KUALA LUMPUR: In an era of rapid technological advancements, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a driving force behind ASEAN's economic growth and development, says SAS, the leader in data analytics based in United States (US).

With AI's ability to enhance productivity, operational efficiency, and foster innovation, it has become a crucial tool for businesses to generate higher value at scale, both regionally and globally, while minimising overhead costs.

Though the transformation brought about by AI may impact certain job roles, it also paves the way for new job opportunities, requiring the upskilling and reskilling of the ASEAN workforce.

"One of the key advantages of AI lies in its ability to enable data-driven decision-making, optimising resource allocation and economic policies.

"This has led to remarkable advancements in sectors like financial services, healthcare, education, and the public sector throughout ASEAN," Regional Vice President and Head of Digital Transformation, Emerging EMEA and Asia at SAS Institute, Amir Sohrabi said in a statement to Bernama.

Collaborating closely with government agencies, banks, and insurance companies, AI is being leveraged to improve citizen and client services resulting in a positive impact on service quality and customer experiences.

Amir said by embracing AI and cloud analytics, it empowers ASEAN businesses and Governments to create new value streams which are derived from data driven decisioning leading to enhanced customer experiences and agility with lower overhead.

"This combination accelerates productivity, innovation, job creation, and data-driven decision-making for economic development in the ASEAN region," he added.

The recently concluded SAS Innovate 2023, the AI and analytics business conference by SAS, highlighted the need for global businesses to embrace advanced technologies such as AI and cloud analytics in the wake of economic uncertainties as it will help build the resilience required to thrive in an ever-changing world.

The business conference held from May 8-10 at a leading hotel in Orlando, Florida, US, acknowledged that AI and cloud analytics have emerged as indispensable tools that empower businesses to navigate through an increasingly complex and turbulent landscape.

SAS Chief Executive Officer Jim Goodnight at the conference announced an investment of US$1 billion to provide cutting-edge AI-powered industry solutions to its customers over the next three years.

Goodnight said SAS, the leader in analytics headquartered in Carey, North Carolina, will utilise the investment to further develop advanced analytics solutions targeted at the unique needs of specific industries.

During the conference, attendees including media delegation from the Asia Pacific and European countries including from India, Japan, South Korea, China, Germany and Malaysia which was represented by Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA) experienced the latest technologies from SAS and its partners at the SAS Innovation Hub pavilion.

The highlight at the pavilion was SAS Viya, a cloud native AI, analytic and data management platform that supports the analytics life cycle, along with solutions for enterprise decisioning, data strategy and customer intelligence, among others.

-- BERNAMA