The Tribune

BY FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN businesses still relying on Excel spreadsheets, QuickBooks and legacy accounting systems could be among the first targets for a push into artificial intelligence (AI) powered enterprise software, as companies look to automate routine processes and improve the way they manage their operations.

Christopher Hesch, SEIDOR US chief technology officer, said companies should start small with AI by consolidating finance and accounting processes before expanding into areas such as manufacturing and professional services.

“Somebody that is looking to consolidate their finance business processes and start off small and grow from there, either into manufacturing or into the professional service area, to bring in AI,” he said, “it's usually good to start small and harvest the results very quickly, and then grow from there.”

SEIDOR, a system integration partner for SAP, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, is using its growing Caribbean presence to explore opportunities in the Bahamian market, with Mr Hesch noting the company is not yet represented locally but is considering increasing its presence here.

He said the company can assess the systems businesses are already using, including QuickBooks and other legacy ERP platforms, and identify opportunities to move them towards more advanced enterprise systems.

“If you're using QuickBooks or if you're using any legacy ERP system, we look at the system that you have at the moment and show you what can be done to transform that into a business-grade ERP system,” said Mr Hesch.

For growing businesses, he said the transition can eventually mean moving away from spreadsheets and basic accounting platforms towards enterprise resource planning systems capable of integrating more of their operations.

“So if your business is growing and you have the requirement to move away from Excel spreadsheets, we are here to help you,” he said.

Mr Hesch said SEIDOR already has customers across industries throughout the Caribbean and can draw on expertise from its wider Latin American network, including nearshore capabilities in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.

The company's pitch comes as SAP increasingly incorporates AI into its enterprise software, with Venkat Krishnam, part of SAP's global transformation technology and innovation team, describing the company's strategy as building the “autonomous enterprise”.

Mr Krishnam said the concept involves using AI to maximise the value of ERP, customer relationship management and other enterprise application systems, allowing businesses to improve and maximise their operations.

“An autonomous enterprise is essentially SAP's way of looking at how can AI bring out the maximum value of the ERP systems, of the CRM systems, of all the enterprise application systems which businesses of any scale can use to benefit from maximising and improving their business operations,” he said.

He added that the autonomous enterprise has already been launched globally, with SAP now focused on increasing awareness of the technology across individual markets and engaging prospective customers.

Mr Krishnam said The Bahamas, like other markets globally, is fertile ground for autonomous enterprise systems as AI becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life.

“At this point in time, every market in the globe is very fertile for autonomous enterprise systems simply because of the way AI has penetrated every day life,” he said.

Both executives acknowledged concerns surrounding AI, particularly data privacy and the possibility of inaccurate or “hallucinated” outputs.

Mr Krishnam said SAP's autonomous systems are designed to maximise the privacy features of its underlying software suite, while Mr Hesch pointed to security and privacy as essential components of what he described as business-grade AI.

Mr Hesch said SEIDOR itself is a system integrator rather than a provider of physical infrastructure, with SAP's technology operating through private and public cloud solutions.

He said AI's rapid growth over the past two to three years is only the beginning, with businesses still “scratching at the surface” of its potential and further use cases expected to emerge as companies begin integrating the technology into their operations.