AI momentum in Europe: How organizations are creating value with AI transformation
Joacim Damgard
President, Microsoft Western Europe
With 67% of businesses in Europe using AI today according to the IDC, there is real momentum in investing in this technology. The infusion of data in all business operations, the availability of pretrained models, investments in AI infrastructure and new expertise on AI implementation are fuelling this growth and creating an abundance of AI transformation opportunities for organisations across Europe.
But how are organizations capturing value with AI?
At Microsoft, we’re seeing that where businesses create value seems to fall within four areas of AI transformation opportunities: enriching employee experiences, reinventing customer engagement, reshaping business processes and bending the curve on innovation.
Volvo Group saved 10,000 manual hours by streamlining invoice and claims processing with Azure AI and AI Document Intelligence
Enriching employee experiences and shaping the future of work
Lindex, Iveco Group and Ineco built their own AI tools using Azure OpenAI to create experiences which support their employees in a wide range of use cases. Together, employees are using natural language prompts to experiment and use AI to support their work and ultimately, customers.
Law firm Wiersholm has been using AI to test the simulation of litigation, the construction of arguments, increase the quality of their work and save time. Meanwhile automotive manufacturer Volvo Group launched a solution that simplifies document processing and meets the objectives of data extraction from images and translation. The solution has saved Volvo Group more than 10,000 manual hours.
And from the summer of 2023, telecommunication provider Elisa from Finland and Aker BP from Norway have been part of Microsoft’s early access program forCopilot for Microsoft 365 . Both organisations have benefitted from the investment in our Copilot stack and become more productive and engaged at work.
LALIGA delivers next-generation fan experiences by reimagining data and AI at scale
Reinventing customer engagement with generative AI to deliver greater value and increased satisfaction
In healthcare, Kry has teamed up with Azure OpenAI Service to harness the power of generative AI. Together, they are revolutionizing the way patients access healthcare, reducing administrative burdens for clinicians and improving the overall quality of patient care. Meanwhile, Laerdal medical is investing in AI to help train healthcare providers with their 3D virtual training simulators and provide an immersive experience that simulates real-life interactions.
Would you like to talk to your car? TomTom has changed how drivers reach their destinations with it’s navigation solution. Book a restaurant, control the temperature and windows in your car and more – all with the power of natural language on Azure OpenAI.
LALIGA’s partnership on Azure has transformed fan engagement, using AI experiences to drive revenue growth and create new opportunities for fans to engage with sports clubs, leagues and federations – delighting consumers at scale.
In the retail space, FARFETCH are using Microsoft’s security, ERP and AI features to lay the foundation of their leadership as a luxury e-commerce destination. Meanwhile, SPAR ICS is using AI to analyse data on weather conditions, marketing campaigns, seasonality and more to ensure every shop has exactly what every customer needs.
Both W2M, the travel division of Iberostar Group and Telefonica, have changed how they engage with customers by creating virtual assistants using AI. The aim for both projects is to create a more personalised, interactive agent for multiple services.
Swift is innovating with Azure confidential computing to help secure global financial transactions
Reshaping business processes to uncover efficiencies, improve developer creativity and spur AI innovation
Fighting financial crime is a priority for Swift, Swedbank, Belifus and Lucinity. Each of them have changed how they identify illegal activity from money laundering and reducing financial crime by using Azure Open AI and machine learning to get the best out of AI models whilst maintaining the highest privacy and security standards.
Security solution provider Gunnebo wanted to extract more information from IOT devices it operated all around the world, and enable engineers to focus on other tasks which were more creative and innovative. Using Azure OpenAI and GPT-4, they’ve greatly simplified and sped up log analysis to do just that.
Finally, manufacturer Epiroc created an ESML AI Factory on Microsoft Azure. The company was able to get it up and running within 60 hours. The scalable solution gave Epiroc’s manufacturing teams across the globe the ability to share data, best practices, and create consistent, repeatable processes to ensure the highest quality steel—and equipment—while increasing efficiencies and reducing waste.
EDP is powering the global energy transition using Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform, AI and IoT technology
Bending the curve on innovation across industries with differentiated AI offerings
Creating more sustainable batteries is key which is why Umicore is entering an AI platform agreement with Microsoft to accelerate and scale its battery materials technologies development.
For energy providers, using generative AI to transform their organisations to become decarbonised, efficient and sustainable faster – is crucial. Both EDP and Repsol have missions to drive sustainability in their sector and they’re using AI to analyse the data needed to do it.
During the pandemic, San Raffaele University and Research Hospital saw an opportunity to start using artificial intelligence to triage incoming patients. Fast forward three years, the pilot project has been turned into an intelligent data solution powered by AI which San Raffaele is using to transform clinical research and improve the end-to-end patient journey.
These are just some of the examples of how AI is transforming industries and creating new opportunities for growth, innovation and social impact. AI is not a distant future, but a present reality that can empower organisations to achieve more and make a positive difference in the world.
You can explore more AI customers stories and be inspired by organizations across industries and Europe which are leveraging the power of AI and the cloud to be more productive, creative and innovative.
Registrations for the Microsoft Ignite 2024 events across Europe have also opened up – secure your spot now and join local technology leaders and local Microsoft experts to experience AI transformation in action.
