Artificial intelligence: a look back at smart data analytics

The last Smart Datalytics was dedicated to a topic that is currently appearing in the general and specialist media in an almost inflationary fashion - artificial intelligence. In particular, the influence of these technologies on sales processes is the subject of heated economic debate. For example, it is hoped that it will be possible to make better predictions and address customers more precisely. But what are the challenges in implementing such a solution, what is already possible today and where can the journey take us? The participants had an in-depth discussion about this at betahaus on November 22.

The keynote speech was given by Olga Paul, Presales Specialist for SAP Customer Experience in SMEs at SAP. Under the headline "ArtificaI Intelligence in sales: just hype or real benefits?", she explained the possibilities that AI currently offers in customer projects and, above all, her own experiences with it within her organization. As a presales specialist, she is involved in the sales processes and was initially skeptical when the first approaches of AI were to be used in the form of lead evaluations and sales forecasts. After all, how could the machine know better how individual opportunities would develop? However, she was impressed by the accuracy of the predictions, pointing out that truly meaningful predictions require time, corrections and, above all, a very large database of correct data. As algorithms are constantly evolving, Olga is convinced of the benefits of AI as a supporting tool for sales. She works with it herself and sees more and more customers using it successfully.

Inspired by this, several groups of participants formed in the subsequent open space round, who contributed their own experiences with commitment, but also asked many questions or responded to the ideas and projects of others. A valuable exchange of experiences that the participants continued even after the official conclusion of the event.

The successful Smart Datalytics year came to an end with this event. We are already looking forward to continuing the event series in 2019.