COVER STORY Powering business Microsoft’s Satish Thomas explains how AI is delivering a wealth of benefits for organisations across every industry, and in every region, all with the help of Microsoft’s partner ecosystem BY ALICE CHAMBERS Digital transformation is no longer just a buzzword – it’s a survival imperative in the business world. As industries around the world struggle to keep up with unprecedented technological advancements and shifting consumer expectations, McKinsey & Company likens digital transformation to a complete “rewiring” of an organisation. This isn’t a one-off initiative but a relentless, ongoing journey that reshapes how businesses create value. In fact, as McKinsey highlights, most executives embarking on this path are likely to be navigating its challenges and opportunities for the rest of their careers. “Embracing digital transformation is indeed a journey, and for many organisations, it’s still a work in progress,” says Satish Thomas, corporate vice president of Microsoft Industry Clouds. “The first stage was moving business processes to the cloud, so organisations could get out of the business of managing hardware. The second stage is focused on helping people work on high-value activities, streamline and transform business processes to provide better customer experiences.” Generative artificial intelligence tools, powered by Microsoft Cloud, are delivering this second stage of digital transformation in four ways. “First, generative AI is helping to enhance productivity, giving people the superpower to achieve so much more,” explains Thomas. “Microsoft Copilot can automate routine tasks, allowing employees to focus on more strategic activities. Our Copilot for Store Operations is an example of a template which helps frontline workers be more productive by giving them key operating and employee information through a text- and voice-based conversational interface.” Generative AI is also helping to improve decision-making. For example, American stock exchange marketplace provider Nasdaq is migrating its meeting management solution, Nasdaq Boardvantage, to Azure to leverage Azure OpenAI Service. This will enable it to introduce new AI capabilities to help governance professionals automate routine tasks so that board members can make decisions quickly using accurate insights. “AI-driven insights can help organisations make more informed decisions,” says Thomas. “Microsoft 36 growth
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