managed. And of
course, there is identity, which ties into the
journey toward a zero trust approach.”

Rexel’s cloud transformation: The end goals

For Sutton, the cloud transformation aims
to establish stable, secure and modular
cloud services to drive the company’s digital
evolution – an ongoing journey, not a one-
time project. It’s about enabling innovation
while maintaining control and reversibility.
“For us, the transformation is about
enabling the business. We are global
business partners helping Rexel evolve in
that sense. Cloud transformation is not a
one-time thing, it’s something continuous.

aimagazine.com 167
 REXEL

The main point is that we are working on
stable, secure and modularized services
for the cloudification of everything.
“That’s not a one-shot project – it’s
something ongoing. We’ll keep modularizing
different elements as we move forward.
We’re not moving to the cloud because the
cloud is magical, but we’ll need to adapt and
grow with the business.”
From an operational risk perspective,
Sutton explains that Rexel aims to strike
a balance when it comes to its cloud
transformation. “Sometimes we need to
have total control on our side. When going
through security investigations that happen
in large companies, you realise the value of
on-premises infrastructure and your
ability to access logs in real-time to
make quick decisions.
“A lot of our decisions for a hybrid
approach are also protecting us in the
future,” he adds. “If there is a cloud problem,
that means we can manage some workloads
on-premises, and have the reversibility to
adapt and change to future needs.”
Leriche agrees, highlighting security’s
role as an enabler rather than a blocker,
facilitating the shift to the cloud while
focusing on identity, data protection and
cloud security posture improvements.

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168 May 2024

 “I think there has been a shift over the last
few years – from security being seen as a
blocker, to now acting as an enabler for the
business. But whether it’s in the cloud or any
other technology, it’s more about having the
right mindset to always support the business
and digital transformation, rather than the
specific environment.”
Rexel at the edge of cloudification:
Agility and scalability
According to Bruno de La Bretèche, Head
of Digital Technologies at Rexel, one of the
biggest challenges is scaling both IT and the
organisation to support Rexel’s target for
digital sales to reach 40% of its total revenue
by 2025, all while maintaining agility. “The
point of cloudification is that it’s helping us
stay and be agile at scale,” he says.
“We need to scale our organisation, but
also our way of working, while staying super
agile. That’s the main challenge my team
faces today and I’d say it’s Rexel’s main
challenge overall.”
The point of cloudification, de La
Bretèche explains, is to help Rexel maintain
agility at scale.
“If you want to scale, at some point you
have to automate. If you want to keep agile,
you have to automate,” he says. “The full
DevSecOps pipeline model is impossible
without automation. Now, you can start
doing everything on-premises if you want,
and if you have millions of engineers, or you
aimagazine.com 169
170 May 2024
 REXEL

WATCH NOW

can use a hyperscaler to get accelerators.

One point of moving to the cloud is
to be able to go faster and have more
accelerators. It can also make you more
predictable – everything is versioned, so it’s
easier to see what changed. It’s helping us be
more predictable, faster to production and
shortening loops.”
Demircigil underscores the cultural shift
required for concepts like DevSecOps,
where historically siloed teams like coders
and infrastructure personnel now need to
collaborate seamlessly.
“For a long time, we had teams doing
coding in languages like C++ or Java and
other teams creating virtual machines
(VMs). Now those two cultures have to
learn to work together and each side has
to understand the other. This is a cultural
transformation.

aimagazine.com 171
 REXEL
“Cloud transformation
is not a one-time
thing, it’s something
continuous”
JYE SUTTON
CTO AND SECURITY FACTORY
DIRECTOR FOR REXEL GROUP
“When done properly and efficiently,
then yes, you can have ecosystems ready
in days. But if the DevSecOps across
those areas can’t communicate, even in
the cloud it will still take three months
to get your infrastructure ready. That’s
really where the infra folks had to learn to
speak up and communicate with the app
developers and the app developers had
to learn to understand a bit about how the
infrastructure works.
“That’s the biggest challenge and the
only way it can succeed is getting those
cultures to understand and work together
seamlessly.”
Cloud transformation supporting
digital solutions
For de La Bretèche, the cloud enables
faster delivery cycles, reduced from six-
week releases to hourly deployments by
automating processes and standardising
across regions. “It helps us to go faster,”
he states.
“We know our responsibility. We know we
need to deliver quickly. How can we make
172 May 2024
it happen? There is a shift. For example,
before, we had a release every six weeks;
now we can do a release in a few hours.”
Sutton adds that cloud solutions provide
agility in launching new digital products,
customising regionally and optimising
workload response times closer to
customers.
The evolution has driven a mindset
change from pointing fingers at “innocent
applications” or “guilty infrastructure” to
shared accountability for streamlining
choke points.
“Instead of having a one-year update on
infrastructure components, we’re having
major updates every quarter,” he adds. “The
infrastructure side has needed to be more
agile, working with the sprints, and to be
current and supported on the platforms,
so there’s been a big shift from that
perspective.”
Partnerships with Devoteam and Almond
Collaboration with consulting partners
has been invaluable for Rexel, providing
diverse perspectives, skilled resources and
flexibility. Devoteam supported Rexel’s
early cloud journey, continuing into more
mature phases, while Almond has bridged
on-premises infrastructure with the cloud,
ensuring robust security and connectivity
solutions.
“Almond has been instrumental in
supporting us with network and peripheral
elements, essentially bridging our
on-premise infrastructure with the cloud,”
Sutton says. “They play a crucial role in
ensuring the development of appropriate
security measures and connectivity
solutions.”
Demircigil, meanwhile, highlights
Devoteam’s vital analysis and architecture
role in understanding application needs
and requirements before recommending
cloud adoption. “One of the big things we
ask Devoteam is to analyse and create a
business case – is this what we truly need
and does it make sense?
“We also ask those cloud-centric people
whether we sometimes need to go to the
cloud at all. We don’t have a cloud-only
strategy. So we need people to understand
the cost of a VM in the cloud versus a data
centre. Do we need the cloud’s elasticity
for this project? It’s a real analysis of the use
case – what will the application do, what
features could use Platform as a Service
instead of Infrastructure as a Service?
It’s about changing mindsets.
“We want Devoteam to bring that analysis,
architecture and pattern creation, which will
facilitate our business transforming to the
cloud where it makes sense.”
aimagazine.com 173
 REXEL
Look to the future:
Continued cloudification
Leriche envisions a continued
cloudification trend, with an emphasis
on identity, data protection and cloud
security posture advancement as
threats evolve.
“I think this trend of moving to the
cloud, which we call ‘cloudification’, will
continue for a while. We don’t have a strict
‘move to cloud’ strategy – we’re building in
the cloud only. As we put security barriers
and measures in place, attackers will
constantly try to find new ways to attack
and reach their goals. So I’m envisioning a
quite stable trend in cloudification based
on what we’ve seen over the last few years.
“Identity and data will be critical areas
of focus for the next 12-18 months,” he
adds. “Threats will continue evolving as
we try to secure things, so we have to stay
vigilant on identity and data protection,
and evolving our cloud security posture
intelligently when moving to the cloud
makes sense for the business.”
Sutton anticipates managing disruptors
like AI, which could aid containerisation
and orchestration but must be
implemented securely. Greater serverless
computing adoption and a focus on
sustainable IT practices are also expected
to shape future cloud strategies.
“There will also likely be a push towards
greater serverless computing adoption.
But we need to understand that serverless
doesn’t mean servers disappear – we still
need to look at how to secure operations.
And I think this is where the developer
174 May 2024
and coder roles are changing. They need
to be more savvy about security and
infrastructure, to have more of a full-
stack skillset including infrastructure
and security layers, to operate future
cloud models.
“Then there will always be, and
it will be interesting navigating, the
focus on sustainability – how can we
do IT sustainably? This could involve
renewable data centres and many other
potential approaches that may not even
exist today,
to see how we can evolve sustainably.”
Rexel’s commitment to the cloud
roadmap is clear, albeit with talent
scarcity as an ongoing challenge given
industry-wide demand. As de La Bretèche
asserts, Rexel will continue along its
current trajectory.
“Cloud is here to stay. I don’t think
we’re going back to on-premises
infrastructure. I’ve seen articles
suggesting, ‘Oh, it’s too expensive now.
Let’s go back on-prem,’ but I don’t think
that’s the case for Rexel today. What I
know from Rexel’s strategy is that, by
2025, we’ll have to reach 10% more digital
revenue, the equivalent of approximately
€8bn (US$8.7bn).
“Digital is our biggest platform, so we
really have to support this and ensure we
have the right skills, the right people and
the right partners to achieve this goal.”
 “We have moved
from a more classical
legacy IT company to
an IT company driving
transformation and
using data to improve”
KAYA DEMIRCIGIL
HEAD OF CLOUD AND
COLLABORATION FOR REXEL GROUP

aimagazine.com 175
CLOUD
MIGRATION
DRIVES
OLD MUTUAL’S
TRANSFORMATION
JOURNEY
WRITTEN BY:
MARCUS
LAW

PRODUCED BY:
LEWIS
VAUGHAN

176 May 2024

OLD MUTUAL LIMITED
Old Mutual’s HQ
in Cape Town,
South Africa
 OLD MUTUAL

Old Mutual has undertaken a transformation

by migrating its entire IT infrastructure to
the cloud, paving the way for leveraging
data and AI innovation

O
ld Mutual Limited is a premium
African financial services group that
offers a broad spectrum of financial
solutions to retail and corporate customers
across key markets in 14 countries.
With 179 years of heritage across sub-
Saharan Africa, Old Mutual continues to play
a crucial part in the communities it serves
as well as in broader society. Old Mutual
commenced its digital transformation in 2017
with the aim of using technology to leapfrog
its journey to enable its business strategy.
The organisation aimed to modernise its
operations by using cutting-edge technology
but faced obstacles due to its outdated
infrastructure and architecture.
As a result, the organisation went on
a journey to modernise its infrastructure
resulting in a decrease of its on-premises
data centres footprint. The modernisation
journey led to the migration of its technology
infrastructure with a focus on life insurance,
and wealth management systems – to
Amazon Web Services. This, says Old Mutual’s
Group CIO May Govender, has proven to be
the leapfrog to its transformation journey.
Joining the business in 2021 as Deputy CIO
and then shortly thereafter stepping into
the acting Group CIO role in 2022 before
formally being appointed in 2023, stated that
this step has laid the foundation for its digital
transformation and has opened avenues
for the organisation to pursue cutting edge
solutions to meet its business challenges.

aimagazine.com 179
 OLD MUTUAL
“Old Mutual is a 179-year-old
organisation, so – as you can imagine
– comes with a lot of complexity and
challenges. However, the most exciting
development for me in the last three years
has been Old Mutual’s digital and people
transformation journey.”
For an insurance organisation – not
traditionally known for rapid change and
execution – this transformation has been
remarkably swift. “For us to leapfrog and
achieve our ambition, we realised we
had to take a two-pronged approach. We
needed to fix the current issues we were
experiencing and get the foundational
elements right. At the same time, we
needed to figure out what our tomorrow
looks like today. The cloud migration was
a step towards building for a tomorrow
that aligns with our strategy and ambition.”
As Govender describes, Old Mutual did
not have the benefit of time when it came
to implementing its transformation. The
imperative was clear: to get the organisation
moving at the pace required for the new
digital era. “We did not have the luxury of
waiting four to five years, we knew that we
needed to make a difference now.”
The two-pronged approach kicked into
gear – one track focusing on ripping out
legacy infrastructure, the other focused on
evolving the customer experience. “We had
to work simultaneously to phase out our
legacy infrastructure very quickly, while also
recognising the importance of transforming
our customer proposition and experience.
“Presently, customers encounter
a diverse range of experiences across various
industries, from companies like Google and
Netflix to convenient banking services on
180 May 2024
“As an insurance
organisation, it’s
imperative for us to
stay abreast of these
customer trends and
meet their evolving
expectations”
MAY GOVENDER
CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER,
OLD MUTUAL LIMITED
the go. These encounters significantly shape
customers’ expectations regarding what
constitutes a positive experience. As an
insurance organisation, it’s imperative for
us to stay abreast of these customer trends
and meet their evolving expectations.”
“Our biggest challenge in achieving
this ambition was the ability to execute at
pace as we didn’t have the luxury of time
to have the foundational elements and
technologies in place; so really it’s about
how we fix the aeroplane while it’s in flight.”
Old Mutual’s cloud transformation
This cloud transformation journey began
around 2019 when Old Mutual decided
to migrate its IT estate to the cloud at
the back of the digital transformation
that commenced in 2017. “At that time,
the organisation was facing challenges
associated with ageing data centre
infrastructure, suffering from several
stability issues and downtime that
impacted business operations.”
MAY GOVENDER
TITLE: CHIEF INFORMATION
OFFICER
LOCATION: SOUTH AFRICA

May Govender is an accomplished

Chief Information Officer (CIO) with
a proven track record in managing
multi-billion-rand budgets and
spearheading IT operations across
diverse business units. Renowned for
leading transformational programs,
she has guided robust teams across
multiple disciplines and domains. Her
expertise spans Data Management,
Customer Analytics, Payments, Digital
Channels, and various banking and
insurance business lines across Africa.
With experience in both digital start-
ups and multinational organizations,
she has served as a technology advisor
at the board level for Fintech and
industry-regulated organizations.
Adept at technology transformation,
she is committed to innovation and
strategic growth through people, with
the aim of excelling as a Group CIO in
a dynamic environment.

aimagazine.com 181
Transforming Customer
Experiences with AI-powered,
Golden Records
Creating enterprise-wide golden data records is hard work.

and maintenance of golden records that drive business outcomes, achieving

what MDM can’t – three times faster and at one-third of the cost.

Discover the future of data management. Book a demo

why leading companies are abandoning their rules-based MDM solutions
in favour of Tamr’s advanced AI technology for data mastering.

www.tamr.com
CASE STUDY
For years, companies have relied on Old Mutual adopted Tamr’s patented
rules-based master data management AI-first approach to mastering customer
(MDM) to solve their data mastering needs. data and saw immediate results:

But when data changes, the rules in MDM • Improved data accuracy by 69% in just
MDM solutions become ineffective, six weeks, resulting in golden records
making it impossible
impossible to achievetothe
achieve
goal ofthe
creating • Decommissioned legacy MDM solutions
goal of creating
golden records. golden records. within nine months, saving millions
of dollars in costs
To overcome this challenge, businesses • Simplified their IT landscape, reducing
are embracing a new, AI-first approach data integration complexities
to technology
technology that
that willwill break
break down
down data silos and eliminating data silos
data
oncesilos once
and for all.and for all.
And they accomplished all of this
Old Mutual, a 179-year old African financial on-time, on-budget, and without
services group that supports retail and hiring new resources.
corporate customers across 14 countries,
recognized the challenge: their data Today, Old Mutual is a stronger and more
was evolving and was trapped in three agile organisation. With a holistic and
siloed MDM solutions. Without a holistic, accurate view of each customer, the
360-degree view of their customers, Old firm can now offer more personalised,
Old Mutual
Mutual was was unable
unable to scale
to scale the
the accuracy efficient, and responsive services
accuracy and
and quality ofquality of theirtoservices
their services meet that
thatenhance
enhancecustomer
customersatisfaction
satisfaction
to meet modern
modern customercustomer
demands. demands. and
andloyalty.
loyalty.

Further, Old Mutual’s existing MDM Overcoming challenges like the ones
solutions couldn’t interoperate with their Old Mutual faced requires an AI-AI-powered,
cloud-based approach, increasing the powered, human-refined approach.
pressure to accelerate the modernisation This strategy accelerates
that accelerates the discovery,
the discovery, enrichment,
of their existing MDM solutions. enrichment, and maintenance
and maintenance of trustworthyofcustomer
trustworthy customer
golden records golden
that drive records
business growth
to
anddrive business
power growthcustomers
experiences and powerexpect.
the experiences
Ready customers expect.
to get started?
Ready to get started?
 OLD MUTUAL LIMITED

“We had to work With this in mind, Old Mutual had two
options: invest heavily in a major data centre
simultaneously and infrastructure upgrade or advance the
to phase out our modernisation to the cloud to address its
legacy infrastructure challenges and create
legacy infrastructure a resilient platform, allowing it to focus on

very quickly, while business value activities rather than ongoing

infrastructure problems.
also recognising With organisational support and
investment – key enablers for the success of
the importance of the transformation – Old Mutual embarked
transforming our on the cloud migration. “We had a migration
path with the completion aimed for the end
customer proposition of 2021, the implementation approach was
and experience” divided into three waves, with a very carefully
thought through breakdown on business
impact, each application was given a target
MAY GOVENDER
CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, wave based on this analysis. After each wave,
OLD MUTUAL LIMITED a detailed retrospective was done to analyse

184 May 2024


WATCH NOW
what worked and what didn’t. If there was a
need to pivot on our approach, we did so with
the assistance of AWS Professional Services.
“A few months later than anticipated, in
March 2022, we had completed our migration
journey of our South African estate to the
cloud. Our African countries are still in
progress, with countries ranging between
60% and 90% complete due to regulations
and complexities in each country. Our
short-term insurance business has also
commenced on its migration journey
with the advantage of using the SA life
business blueprint in its learnings.”
Old Mutual’s primary goal was to
decommission its data centre as soon
as possible, which has largely been
accomplished. As Govender describes,
a lift-and-shift strategy made the most
Use more image
captions as often
as possible
sense at that point. “We have a small
remaining footprint of applications that
didn’t warrant a lift-and-shift for business
value reasons, and we’re now looking at
modernising our applications, leveraging
cloud-native capabilities, and optimising
our total cost of ownership (TCO) while
driving business value with AWS.”
From a resilience perspective,
the organisation has seen a 50%
year-over-year reduction in business
impact hours. Developers no longer spend
time supporting infrastructure and can
quickly spin up environments, allowing them
to focus on solving business problems.
“With a huge percentage of our
state now in the cloud, we can leverage
data as a key enabler for Old Mutual’s
digital transformation.”
aimagazine.com 185
 OLD MUTUAL

For Old Mutual, the recent move to the

cloud has been transformational in reducing
operational overhead and technical debt.
Prior to the cloud migration, system
downtime directly impacted business
operations, sales and client service. “But
now that we are in the cloud, we provide
a much more stable service that allows us
to respond faster to business problems,”
states Govender. “With this, the conversation
has shifted from addressing operational
problems to creating business value
– a huge change.”
Productivity has seen a dramatic boost
as well. Solution delivery cycles that
previously involved lengthy hardware
shipping and implementation can
now be rapidly deployed in the cloud
environment. “The speed in which we
deliver our solutions has dramatically
changed. We no longer have lengthy
timelines in which we provision hardware
delivery and implementation cycles.”
Performance has also substantially
improved, with batch processes that
previously took 18-24 hours now completed
in a fraction of the time. “As an insurance
organisation we manage a vast amount of
data making batch processing a significant
challenge for us. Previously, our batch-
processing tasks would disrupt business
operations and take an excessively long
time, typically lasting 18 to 24 hours.
However, after adopting a new approach,
the duration of these tasks has been
reduced to six to eight hours with work
being done to further reduce this.”
The reduction in processing time is just
the start of the operational efficiencies
Old Mutual has been able to achieve.

186 May 2024

 OLD MUTUAL

“Tamr has been

instrumental in helping
Old Mutual build the
foundational elements
for our data strategy, a
critical requirement for
achieving our long-term
ambition of becoming
an AI-led insurance
organisation”
MAY GOVENDER
CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER,
OLD MUTUAL LIMITED

“As we continue to leverage cloud solutions,

we are finding more opportunities to
streamline our operations. For instance, we
can now utilise native cloud solutions to reduce
the complexity of our application landscape.
“Previously, we had a vast on-premises
database infrastructure. By migrating
to the cloud, we have commenced with
consolidating our databases thereby
simplifying our overall architecture. This
cloud migration has opened avenues for
simplification, enabling us to address
technical debt more effectively.”

The importance of cloud security

Cloud security is of utmost importance in
Old Mutual’s cloud adoption strategy. The
organisation follows a shared responsibility
model, where the cloud provider secures
the underlying infrastructure, and Old
Mutual is responsible for securing its
data and applications.

aimagazine.com 187
 “By leveraging native cloud services,
we can assess resource compliance against
our internal standards and automatically
remediate non-compliant resources in
real time. This is a vast improvement over
our previous approach, which involved
a lengthy process of assessment and
vulnerability remediation. We have also
implemented advanced security measures
by utilising the cloud provider’s security
features, especially for protecting our
sensitive data.”
As a financial institution, Old Mutual
is subject to stringent regulations and
industry standards from authorities.
188 May 2024
To ensure compliance, the organisation
has dedicated security teams that work
closely with cloud provider AWS. “Since
migrating to the cloud, we have observed
substantial improvements in our
security landscape.
“Our primary focus now is on
operational aspects of cloud security,
such as our Security Operations Centre
(SOC) and access management. While
these may not be the most high-profile
initiatives, they are crucial for achieving
operational efficiencies in our security
posture, and we are actively working
on enhancing these areas.”

Learnings from Old Mutual’s
cloud transformation
As Govender highlights, one of the most
significant lessons her team has learned
from the cloud transformation was the
importance of starting its FinOps (Cloud
Financial Management) capability early on.
“Whilst in the cloud, we are required to
manage consumption models, resource
allocation and costs proactively to avoid
overspending.” She admits that, initially,
Old Mutual’s focus was solely on the
forward-looking migration, with limited
oversight on the cloud capabilities that were
implemented in the subsequent migration
OLD MUTUAL
waves and this led to a continuous
increase in costs.”
“For us, the key learnings were to firstly
initiate the FinOps journey as early as
possible to gain control over cloud spend,
and secondly, instead of solely relying on
lift-and-shift migration, we could have
taken the opportunity to modernise specific
applications concurrently, rather than having
to undertake a separate modernisation
journey later.”
On the positive side, the rapid migration
had its benefits. “It forced our engineers
to start working in the cloud environment
quickly, prompting them to learn and
upskill themselves on cloud-native
technologies and modernisation practices,
reducing our reliance on third-party
vendors,” she says.
“Upon reflection of the overal journey,
we could have expedited the modernisation
process rather than treating it as a separate,
subsequent phase. Additionally, we
could have put more effort into upskilling
developers on cloud financial management
and cloud-native capabilities, empowering
them to make well-informed decisions
from the outset.
Govender also highlights the value
of having an AWS product owner
closely involved throughout the journey,
providing guidance, and enabling Old
Mutual to make informed decisions
along the way. “While there are areas
where we could have improved,
successfully migrating over 2,000 servers
and 800 applications within a three-year
timeframe was a significant achievement,
and we take pride in our cloud
transformation journey.”
aimagazine.com 189
190 May 2024

“The key focus
should be on
leveraging AI to
drive tangible
business value”
MAY GOVENDER
CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER,
OLD MUTUAL LIMITED
Partnership with Tamr helping
drive transformation success
To support its digital transformation
initiatives, Old Mutual has collaborated
with several partners across various
domains such as cloud, data and customer/
advisor experience. “We look to our
partners to bring best practices and assist
with execution. However, a crucial aspect
for us is to establish contracts that focus
on delivering tangible business value for
both parties, ensuring a mutually beneficial
value-sharing arrangement.”
Among Old Mutual’s many partnerships,
including those with cloud providers like
AWS, the collaboration with Tamr has
been particularly significant from a data
perspective. “As an insurance company
rather than a technology firm, we recognise
that we cannot excel in all areas. Therefore,
we seek out organisations that possess
specialised expertise and best practices
to augment our capabilities.”
Initially, Old Mutual partnered with Tamr to
replace its legacy master data management
system and to leverage machine learning for
modernising its data capabilities.
OLD MUTUAL
This, Govender explains, was a task
that simply could not have been
accomplished internally.
“Tamr has been instrumental in
helping Old Mutual build the foundational
elements for our data strategy, a critical
requirement for achieving our long-term
ambition of becoming an AI-led
insurance organisation.
“Over the past two years, our partnership
with Tamr has facilitated our journey, and
we have mutually supported each other
in driving execution success. Moving
forward, we will continue to deepen our
collaboration with Tamr, leveraging their
expertise to enable our business and drive
tangible value, as data is a key enabler
in our strategy.”
Using the power of data and AI
In South Africa, Old Mutual has embarked
on a major initiative to boost its digital
solutions across our life insurance business
and value chain. Digital transformation
is a key component of the organisation’s
customer-centric strategy, and Old
Mutual has been on a multi-year journey
to integrate and implement relevant
technologies across its operations.
“For the next 12 to 18 months, we
will continue our digital transformation
journey, with a strong emphasis on driving
improvements in customer and advisor
journeys through digital enablement,”
Govender highlights. “We also aim to
accelerate our AI ambition by leveraging
our investments in cloud and data
capabilities, fostered through our
partnerships with Tamr and AWS,
to enable our data strategy.”
aimagazine.com 191
192 May 2024
 OLD MUTUAL

As she describes, AI is currently a major

trend that is set to continue. “We will
continue to improve our AI capabilities.
The key focus should be on leveraging
AI to drive tangible business value. Many
organisations are experimenting with AI,
but few have truly cracked how to harness
it effectively to propel their businesses
forward. Identifying use cases that can
deliver substantial value will be critical
in the coming years.
“AI has the potential to automate
mundane tasks, which is especially valuable
for an insurance company like ours that
deals with immense complexity and vast
amounts of data. Enabling zero ops through
AI can allow our staff to concentrate on
enhancing customer experience and
driving innovation.”
Ultimately, Old Mutual’s two-pronged
approach to its transformation involves
simplifying its technology landscape
while simultaneously building engineering
capabilities. “We are transforming our
workforce by developing mastery in specific
skill sets such as data science, engineering
and AI. We will also deliver on our key
transformational programmes initiated two
years ago, to provide integrated experiences
when interacting with customers and
advisors across our multiple product suites.
“The next 12 to 18 months are critical for
us to realise the value of these initiatives
and achieve our transformational objectives.
Our focus will be on enabling an integrated
experience, rather than the current
fragmented customer experience.”

aimagazine.com 193
A CX Leader
Promoting
value chain
sustainability

WRITTEN BY:
TOM SWALLOW

PRODUCED BY:
JONATHAN
MOORE

194 May 2024

ZENDESK
196 May 2024
 ZENDESK

Uncovering Zendesk’s ESG journey,

Sustainability Director Shengyuan Su
shares a story of climate action
through its CX software-as-a-service

F
or a software company, there
are two routes to take when
approaching sustainability. The first
is dealing with direct emissions–
items such as Scope 1 emissions
that drive the company towards immediate
carbon neutrality. The other is addressing
the impact that its product has on the wider
value chain, which is where software-as-a-
service (SaaS) providers look to enrich their
clients’ experiences through their offerings.
This broadens the scope for impact.
As one company intrinsically impacts the
other, supplier success hinges on customer
success whether that be profitability or
scalability of digital solutions. This also aligns
businesses based on their sustainability goals
and how they can collaboratively reduce
their environmental impact.
At Zendesk, provision of a great customer
experience (CX) aligns with low-carbon
operation, and the technology company

“Our mission is to
power exceptional
service for every
person on the planet”
SHENGYUAN SU
SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTOR,
ZENDESK

aimagazine.com 197
 ZENDESK

SHENGYUAN SU
TITLE: SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTOR
INDUSTRY: SOFTWARE
DEVELOPMENT
LOCATION: UNITED STATES

Shengyuan is the Sustainability

Director at Zendesk where she
leads the company's sustainability
and climate strategy. In this role,
she guides the setting of ambitious
and meaningful environmental
targets and empowers cross-
functional leaders to embed
sustainability across the business.
She also oversees Zendesk's carbon
offsetting and removal programs
with a goal of accelerating the global
transition to net zero. Previously,
Shengyuan led climate programmes
at Salesforce, where she incubated
the very first sustainability product,
'Net Zero Cloud.' She holds a
Master's degree in Environmental
Management from Duke University.

employs expertise to help drive this down

further. At the helm of this is Sustainability
Director Shengyuan Su, who touts Zendesk’s
technical excellence as a SaaS provider.
“We are a SaaS leader and we focus on
helping companies unlock the power of
customer experience and build lasting
relationships,” says Su, sharing the essence
of the company and its mission. “We offer
our customers intelligent customer service
solutions. Ultimately, this simplifies business
and makes it easy for companies and
customers to create connections.”

198 May 2024

 The software development business
prides itself on its mission to “power
exceptional service for every person on
the planet”. What this means for clients
is collaboration with a dedicated team
with more than 15 years of experience in
revolutionising online CX for clients. Most
recently, though, the organisation has been
evolving to further enhance its offering
by harnessing the power of artificial
intelligence (AI).
“Today, we have our complete customer
service solution powered by AI, and
we connect over 100,000 brands with
hundreds of millions of customers over
phone chat, messaging, and social and
health centres,” Su highlights.
This statement is inclusive of
organisations around the world, including
the likes of Uber, Tesco and Disney in
the corporate world, as well as small-to-
medium enterprises.

200 May 2024


“We believe that
forging robust
partnerships is
imperative in
tackling the climate
crisis, because no
one company can
do it alone, and we
must take collective
actions”
SHENGYUAN SU
SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTOR,
ZENDESK
Sustainability: A key part of business
The transformation for Zendesk is centred
around environmental, social and governance
(ESG) as it builds a strategy for the future and
a team to execute. This journey began in 2019
when the company published its inaugural
sustainability report. “Sustainability is a key
component of our value, ‘care for others’,”
says Su. “That includes caring for our planet
and our communities. And we firmly believe
that businesses can be a major force to make
the world a better place”.
One strategic area of focus for Zendesk
is decarbonisation across its value chain,
which hinges on the team’s ability to
integrate sustainability into core parts of the
business, as Su explains.“This includes our
workplace, product development, cloud
operations and supply chain,” Following this,
she highlights some key figures, indicating
the success of the organisation through
its achievements:
ZENDESK
• Adoption of 100% renewable
energy across its global offices
• Delivery of carbon-neutral
products to its customers
• Achieve carbon neutrality on employees’
business travel and commuting activities
To continue reducing emissions at a speed
and scale that is most needed by the planet,
further commitments have also been made
by Su and the Zendesk team, pertaining to
the emissions of the business and those
embedded in third-party operations. These
commitments are validated and approved
by the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi):
• 84.2% reduction in Scope 1 and
Scope 2 emissions from its offices
by 2030–based on 2019 figures
• Continue sourcing 100% renewable
electricity through 2030
• 68.4% of suppliers by emissions to set
Science-Based Targets (SBTs) by 2027
Cultivating strong partnerships
to accelerate sustainability
“We believe that forging robust partnerships
is imperative in tackling the climate crisis,
because no one company can do it alone,
and we must take collective actions”, said Su.
Beyond partnering with internal cross-
functional groups to reduce emissions,
Zendesk is an early pioneer in purchasing
engineering-focused carbon removal
technologies, which are essential for
achieving societal-level net zero, but in
a very early commercialisation stage.
Most recently, Zendesk joined Frontier.
aimagazine.com 201
 ZENDESK

It is an advance market commitment to buy

US$1bn+ of permanent carbon removal
between 2022 and 2030. Through partnering
with other climate leaders and experts in the
community, Zendesk aims to send aggregate
demand signals, bend the cost curve, and
help these critical technologies to scale.
Su also mentions Zendesk’s partnership
with Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is
one its key technical vendors, in reducing
product emissions.
“We built an impactful partnership with
AWS to reduce product emissions,” says Su.
“Sustainability has been top of mind for our
product engineering team. And we know the
best opportunity we have to decarbonise our
product is to optimise cloud infrastructure
and really improve the energy efficiency of
our data instances.”
Through this partnership, the majority
of its workloads was migrated to more
efficient equipment and IT services, which
significantly reduced its product emissions
while also improving cloud performance
and cost-effectiveness.
“The partnership with AWS really kick-
started our supplier engagement journey,
and we strive to create a systemic impact
throughour science-based supplier
engagement target”, Su said. “By setting
targets, we hope that our suppliers will not
only reduce emissions that are attributable
to the products or services that they
deliver to Zendesk, but also inspire their
own suppliers and communities to act
on sustainability.”

Beyond reporting: derive ESG

value from compliance practices
Zendesk is subject to the increasing
ESG regulations and legislations, such
as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting
Directive (CSRD).

aimagazine.com 203
 ZENDESK
“While our ESG initiatives are primarily
value-driven and our commitment to
climate leadership extends well beyond
compliance and legal obligations, we believe
the rising regulations play a major role in
enhancing ESG transparency, comparability,
and accountability,” Su said. “And at Zendesk,
our goal is to continue to drive progress
towards our voluntary climate targets, while
also ensuring compliance best practices,
to keep improving the rigour of our data
and pinpoint opportunities for deeper
integration of sustainability principles
into our business dynamics.” Enhancing
compliance is a dedicated working
group, which brings together a variety
of expertise from internal auditing
and legal to enterprise risk management.
“On an annual basis, we work with third-
party auditors to independently verify our
key environmental data and metrics, and we
share our sustainability progress and learnings
with our communities and all stakeholders
through our Global Impact Report,” says Su.
“Most recently, as part of our climate
leadership roadmap, we completed our
inaugural climate risk assessment aligned
with the TCFD and ISSB recommendations.
Throughout this process, we engaged more
than 12 cross-functional teams, and identified
the climate-related risks and opportunities
that are most relevant to our company.”
This shows the extent to which ESG is
embedded throughout the organisation,
but equally important, the collective efforts
required to get the entire company on
board. Furthermore, this process helped Su
and the team to unlock critical opportunities
to integrate climate risks into Zendesk’s
business strategic planning, improve
climate risk mitigation and adaptation
capabilities, and enhance Zendesk’s
resilience to the climate crisis.
204 May 2024
“We believe the rising
regulations play a
major role in enhancing
ESG transparency,
comparability,
and accountability”
SHENGYUAN SU
SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTOR,
ZENDESK
A future approach to ESG
as a CX technology leader
As a technology leader focusing
on customer experience, Zendesk
is committed to decarbonising its
AI-powered solutions for customers,
by working with partners to minimise
the carbon footprint of its AI products
and features, and transparently disclosing
its AI’s environmental footprint.
“AI has big potential to help combat
climate change, and we are really at an
inflection point to shape how we utilise
this powerful tool in a manner that is both
responsible and effective,” Su says. “Every
part of the AI value chain, from utilities and
data centre operators to machine learning
engineers, has a role to play in reducing
the environmental cost of AI. Zendesk’s AI
engineering team has been implementing
green engineering principles to help lower
the carbon footprint of our AI models
and we hope to partner with broader
communities to truly harness the full
potential of AI for the environment.”
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