< Previous40 edge_march 2024 brand view A mid Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 programme, the landscape of education is undergoing a profound shift, amplified by the surging growth of the online education market. Projections indicate that in 2024, the market is poised to attain a revenue milestone, standing at $256.6 million. By 2028, the online education market is forecasted to burgeon even further, reaching a substantial market volume of $336 million. This data underscores the pivotal role that technology will play in shaping the educational landscape of Saudi Arabia. Against this backdrop, Shivani Stumpf, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at PowerSchool, shares exclusive insights into the trends, innovations, and the transformative impact of their solutions. What specific trends in the education technology sector do you observe in Saudi Arabia? Through the Vision 2030 programme, Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of adopting new, modern education technology focusing on quality education and the development of a knowledge-based economy. The edtech sector in Saudi Arabia is witnessing rapid growth and innovation, driven by government support, technological advancements, and changing educational needs. We regularly meet with education leaders across Saudi Arabia who are reimagining teaching and learning powered by advanced analytics and responsible artificial intelligence (AI) to better align education to workforce demands. How does your company differentiate itself in the competitive landscape of education technology? With the most comprehensive K-12 platform in the market, we at PowerSchool have solutions that process and understand all the key elements in education, including the student, classroom, school, teacher, and district operations. As the most pervasively deployed education platform, we are interacting with all the personas in education millions of times per day. Combining “PowerSchool is committed to being a good custodian of student data—taking all reasonable and appropriate countermeasures to ensure data confidentiality, integrity and availability” Powering the future A deep dive into PowerSchool’s impact on Saudi Arabia’s educational transformation EDTECH this unique differentiator of breadth and depth in K-12 with leading innovations around data and AI has resulted in our very exciting, recently launched comprehensive personalised AI platform for K-12 Education: ‘PowerBuddy’. PowerBuddy is an AI-assistant for everyone in the education ecosystem - students, parents, teachers, district administrators, and counsellors. As a conversational AI tool that utilises K-12 and district data, PowerBuddy changes every element of education engagement and enables personalised and highly effective support for everyone. PowerBuddy has the potential to completely transform how every user persona engages and performs their daily function – which in turn changes every aspect of our solutions and how each leverages the personalisation and conversational element of all of these new innovations. Additionally, unlike many AI tools on the market, PowerSchool employs a bring AI to data approach, vs. asking customers to send their data to a separate AI tool, ensuring enhanced efficacy while also minimising the risk of security hazards. Also, by integrating AI into everyday workflows, PowerSchool is bringing AI to the products that teachers and students love and use every day. Part of PowerSchool’s approach is reinforced by our proven scale (the company already processes 300 TBs of data and 11B monthly change events) with products used by over 50 million students in over 95 countries. Finally, PowerSchool partners edge_march 2024 41 brand view with technology leaders including Snowflake, AWS, and Microsoft ensuring our AI products are reliable, scalable, and market-leading. In what ways does your company engage with local educational institutions, policymakers, and other stakeholders in Saudi Arabia to understand and address the unique challenges in the region? We regularly meet with education leaders and policymakers in Saudi Arabia to ensure we have a deep understanding of their vision and goals in the education sector. Members of our executive leadership team, including myself, visit with education leaders in Saudi Arabia often and our team actively participates in regional and Saudi Arabia-specific education and technology conferences, including GESS and LEAP. How does your company ensure the security and privacy of student and institutional data, considering the increasing importance of data protection in the education technology sector? PowerSchool is committed to being a good custodian of student data—taking all reasonable and appropriate countermeasures to ensure data confidentiality, integrity and availability. We believe that the safe collection and management of student data is essential to student success within the 21st-century digital classroom. PowerSchool customers own their student and school data; we have no rights to access or sell student or school data and we do not collect, maintain, use or share student personal information beyond what is needed for authorised educational or school purposes, or as authorised by the parent or student. Regarding AI specifically, PowerSchool’s unique approach to bringing AI to our customers’ data also reduces the risk of data security hazards by preserving data sovereignty and mitigating data breaches. $336 million The projected online education market of Saudi Arabia42 edge_march 2024 tech tips 10 tips for businesses to maximise the use of generative AI Effectively using newer technologies to elevate your business goals AI By Sindhu V Kashyap edge_march 2024 43 tech tips T he promise of generative AI (gen AI) is redefining creativity, problem solving, and has shown us that the power of automation is unparalleled. While intriguing, the noise and buzz around gen AI can also be overwhelming for businesses. With every big tech giant releasing a new tool, practically every week, the fear of missing out can be real. Organisations and individuals are all looking to embrace gen AI. However, it’s crucial to adopt a strategic approach that maximises its potential while mitigating associated risks. Here are top tips for business: 1. Define clear objectives At the outset, articulate precise objectives that align with your business goals. Whether it is enhancing content creation, augmenting data analysis, or automating repetitive tasks, clarity of purpose is important. Understanding your objectives will inform every subsequent decision, from model selection to implementation strategies. 2. Choose the right model The choice of gen AI model is a critical determinant of success. Assess the complexity of your tasks, resource availability, and desired output quality to select the most suitable model. Whether it’s the versatile GPT series or specialised models for image and video generation, each offers unique capabilities tailored to diverse business requirements. 3. Curate high-quality data The quality of training data profoundly influences the performance and reliability of gen AI systems. Invest in curating a diverse, relevant, and clean dataset to ensure accurate learning and robust output generation. Prioritise data pre-processing techniques to eliminate biases, anomalies, and irrelevant information. 4. Regular model fine-tuning Generative AI models thrive on continuous improvement. Regularly fine-tune your models to adapt to evolving trends, user preferences, and business requirements. Incorporate new data and feedback loops to enhance accuracy, relevance, and responsiveness over time. 5. Embrace human oversight While gen AI offers efficiency, human oversight remains indispensable. Integrate a human-in- the-loop approach to review, validate, and guide AI-generated outputs. Human intervention ensures alignment with organisational values, mitigates ethical concerns, and guards against misinformation. 44 edge_march 2024 tech tips 6. Address ethical considerations Ethical integrity must underpin every facet of gen AI deployment. Proactively identify and address potential ethical concerns, such as bias, misinformation, and privacy infringements. Implement stringent guidelines, transparency measures, and content moderation protocols to uphold ethical standards and foster trust. Generative AI has the potential to streamline processes, enhance productivity, and drive value creation across diverse domains. However, its implementation also raises ethical considerations regarding bias, privacy, and accountability, necessitating careful oversight and regulation. As technology continues to evolve, the transformative power of gen AI promises to reshape how we interact with information, media, and the world around us. Most organisations need to realise gen AI simply mirrors the data it is trained on. If the core data sets are biased, you get biased outputs. This in turn perpetuates and amplifies the existing discriminations. It is therefore, important to be inclusive from the beginning. The internal teams building these models need to be diverse and represent a larger cross-section of the population. Also keep checks and balances in place to see if the training data accurately represents the real world. It is also important to conduct regular bias audits and refine the models. 7. Build in iterative learning View gen AI implementation as an iterative learning process. Leverage user feedback, performance metrics, and real-world insights to refine and optimise your AI systems continually. Embrace a culture of experimentation, innovation, and adaptation to stay ahead of evolving market dynamics. Generative AI, can be a powerful tool if used right “Generative AI models thrive on continuous improvement. Regularly fine-tune your models to adapt to evolving trends, user preferences, and business requirements”edge_march 2024 45 tech tips 8. Encourage collaboration across disciplines Generative AI integration necessitates cross- disciplinary collaboration. Encourage interaction between data scientists, domain experts, creatives, and ethicists to leverage diverse perspectives and insights. Collaborative synergy enhances problem- solving, innovation, and the ethical governance of AI systems. 9. Invest in education and training Equip your workforce with the knowledge and skills required to harness gen AI effectively. Invest in comprehensive training programs, workshops, and resources to foster AI literacy and proficiency across your organisation. Empowered employees are better equipped to leverage AI capabilities and drive innovation. 10. Stay informed and adaptive The gen AI landscape is ever evolving. With new tools being launched every day in the market, stay abreast of emerging trends, advancements, and best practices through continuous learning and engagement with industry forums, research publications, and expert communities. Begin with understanding and assessing the different AI tools for accuracy and creativity in the outputs they generate. Not every tool that launches Datasets and models, need to be refined and reiterated with continous input will meet your enterprise needs or requirements. Take time to select the right tool that suits your business needs and requirements. It is also important to understand what this could possibly cost you. Take time to understand the different pricing models of the AI tools you are planning to use. While several of these tools may not have an initial cost, they have different fees and subscription models. What businesses need to keep in mind is that AI auguments human capability and does not replace it. Keep clear policies and frameworks in place to help employees adapt and also adopt to the use of AI. It is also important to note that these policies also help not only help create a framework on right practices, but are also transparent about the consequences of misuse. Artificial Intelligence isn’t a forbidden fruit, it is a powerful tool, and organisations must use it as such. There already are several guardrails and ways in which organisations can develop a secure environment for employees to securly input company data, and use gen AI. In conclusion, the strategic adoption of gen AI holds transformative potential for businesses across industries. By adhering to these essential strategies organiations can harness the full power of gen AI to drive innovation, enhance productivity, and achieve sustainable growth in the digital era. 46 edge_march 2024 opinion A s climate change-related events proliferate and global temperatures rise, protecting the earth’s resources and reducing emissions is the world’s most critical imperative. The industrial sector, in particular, has a large role to play. Industry, together with the power sector, accounts for 65 per cent of global emissions, according to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). With these stark statistics in mind, responding to climate change will require an unprecedented transformation of industrialised sectors. Such a vast transition calls for innovative technological solutions that enable enterprises to rapidly decarbonise, improve circularity, and implement less resource-intensive practices. The future of business efficiency and emissions reductions increasingly relies on the power of data ecosystems underpinned by the cloud – where industrial operators, developers, partners and customers are all connected by secure and By Rónán de Hooge Executive Vice President, Cloud Platform Business, AVEVA trusted technologies. With industrial data ecosystems, companies gain access to new capabilities or expertise they may not have in-house. They also gain a unified view across the value chain to discover and leverage new insights that can boost organisational efficiency and sustainability. When this type of intelligence is shared in the cloud, developers – and all parties – can visualise routes to better and more energy-efficient performance. What’s more, by adding context to real-time data, developers and industrial operators can expedite R&D, innovate, accelerate sustainability efforts, and collectively enhance competitive advantages. Around the world, industrial companies and developers are already leveraging the connected ecosystem to drive positive outcomes. The ability to openly and securely share standard-format granular data with third parties supports the development and expedition of new sustainability innovations. Connected ecosystems are critical for driving business sustainability The world’s businesses are increasingly being urged to work together and share data to build planet-saving solutions SUSTAINABILITY edge_march 2024 47 opinion This kind of visibility and adaptability is imperative at a time of increasing cross-sector innovation, when developments in one field, such as big data, can support progress in another area. While organisations may have historically managed data via excel spreadsheets, email, or even memory sticks, such mediums are inefficient and insecure in the face of massive real-time workloads. Today’s technologies empower developers to rapidly gain access to external data and expertise, to understand and contextualise raw data streams in real-time. As global regulation and compliance demands increase, there remains a colossal opportunity for developers to assist industrial operators in reporting on environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets. By viewing unified value chain data in context, developers can help surface the interdependent areas where sustainability action can have the greatest impact, such as reduced emissions and better regulatory compliance. For example, an operator may need to report to regulators, customers and investors on year- on-year sustainability performance, but not have the full data picture required to do so or have the capabilities in-house to contextualise data for third- party reportage. In this case, creating an ecosystem to connect all their data sources and share them with a partner who offers KPI reporting for ESG would solve a challenge that would otherwise be exorbitantly costly and troublesome. By enabling supercharged operational efficiency, developers and their customers are well placed to drive change through multiple industries – significantly slashing global energy consumption and emissions. Within the connected ecosystem, every player can be empowered to drive sustainability gains for all stakeholders on a continuous basis. Whether for industrial enterprises, technology companies or developers, the sum becomes more than its parts. The efficiency and innovation gains promised by the connected industrial ecosystem will be the foundation of our sustainable future. “The ability to openly and securely share standard- format granular data with third parties supports the development and expedition of new sustainability innovations”48 edge_march 2024 T he traditional banking landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, primarily due to the rise of fintech firms offering superior customer experiences (CX). While banks have historically enjoyed the trust of their customers, they are now grappling with the challenge of fintech companies that are winning over business with innovative and convenient services. In this context, some banks are beginning to recognise the importance of embracing a modern approach to CX, underpinned by their legacy of trust and the strategic use of application programming interfaces (APIs). Fintech firms have successfully attracted customers, especially younger ones, by providing engaging mobile-based experiences, introducing new products and services, and constantly innovating. They have made banking fun, which is something traditional banks have struggled to achieve. In a recent survey, 52 per cent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with their current banking relationships, emphasising that banking was not rewarding or emotionally connected. This highlights the urgency for banks to revamp their CX strategies. Banks typically offer a wide range of products and services compared to fintech firms, and By Seshika Fernando Vice President - Banking & Financial Services hence have a broader and complex set of systems, including legacy systems that have to work together. This often ‘messy’ architecture discourages banks from innovating at the pace of fintechs. Therefore, they have been slow to adapt to the changing expectations of customers who seek convenience, transparency, financial literacy, and personalised services. On the other hand, fintech firms, who don’t have these legacy and complexity burdens, have capitalised on these gaps by offering services that align with the preferences of their customers, especially younger demographics. Nevertheless, banks possess a valuable asset in the form of trust, which is embedded in their brand names. Customers have historically entrusted their money to banks due to government regulations, insurance on deposits, and the ability to interact with a human representative for problem resolution. However, fintech firms have managed to build trust through better financial literacy and empowering customers to manage their finances independently. The trust between fintech companies and their younger customers is particularly strong, posing a significant challenge for traditional banks. To compete effectively with fintech, banks Banking in the fintech era Building on financial experiences with technology FINTECH banking edge_march 2024 49 must prioritise CX. This requires them to offer flexibility, financial education, innovative products and services, and intuitive convenience. However, achieving this is easier said than done, as banks face several challenges. One major challenge is the need to cater to a diverse customer base spanning multiple generations and demographics. What works for one group may not be intuitive for another. Banks usually offer a single app for all customers, which limits their ability to provide the depth of features offered by fintech apps. Legacy technology and outdated core banking systems also hinder banks’ ability to offer improved CX. The process of connecting these systems to user-friendly front-end interfaces is time- consuming and challenging. Moreover, siloed data and the lack of real-time analysis make it difficult for banks to understand their customers’ needs. APIs offer a solution to these challenges. They enable banks to connect various applications and information silos, creating seamless CX. APIs facilitate customer-facing workflows, reducing handoffs between bank departments, minimising errors, and improving efficiency. Additionally, APIs help standardise customer data, eliminating inconsistencies that can lead to confusion. They also empower banks to personalise customer experiences based on individual profiles. This personalisation can extend to offering tailored financial products and services. AI and ML can be integrated with APIs to further enhance CX. Furthermore, APIs allow banks to remain agile and adapt to changing market conditions and customer expectations. They enable the easy establishment of new partnerships and entry into new markets, giving banks the flexibility they need to stay competitive. FBN Bank Limited UK embarked on a project to modernise its core banking platform by exposing APIs to third-party vendors. Leveraging WSO2 API Manager and WSO2 Micro Integrator, the bank designed an API integration layer to connect third-party systems. It allows the automated passing of data between Flexcube (Oracle Core banking platform) and third-party systems real time, removing the need for manual processing and re-keying of information, which will in turn reduces operational risk and increases operational efficiency. In another customer success story, Yoma Bank, based in Myanmar, transformed its traditional banking system to a modern, customer-centric landscape amid growing competition from fintech firms. The bank’s technological innovation journey involved an API-first approach, leveraging WSO2 API Manager. With a vision of providing seamless experiences for customers and advisors, Yoma Bank faced challenges with siloed IT systems and inefficient operations. The solution was clear: digitise onboarding, build a single customer view, connect siloed systems, and deliver personalised experiences. The results of this transformation have been outstanding. Customer service has been revolutionised, with employees responding to inquiries 50 per cent faster, thanks to a 360-degree view of customers. Over 100 reusable APIs have bolstered the development team’s ability to innovate new banking services swiftly and efficiently. Moreover, the bank’s expansion into new markets has been facilitated by the API-first architecture, making mergers and acquisitions smoother. “Fintech firms have successfully attracted customers, especially younger ones, by providing engaging mobile-based experiences, introducing new products and services, and constantly innovating” banking Next >