Dr. Kirk Borne is the Principal Data Scientist and an Executive Advisor at global technology and consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. In those roles, he focuses on applications of data science, data management, machine learning, A.I., and modeling across a wide variety of disciplines. He also provides training and mentoring to executives and data scientists within numerous external organizations, industries, agencies, and partners in the use of large data repositories and machine learning for discovery, decision support, and innovation. Previously, he was Professor of Astrophysics and Computational Science at George Mason University for 12 years where he did research, taught, and advised students in data science. Prior to that, Kirk spent nearly 20 years supporting data systems activities on NASA space science programs, which included a period as NASA's Data Archive Project Scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope.

Tata Consultancy Services' Capability Across Consulting, Technology, and Services, MFDMTM, and Investment in Next-Gen Technologies, Cited as Key Strengths Tata Consultancy Services, a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, has been recognized as a Leader in the Everest Group PEAK Matrix for Multi-Process Human Resources Outsourcing (MPHRO) Services. Additionally, it was named a Star Performer for having top quartile year-on-year improvement in its scores. The report highlights TCS' Machine First Delivery Model (MFDM) that leverages digital technologies such as automation, analytics and cloud to drive digital transformation and help customers achieve their business outcomes. It says that TCS' capability across consulting, technology, and services, serves as one of its key strengths and has enabled it to win multiple deals. According to the report, the company has invested heavily in next-generation technologies and has successfully operationalized RPA, chatbots, and analytics in its HR services.

What one technological development has the greatest immediate potential for business leaders? I'll give you a hint. Powerful though all those can be, I've found the actual answer to be something much more fundamental; effectively recording, holding and reporting valuable information. I have been a data practitioner for five years and the more I engage with clients, the more I've learnt that it is very common for business leaders to not have effective management information (MI). They could have access to huge amounts of data, but struggle to turn it into meaningful and actionable insight.

In the first article of our conversational AI series, we explored how the proliferation of voice assistants and messaging platforms are giving way to a new era of user interfaces (see the sidebar, "A five-part series on conversational AI"). Whether it's in the car, a phone, or a smart home device, nearly 112 million US consumers rely on their voice assistants at least once a month--and that number continues to grow.1 These can range from the mundane, such as misinterpreting a request for ordering a roll of paper towel, to the more troubling error of providing a harmful health recommendation (or conversely, providing an accurate, but difficult to interpret recommendation).2 Despite the uptick in adoption of voice-enabled virtual assistants, designing effective products is a nontrivial endeavor. Virtual assistants often deal with multiple, sometimes complex scenarios that require understanding a range of queries to which users expect a quick, accurate, and easily interpretable response.

PwC has been undergoing a large digital transformation effort that includes upskilling its workforce to become more technology and analytics savvy. The benefits of those efforts are starting to bubble up. At a demo day in New York City, PwC outlined a bevy of uses for robotic process automation, artificial intelligence and analytics and how those tools could be incorporated in audits and other services the firm provides. "The goal is to free up a lot of time for auditors to do the human things that they need to do and democratize innovation," said Sherri Guidone, US Assurance Technology Leader at PwC. "Our people can solve unique problems and we've seen change in just a few years in understanding technology." PwC is spending $3 billion to invest in tools, training and technologies to advance its business.

There's an old adage, "good help is hard to get," that is making something of a comeback in today's increasingly dynamic and competitive global human resource industry. In 2016, the HR industry's total operating income reached €491 billion, while 2007-2016 CAGR was about 9 percent. Flexible labour accounts for about 71 percent of modern market share, 20 percent comes from management service providers, 8 percent from high-end talent search, and 1 percent from recruitment process outsourcing and specialized services. Recruitment and staffing are challenging areas that have been getting the most market investments. There are numerous derived services and platforms catering to recruiting: headhunters for high-end talents, background investigation services, consulting firms, and of course the popular online recruitment platforms such as LinkedIn and Glassdoor.

Global consulting firm Accenture's'AI: Built to Scale' study said companies are using AI to enhance customer service, productivity, brand perception, working capital utilization and to plan new product offerings. For the study, Accenture surveyed 1,500 C-suite executives from companies with a minimum revenue of $1 billion in 12 countries, across 16 industries. Although a majority of companies surveyed are still stuck at conducting AI experiments, a small but growing group of organisations across the globe have successfully used AI to improve efficiency. A major North American technology company required a dynamic integrated approach for its vast and complex supply chain. Open source machine learning (ML) tools were used to analyse demand uncertainty, cost drivers, customer relationships, and rate of technological change.

Juliette Foster talks to Anand Rao, PwC's Global Artificial Intelligence Leader, and Kay Firth-Butterfield, Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the World Economic Forum, about the current state of AI, what's in store for the future, and how businesses can prepare for this new era of technology and information.

OpenText, a global leader in Enterprise Information Management (EIM), announced Univar Solutions EMEA, a leading distributor of chemical ingredients and services in Europe, is working with OpenText Professional Services to upgrade their deployment of OpenText Vendor Invoice Management for SAP Solutions to further transform its accounts payable operations with new AI, intelligent capture and automation capabilities. OpenText Vendor Invoice Management for SAP routes invoices automatically to the right person for resolution, approval and payment. New enhancements to the solution will boost Univar Solutions EMEA's operations by giving the company access to OCR line item recognition, improving invoice training and automating previous manual freight processing and costing. "Deep integration between OpenText and SAP is helping us continuously streamline our accounts payable processes, while continuing to find productivity gains through automation and innovation," said Brian Morgan, IT director EMEA, Univar. "We are working with OpenText Professional Services to take advantage of new capabilities in AI and process automation, ensuring that our people are focused on the customer-facing work which matters most to our business. Powerful optical character recognition combined with machine learning and intelligent automation enables content to be matched against supplier delivery notes. This helps Univar Solutions EMEA continuously identify and remove bottlenecks and automatically correct errors or inefficiencies before they impact customer satisfaction. Advanced analytics and reporting tools give Univar Solutions EMEA greater visibility over its accounts payable processes, helping ensure governance, compliance and clarity. "OpenText helps companies connect business applications, digital business processes and proprietary company content.