Buying software does not mean conversion
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are always the driving force of growth, innovation and job creation, accounting for more than 97% of the total number of enterprises.
In the context of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies reshaping the global economy, improving digital capacity for SMEs is not only to help businesses adapt to digital transformation, but more importantly, to open up a new driving force to improve the productivity, efficiency and competitiveness of the economy in the AI era.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Pham Thi Thu Hang - Founder and General Director of 5S Media - said that the biggest challenge for businesses lies not in the lack of AI tools, but in the ability to redesign processes, data and decision-making responsibilities. According to Ms. Hang, buying software does not mean conversion. If businesses maintain the old working method, new tools will only increase costs and create an additional layer of operation that needs management.
Businesses do not create value just by buying more tools. Value appears when businesses redesign their working methods so that AI is placed in the right place in the process," Ms. Hang emphasized.
According to Ms. Hang, the debate about whether AI will replace humans is often placed at the wrong level. AI does not replace a complete human. This technology first replaces or shortens individual, repetitive, predictable tasks that are heavy on manual operations and require less complex judgment.
To make AI a "second brain
From the experience of running a Vietnamese enterprise, Ms. Pham Thi Thu Hang proposed a three-role model to help SMEs transform AI from a short-term performance-creating tool into an operational capacity that can be maintained, replicated and create long-term value.
Accordingly, AI is the assistant for data processing, automation and drafting; the personnel team is the one who censors, detects errors, checks for fabricated AI phenomena and protects quality; leaders are the ones who make strategic decisions and take ultimate responsibility.
Human resources that know how to use AI will create superior productivity and value. Similarly, businesses that know how to reorganize work around AI will have a clear advantage over businesses that only add tools to the old operating model," Ms. Hang said.
To move from discrete testing to data-based management, Ms. Hang proposed a five-step roadmap. The first is to standardize the process, eliminate operational chaos and clearly describe each step of the work so that AI can support the correct task. Concentrate data, bring information to a unified source, creating reliable materials for the AI system.
Digitizing knowledge, turning the experience in each individual's head into a common digital asset of the business. Clarify the role, define the boundaries between the work of AI, the censorship of personnel and the decision-making power of leaders. Under-controlled training, improving AI capacity for the team along with the principles of data security, information verification and responsible use.
According to Ms. Hang, the measure of AI transformation should not stop at the number of hours saved or the number of tools deployed. A successful initiative must leave businesses with clearer processes, cleaner data, preserved knowledge, a better capable team and a more transparent decision-making mechanism.
AI can create speed in the short term. But growth is only truly long-lasting when that speed is transformed into processes, data, knowledge and human capacity that businesses can continue to use, improve and replicate," Ms. Hang said.
One of the major barriers to SMEs is the difficulty in attracting enough good personnel for all functions. According to Ms. Hang, AI and AI agent systems can support the heavy work of collecting, summarizing, analyzing and preparing plans, thereby helping leaders think broader, react faster and dedicate more capacity to strategic decisions.
AI can become the second brain of the business, but cannot become the person responsible for replacing the CEO. The final decision, especially with issues related to people, brand and strategy, must still belong to the leader," Ms. Hang said.
