Day 1 Recap: Gartner Application Innovation and Business Solutions Summit

All 5,000 of Gartner’s Application Innovation and Business Solutions Summit attendees agree on one thing: AI is so central to the future success of business that it is useless to continue debating if and when. The answer is yes and the time is now.

Instead, for the next three days at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, C-suite leaders, technology experts, and pioneering solutions providers will discuss the digital transformation dance and why AI–in all its iterations–makes the best dance partner.

That was the theme of the event’s kick-off keynote session: Let’s Dance—Adapting to the New Rhythm of AI-Powered Business. Hosted by Gartner Sr. Director Analyst Howard Dodd and VP Analyst Anthony Mullen, the energetic session set the tone for the rest of the summit.

According to Dodd and Mullen, 52% of AI projects never make it to production. An obvious drain on resources, the pair set out to redefine how leaders think about AI and what it takes to effectively implement an AI solution. “The relationship between a company and AI is a dance,” said the analysts. AI is your dance partner, but being performance-ready takes practice.

So what does it take to put on a good show? The answer, according to Gartner, is relatively simple: Learn to dance, master the steps, and take the lead. We’ll break down what that means:

Learning to Dance

Mullen and Dodd reminded the audience that we don’t all need to dance in the same space at the same time. In fact, it often leads us to step on each other’s toes in front of the customer. The AI innovation dance floor is made up of three parts: AI infrastructure and platforms, AI applications, and business solutions. Decide what piece of the dance floor you want to fill and do it well. And remember, not every performer needs to be on the stage at once.

Master the Steps

In our business, and like many of our conference colleagues, value is our center of gravity. Like a dancer doing multiple pirouettes, if the center of gravity is off, the whole step falls apart. The same is true for AI. If the solution you’re exploring fails to provide value, your teams–and more importantly, customers—won’t get on board.

Take the Lead

In a show of hands, session attendees indicated that, while many of them were comfortable taking risks, fewer were willing to break the rules that could jeopardize their teams. According to Gartner, a willingness to break a few rules (when risk has been analyzed appropriately) is essential for innovation. To create an environment where judicious rule-breaking is supported, focus on building trust and transparency by leaning on project managers to choreograph efforts across solutions.

The keynote speakers closed by offering this advice to leaders: Make space for exploration, intentionally acquire and develop talent, seek out executive support, don’t micromanage, and address concerns about AI openly, or your teams will never get on the dance floor.

With their eyes set on innovation, attendees filled the rest of their day by attending sessions from improving developer productivity in the age of AI to effective strategies to attract and hire top IT talent and vendor-hosted case study presentations.

Days two and three of Gartner’s Application Innovation and Business Solutions Summit promise more learning, collaboration, and a commitment to leaving attendees with a few director’s notes on how to perform their new moves for their teams back home.