How Australian organisations are making the most of AI
The eternal quest for efficiency and innovation has driven many large organisations to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) over the past year, writes Jim Freeman, Chief Technology Officer for A/NZ at Kyndryl.
Having matured over the last 12-18 months with live models in production, there is a collective maturation of AI and a realisation that the benefits are limited by existing behaviours and cultural norms. This is not surprising when considering AI has upended traditional workflows and processes. Transforming these behaviours and the culture surrounding the technology starts with a reassessment of how KPIs are set, outcomes are measured, and the culture is reshaped.
Winning companies are those that embrace a holistic approach; they focus on cultural transformation alongside technology adoption and, thereby, maximise AI’s benefits. Here’s how business and technology leaders seek to reassess their workflows to eliminate redundancies and deliver greater productivity and efficiency:
Prioritising cultural transformation to maximise AI
Organisations that lead the way are the ones that invest in change management programs, communications, and upskilling to ensure AI is seamlessly integrated into daily operations. AI adoption is not just a shift in tech processes; it’s about redefining how the organisation works, collaborates, and measures success. Businesses must also work to build employee trust and understanding of AI systems throughout this process.
For example, organisations across many industries look to reshape workflows and redefine key performance indicators (KPIs) – to align them with AI efficiencies. GenAI is then turned into a business catalyst, helping streamline administrative tasks, optimise resource allocations and more.
Companies that focus on cultural reengineering in this way are the ones to derive the most value from AI.
Using AI as a key tool to manage energy and climate risk
As climate change and energy consumption continue to be a top concern, AI and other cutting-edge technologies are helping businesses optimise energy use. This includes implementing strategies such as distributed energy sources and predictive maintenance.
Power and utilities companies are integrating smart grid technologies and AI to help them use real-time data to optimise energy flow, manage blackouts, forecast energy generation, assess climate risks, and more. Implementing these technologies can improve overall grid resiliency and help ensure grid stability as AI’s power consumption grows.
At the same time, businesses are adopting AI to enhance their energy management, whether by optimising operations, automating processes, or adjusting power consumption. As AI adoption expands, businesses balance benefits with strategies that mitigate rising energy costs and environmental impact.
Organisations are increasing the use of low-code platforms alongside GenAI
The rise of GenAI may have taken some of the spotlight away from low- and no-code platforms, but smart companies use both together. While adoption of AI for writing code has grown dramatically, it typically gets around 80% of the way there. Low- and no-code platforms, as a result, are still extremely valuable in getting software projects over that last hump and into production.
For example, Microsoft has several use-cases of how to use AI and low-code platforms together to build customised solutions that deliver the personalised experiences that today’s customers – and employees – demand. This is especially popular with financial services organisations, who use it to build applications that support digital banking, risk assessment, loan products, and more.
This includes automated user-interface implementation based on natural language descriptions of user stories. By leveraging low-code platforms, organisations can better manage complex hybrid computing environments, automate workflows and thus reduce errors, increasing productivity.
Tech leaders will consolidate tools and vendors for greater efficiency
Australian businesses are increasingly seeking to integrate AI systems as a way to consolidate technology tools and vendors while streamlining operations. Managing a hybrid IT estate can be difficult, particularly in regulated or critical infrastructure industries where compliance and reliability are essential. The complexity comes from the range of devices, operating systems, and software in use, each with its management protocols dictated by various vendors.
With each vendor having its own view of how their equipment should be managed, there's intentional differentiation between how you provision something in one cloud platform versus another. With the increasing potential of GenAI, there is an opportunity to align these disparate systems, creating a more integrated and manageable environment.
To implement GenAI effectively and tackle these complications, businesses reassess technology stacks, focusing on eliminating redundancies and integrating systems for seamless or automated workflows.
Whole-of-business AI integration to drive maximum impact
Business leaders looking to drive maximum impact in their organisations in 2025 are prioritising whole-of-business tech assessments, with a focus on identifying redundancies and inefficiencies that can be eliminated with the support of AI.
Organisations also need to ensure teams have the skills and understanding necessary to integrate these changes seamlessly into their daily processes. Working together with end users will give leaders the practical insights needed to ensure high adoption and long-term success.
