Creating the Decision Intelligence category

The way we work will change and that change is inevitable. This change is exciting and one we must embrace. In the world of work, over the next ten years, this is the single most significant change that we will all be a part of…

Every business will need its own AI. In the same way that business functions demand their own ‘System of Record’ — Sales and Marketing have CRM and Operations have ERP systems — businesses will need a new kind of system. This is a new software category and will be as big, most likely bigger, than those mentioned above.

Why?

There are three profound, fundamental, themes that are shaping the future of work. The combined effect of all of these will change and, ultimately, revolutionise, the way all of us work inside every business.

1. Data infrastructure has reached a maturity that democratises the use of artificial intelligence technology
2. Using artificial intelligence technology is a recognised competitive advantage in business
3. The economic opportunity for pure play disruptors to enter the market and supply this product is huge

Businesses will, therefore, win by consistently applying artificial intelligence to their work. Given the high technical barriers to access (more on that later…) they will search for partners who can harness that data and turn it into a valuable outcome. This value will be created by applying artificial intelligence to the most important function of a business: Its decision making.

This is because, at its heart, AI is a technology that helps make decisions. In the case of running a business that means great, highly optimised commercial decisions that can be made instantly, continuously and handle complexity beyond that of human cognition. Businesses who are harnessing this capability are growing faster, with higher margins, than their competitors. They are winning. In business, who wouldn’t want to do that?

This is Decision Intelligence.

We’re in the Intelligence Era

In established markets, businesses are often known to be cautious, sometimes risk averse and favouring the tried and tested over the new and exciting. Well, that was the old way. There is a new game to win now; that game is the Intelligence Era. This ‘4th Industrial Revolution’ will be marked by a step change in the pace of development and transformation within the firm. Old businesses, businesses that have won in the last era, will need to ‘unlearn’ the 20th century methods and start rapidly adopting the 21st century perspective.

Organisations who have embraced the power of data, insights and automation — this new game — are already winning over new customers and dominating their industries. It doesn’t take much to glance at the headlines of every national newspaper to work out one common theme.

They use artificial intelligence technology to make great business decisions. We call this superhuman power, Decision Intelligence. Decision Intelligence is the commercial application of artificial intelligence technology to enhance business decision making.

Peak’s mission is to put Decision Intelligence into every business, globally. To change the way we work. To help our customers make that change. We have started well, but our journey has really only just begun.

Great business decisions, all the time

Businesses that make great decisions win. These could be great marketing decisions, great product decisions or great supply chain decisions. The combination of these, made well, drives overall success as a business.

We have become accustomed to using data to help inform decision making. The next logical step is to use intelligence to inform decision making, and in many cases, to make decisions alongside us; quicker, faster, continuously over more data, more often.

Peak is built to provide this capability. Our customers love this. AO.com, PrettyLittleThing, PepsiCo, KFC and Footasylum… These household name brands and respective industry leaders share our perspective and they know the opportunity to expand, to create this category for businesses to thrive, is now. The Intelligence Era is now.

Decision Intelligence at scale

We mentioned it briefly; but it is worth revisiting. Now, more than ever, every business is data-rich. This data is a history of every decision made in a business, and every outcome. It records the activity of every individual and group within these core business functions as they carry out their daily decision making. A truly transparent and clean record of what has driven success in a business and what has failed. This is the first thing you recognise if you are to win in the Intelligence Era. All the information you need is right under your nose.

Decision Intelligence works by taking all of that information, that data, and looking for patterns. Patterns of success, patterns of failure and identifying where the ‘margin calls’ can be made; where the business can be optimised and enhanced in order to drive growth and profit. It learns, it compounds, and it improves its output on every iteration. But to do this you need a new kind of software system to run on — and at Peak we have CODI.

Now, in the past, you may have scoffed at the idea of taking a company’s entire data history and using it as an input to a statistical model. “It’s just not possible.” Well, today, it is. With data infrastructure every rapidly increasing, the architecture is taken care of. Statistical models, although useful, are not appropriate here. You need artificial intelligence systems, like CODI, capable of processing it at scale. Problem. What problem?! In fact, it’s only step one of the additive value creation to the business.

On top of that, the system will need to give end user outcomes into the workflows of these expert operators, be they supply chain managers, product and customer lifecycle owners or digital marketing experts. The decisions they make are constant, and they are high stakes. What price do I list this item at? How many should I buy from the supplier? How often should I replenish our warehouse? Where do I best place my next marketing dollar? To make these decisions it mandates a slick user interface as a must, and a high degree of automation. Constant, clear and consistent decision making. Again, both are possible, in one system — at Peak, that system is CODI.

Beyond the optimisation of a single business, connecting the enterprise through Decision Intelligence, lies perhaps an even more profound opportunity. That is to connect businesses to one another, many to one, one to many; a network of companies learning from one another and the decisions they take to succeed, and ultimately dominating their industry. To do this you need a system — at Peak, that system is CODI.

CODI shifts the paradigm for all businesses

Given the nature of disruptive innovation, this change will happen rapidly. It will happen over months and years, not decades.

The early adopters will seize this advantage and use it to dominate their industries and create unassailable intelligence moats. They will partner with key suppliers and buyers to create their own intra-industry network effects, powered by the proliferation of Decision Intelligence in everything they do.

At Peak, are designing our business and our product, CODI, to enable this rapid customer adoption. To remove as many of the barriers that businesses face when adopting new technology and to make it as results-driven and human-centric as possible.

CODI is built as a full stack Decision Intelligence system. Businesses who have attempted to build this capability themselves can often struggle on account of the complexity and expertise required. A tech company is yet to offer an all in one solution, which has led to many various organic systems being created, pieced together from a variety of technology providers, from databases, ML platforms to BI front ends and everything in between. This ‘vendor soup’ historically causes more headaches than it solves. Accountability can often go AWOL. We want accountability — so we built CODI as the full stack.

That solves the technical headache and gives a business the power it needs to win in its industry, but given we are changing the way we work, supporting this change is of paramount importance. So, at Peak, we bundle two often-overlooked elements of a transformative journey: industry expertise and implementation. No one wants to ‘talk IT’ to line of business and no one wants to ‘talk line of business’ to IT. We get it. So, we talk both. Our implementation teams focus on outcomes, generating value from CODI, for our customers. And our industry experts think long term; a strategic focus to help you compound your wins over time and create an unassailable advantage.

We get very excited about this journey. About what the world could look like in just a few years. About how we can all be a part of that and how going to work can be exciting. Really exciting! A place where we can work together and celebrate our everyday success. Celebrate the decisions we make. Let’s win.

If any of this interests you, we’d love to talk. It could be on anything. We are open and invite views on the future of work in the intelligence era from any and everyone. Drop us a line here, and let’s make this happen.

It’s going to be an inspiring ride!