Takeaways from the TSIA World INTERACT – Orlando 2024

AI Mantra: “AI may not replace me, but AI will definitely change the way I work.” – Thomas Lah, TSIA

Another year, another TSIA World INTERACT conference in Orlando – and the atmosphere was positively charged! What truly set INTERACT apart was delving into the tangible impacts of AI on modern businesses and uncovering its transformative influence on education services, support systems, offer management, customer success, and beyond. From leveraging data-driven insights to implementing advanced AI strategies, it became the go-to event for tech service professionals!

Before diving in, let’s provide you with an overview of TSIA.

TSIA (Technology & Services Industry Association) is the world’s leading research organization dedicated to helping technology companies achieve profitable growth and solve their top business challenges. Services, Sales, Customer Success, Product, and Channel organizations at technology companies large and small look to TSIA for world-class business frameworks, best practices based on real-world results, detailed performance benchmarking, and exceptional peer networking opportunities.

How is MOD involved with TSIA?

TSIA has introduced the Consulting Alliance Partner (CAP) Program as a benefit to its members, and we are proud participants in it. Consulting Alliance Partners are thought leaders and service providers that command expertise unique to the world of technology products and services & help solve the most pressing business challenges. We contribute directly by:

• Working directly with members to improve product and service performance and drive operational outcomes, based on TSIA research.
• Providing a broader awareness of TSIA among the technology product and services community.

The Conference

AI is reshaping our world, yet it remains fundamentally a product of human ingenuity aimed at enhancing efficiency and automation. We’re on the brink of a monumental shift, transitioning from labor-intensive tasks to technology-driven operations. Expect to see a surge in activities happening within products, including services and success initiatives. The looming question is: who holds the reins in deciding which AI projects are tackled centrally versus departmentally? We’re all too familiar with the sluggish pace of IT involvement…and waiting that long simply isn’t feasible if organizations don’t want to get left behind.

TSIA has been conducting an industry research journey titled, “Enterprise AI in Technology and Service Operations.” The objective of this research journey is to identify how technology companies are managing the deployment of new AI capabilities to reengineer their internal workflows. The results of this research have resulted in:

• Data on the current maturity of managing the deployment of AI capabilities
• A series of recommended practices related to deploying AI capabilities
• A series of industry case studies on deploying specific AI use cases across disciplines

The opening keynote shed light on how tech firms are navigating the journey to operationalize AI, a monumental challenge faced by leaders worldwide. Many are currently grappling with the complexities of “operationalizing AI,” striving to discern the optimal deployment strategies. Those who master this process will emerge as industry frontrunners, wielding a strategic edge over competitors. A maturity model of AI-enabled technology providers was presented:

This following image illustrates the current AI maturity levels of the specific disciplines covered by TSIA. For example, TSIA conducted a recent survey and found that customer success is lagging and only 40% of customer success organizations have made an investment in deploying some form of AI in customer success management operations. Most are planning to implement something, but the scary statistics are that almost 9% plan on doing something within the next 3-5 years, and almost 12% are not planning on investing in any AI! We’ll be curious to see how these results change a year from now…

In the closing keynote by Dell Technologies, we gained valuable insights into their impactful AI journey, learning actionable strategies to cultivate competitive advantages and harness the transformative potential of GenAI for future service landscapes.

Hot Takes

TSIA has begun doing a “Hot Takes” panel that is always very interesting to listen to, as they dive into controversial, unpopular opinion on industry topics. Some of the topics this time around were:

• “Chatbots are dead”. They’re not dead, they’re enhanced. Chatbots are evolving beyond their previous limitations. While they may have been perceived a pain in the past, advancements in AI technology have transformed them into powerful tools. Welcome the era of hyper-personalized AI solutions!
• “Companies bragging about AI are the ones doing it wrong.” Just because you launch something doesn’t mean it’s effective, as simply launching AI initiatives isn’t enough to guarantee success. Companies need to prioritize integrating AI seamlessly into their operations to enhance the customer experience. Those that focus solely on boasting about their AI capabilities without prioritizing customer satisfaction miss the mark.
• “Don’t measure AI ROI with traditional metrics – it’s all about long-term customer love.” Measuring the return on investment for AI requires a shift away from traditional metrics. Instead, the focus should be on cultivating long-term customer loyalty. Rushing into monetization without considering customer adoption and experience can lead to missed opportunities. TSIA recommends assessing adoption, usage, customer lifetime value, retention, and brand advocacy to gauge AI’s true impact.
• “Emotional AI is the next frontier, but it’s a minefield.” Sensing frustration and tailoring responses is powerful. However, while emotional AI presents exciting possibilities, it also comes with challenges. Recognizing and responding to user emotions can enhance interactions, but it’s essential to navigate this terrain carefully. A great response to this from an engineer was, “I use AI to generate and troubleshoot code, so I don’t need it to know/measure my emotional state.” A great use case for Emotional AI is Sentiment Analysis: being able to identify when escalation is needed.
• “AI won’t replace your best service agents, but it will make them superhuman.” It’s not superhuman, it’s just faster than human. While AI may not possess human intuition, its speed and efficiency can expedite problem-solving processes. Even if AI occasionally errs, its ability to deliver quick responses remains invaluable.

Operationalizing AI – Statistics Soup

During the keynotes, sessions, and expert panels, a plethora of research statistics were presented. Here’s a quick roundup with some of those statistics, offering insights into organizations’ progress along their AI journey:

• 76% of IT leaders believe GenAI will be significant or transformative for their organizations. – Dell Pulse Survey 2023
• 80% agree that GenAI would eventually transform their organization’s business environment, but only 6% have a GenAI application in their product. – Harvard Business Review
• 77% of tech companies are actively investing in AI development and deployment – TSIA Navigating AI Adoption: Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategies 2024
• 87% of tech companies are leveraging at least one GenAI tool in offering management roles. – TSIA Generative AI Tools in Offering Management Roles 2024
• 39% of tech companies are actively testing AI applications in sales and revenue growth. – The Emerging Role of AI in Sales and Revenue Growth 2024
• 50% of XaaS companies ARE NOT monetizing AI – TSIA

In Closing

At the conference, TSIA delivered numerous insightful presentations, shedding light on various aspects of AI. Companies also took the stage to discuss their strategies and experiences in navigating the AI landscape. While the GenAI realm is in its infancy, concrete use cases and success stories are still scarce. Nevertheless, the mere presence of active AI initiatives within organizations, with more on the roadmaps, holds promise for the emergence of robust success narratives in the future. Excitement abounds as we anticipate witnessing the unfolding of this AI evolution, destined to revolutionize our work dynamics.

We’re already anticipating TSIA World ENVISION in Las Vegas this October, themed “Transforming the B2B Customer Lifecycle.” TSIA will delve into groundbreaking developments in data, computing, and the paradigm-shifting potential of AI. The B2B customer lifecycle, decades in the making, is ripe for radical transformation. Attendees will be challenged to rethink conventional approaches, redefine business model objectives, and reimagine operations with data-driven, digital, and AI-centric solutions. Engaging with visionary industry leaders and participating in thought-provoking dialogues, the aim is to leave empowered to drive radical, transformative change within the tech and services sector. Hope to see you there!

Need some help mapping and enhancing your B2B customer lifecycle experience? Reach out to us today, we’d be happy to help!