A survey amongst 307 corporates, ranging from SMEs to large corporates, highlights that tech upskilling in skills like artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital marketing and design thinking is crucial for boosting their organizational performance. Conducted by Great Learning, the survey aimed to find out the top skills that organizations will need to drive future growth and how they plan to bridge the impending skill deficit amongst their ranks. Inspite of the increased awareness around upskilling, the survey found that 47% of the companies have still not assigned budgets for upskilling their workforce. Hari Krishnan Nair, co-founder, Great Learning said: "The technology skill gap among employees is one of the biggest challenges that organizations in India are beset with. While it is encouraging to see that a majority of companies are aware of the need for upskilling, the time to act is now. Skilled employees will continue to be the biggest asset for any organization going ahead and while options like lateral hiring and outsourcing may help in the short term, from a cost and effectiveness point of view, upskilling is the best way to stay competitive in the long run."

Many economies--France and China, most prominently--have either formalised strategies to harness and realise the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) or are already heavily investing in AI. The NITI Aayog's National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence #AIforAll that outlines focus areas for adoption and possible challenges, therefore, merits close attention from policy-makers if India is to leverage AI for growth, development and greater inclusion. Indeed, adopting AI means a 15% boost for the gross value added (GVA) for the economy by 2035--NITI estimates that AI could potentially add $957 billion to India's $6,397-billion dollar GVA projected for that year. The focus areas that NITI has in mind--healthcare, agriculture, education, urban development/ smart cities & infrastructure, and mobility and transportation--hold both great promise and risk for the country. Consequently, the rewards from adopting AI in these areas and the opportunity cost of deferring such adoption will thus be either transformative or ruinous, respectively, for the country.

May 18 (Reuters) - Salesforce.com Inc, a marketing-and-sales software provider for 17 years, may be joining the ranks of the technology old-guard, but the 27 percent first-quarter revenue growth it posted on Wednesday still showed some startup zip. The company also provided a rosy outlook, raising its full-year revenue forecast and predicting that technology like artificial intelligence would drive future growth. Shares of Salesforce, seen as a barometer for the cloud-computing sector, rose 5.9 percent in after-hours trading. Cloud-delivered software, provided online on a subscription basis, has gained popularity with businesses due to its flexibility and cost benefits. Salesforce, founded in 1999, has won market share from more traditional software providers such as Oracle Corp and SAP AG, Chief Executive Marc Benioff reminded analysts on a conference call after the company reported its earnings.