Companies ready to upscale AI skills to keep up with the current times: Microsoft India Study

In the quest, to keep pace with the demands of customers and technology, half of all employees are expected to be equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills in the next 6 to 10 years said a study by Microsoft India.

According to Microsoft India study, the combination of skilling and AI deployment is helping businesses succeed with 94% of senior executives from leading businesses already seeing value from AI deployment. These businesses are cultivating employee skills across every category, ranging from advanced data analysis and critical thinking to communications and creativity, the study captured.




Moreover, combined with other key technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data Analytics and Blockchain, AI has the potential to create a new basis for economic growth and to be the main driver for competitiveness and job creation. Experts say that AI could contribute up to EUR 13.33 trillion to the global economy in 2030.

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The Microsoft India study reveals that leading AI firms in India were looking for ways to expand their employees’ digital capabilities to explore new avenues for growth, 93% of them were actively hiring skilled workers or had planned to complement their internal skilling programs. It said the overall number of Indian employees interested in skilling that is 85% is more than double of that of employees across all surveyed markets – 38%.

Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer Microsoft India, said that AI is at the heart of digital transformation which has accelerated at an extraordinary pace. Srivathsa said it would continue to play a critical role in helping businesses be more agile, resilient and competitive during this time. However, the path of unlocking the full potential of AI lies in combining its deployment with skilling initiatives that focus on both teach and soft skills, the officer said.

Combined with analytics, AI enables organizations to make more effective and quicker decisions to collaborate, grow and shrink businesses. Overall, many industries are already using AI for prediction to improve their decisions.