In this episode of GroWrk Visionaries, our CEO, Carlos Escutia, interviews Guillermo Diaz, the former CIO of Cisco and a seasoned IT leader with extensive experience across corporate giants and startups. The discussion centers on AI's transformative impact on the IT industry and how organizations can adapt to this rapidly evolving technology. Here are the key insights from their engaging conversation.
To kick off his opinion about AI and the importance of proactive adoption within organizations, Guillermo notes that AI's impact is not limited to the workplace but extends into how people live their daily lives. He explains that the adoption rate for AI is rapid, with new developments emerging daily.
- Approach AI holistically: Diaz explains that AI is not just about generative tools like ChatGPT but also includes automation and machine learning. He stresses the need to understand the broad scope of AI to leverage it effectively.
"AI is often seen through the lens of tools like ChatGPT or Gemini—something you type into and get an answer. While that's generative AI, we need to think more holistically. How can AI drive automation in the enterprise? How can it take tasks and processes, eliminate the tedious ones, and automate them to create real impact?"
- Shift mindset: A key shift is to stop considering IT a cost center and instead use AI to drive value and innovation. This involves finding ways to automate tasks so that people can focus on more strategic activities.
In this part of the interview, Carlos mentions some innovations happening in the GroWrk platform with AI. Guillermo highlights the inefficiencies of traditional IT asset management and how AI can offer better solutions. Diaz points out that many organizations still use manual methods like Excel spreadsheets or proprietary technology to manage their assets.
- Insights into cost structure: AI can provide the data needed by CFOs and CIOs to understand the cost structures associated with their assets. This ability to understand cost structures is critical to determining the value of IT investments.
"Many organizations are still relying on Excel spreadsheets or proprietary data sources to manage their assets. The challenge arises when the CFO or CIO needs quick answers about the cost structure—those tools often fall short."
- Eliminate manual tasks: Many manual tasks associated with IT asset management can be eliminated from reporting to tracking. This automation is essential for increasing productivity within IT.
"Managing assets often involves a lot of manual work on the back end. Using a platform like GroWrk removes that burden, enabling you to manage assets in a much more automated and efficient way."
Here, Diaz notes that many organizations struggle to show the ROI of their projects and infrastructure, often because it requires manually compiling information. There still is no real way to quickly visualize ROI in IT investments.
- Provide better insights for clients: AI agents can guide customers and clients by providing better insights into their assets. This includes offering quick access to information related to cost and productivity that is traditionally hard to find.
"Leveraging AI tools and agents to guide customers and provide instant insights into their assets is already on GroWrk's roadmap—making it easier than ever to access valuable information at the push of a button."
- Rapid information delivery: AI can help by providing real-time access to reports showing the return on investment of assets. This allows for quicker access to data that can demonstrate value.
"How do I show the business that what we invested in is actually adding value and is getting the ROI we projected?"
- Optimize resource allocation: AI can offer data-driven insights to help make better decisions about resource allocation, ensuring that spending is aligned with business objectives.
Guillermo emphasizes that AI literacy is not just for IT professionals but essential for everyone. Diaz argues that everyone should have a basic understanding of AI concepts to navigate the future workplace successfully.
- Educate employees: Organizations should provide training on the fundamentals of AI, such as machine learning and its applications. This education is necessary for all employees, regardless of their role or industry.
"There’s a literacy component everyone should be thinking about—understanding concepts like machine learning and exploring its use cases across industries such as finance, healthcare, and technology."
- Encourage experimentation: Employees should be encouraged to explore how they can use AI within their workflows. This involves experimenting with AI tools to discover new ways to improve efficiency and productivity.
- Utilize AI agents: Diaz also suggests that everyone should have an AI agent or "AI twin" to help them through their day. These AI agents can automate daily tasks and provide support.
- Keep learning: The technology is rapidly evolving, and it is essential to prioritize continuous learning.
"If you're not paying attention to AI, someone else will. AI might not take your job, but someone who knows how to use AI might."
Guillermo stresses that security should be a primary consideration when implementing AI tools. Diaz advises organizations to shift security left, addressing security from the start.
- Prioritizing security: Security should be a consideration from the beginning when building or acquiring AI applications. It's important to shift from building applications first and then considering security, to considering security from the start.
"If I'm an organization, especially an IT leader, I need to be thinking about security, identity, how I manage my organization, how tools are implemented or acquired, and the overall posture I maintain."
- Managing identity: To protect sensitive data, user identities and access must be carefully managed. It is paramount to ensure that only authorized users have access to specific information.
- Complying with regulations: Organizations must adhere to industry-specific compliance requirements, especially in sectors like healthcare and finance. This is critical for maintaining data integrity and avoiding penalties.
Guillermo explains how AI can help transition an enterprise to become completely autonomous. Diaz notes the possibilities of AI to predict resource allocation without outside help.
- Enterprises must make a shift to autonomization: Machine learning can help enterprises predict how to best allocate their resources. This predictive capability is key to optimizing operations.
"How do I leverage machine learning to analyze all the assets in my system? How do I autonomize my enterprise to predict where resources should be allocated?"
- Consider the different ways to leverage AI: Generative AI has been around for only two years, but the technology has been around for decades. It's crucial to consider how AI can be used for personal productivity, automation, and enterprise prediction and planning. This holistic approach is critical for getting the most value out of AI.
Guillermo Diaz's insights provide a detailed guide for understanding and implementing AI in the IT industry. His emphasis on AI's transformative potential, the need for AI literacy, and the importance of security offer a comprehensive view of the changes and challenges ahead. He stresses the importance of continuous learning and cautions that those who do not adapt risk being left behind. Check out the full interview below.