How did Dialog IT launch an array of AI projects within ONE month?

June 24, 2022

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) made headlines over the past decade, and it will remain a buzz word even in time to come. Despite AI/ML being interesting in theory, applying it to real world scenarios can be challenging. Applying AI/ML into every business operation will not be productive, but learning where to apply and when not to can also be a challenge. Business and IT units should sit together to identify solutions. However, many organisations are struggling to allocate resources to study, implement and adopt. Therefore, effective idea generation can be challenging.

Dialog sought new ways of welcoming AI/ML despite these challenges.

How did we generate ideas?

As a part of a company that empowers millions of customers daily, Dialog IT has a penchant for developing out-of-the-box solutions.

From the moment we identify your need as a customer to when you choose us as your service provider, it is not just our responsibility but our duty to ensure our technology stack provides you with an ever evolving, ‘one-of-a-kind‘ experience.

New ideas are paramount for the delivery of this promise and is in line with our vision of delivering The Future. Today.

For example:

• Online purchasing has increased exponentially. How can Dialog rise up to the occasion and meet the demand?
• Operations teams focus their efforts to monitor systems, keeping them available with near-zero downtimes. However, monitoring should not be daunting as it traditionally was. Rather, monitoring should be proactive with insights into a potential problem with the possibility of self-healing.

Those were but a couple of examples of concerns that we set out to address.

A hackathon enabled everything?

Yes, it did. The competition had two categories: The Best Idea category and The Best Product. Both categories were designed around improving user experience and customer retention. The answers to all these questions came from within our own talent pool; Developers, QA engineers, Business analysts, architects and managers were the crayons”.

Together we painted a beautiful picture that we proudly call ‘AIce Breaker 1.0’ which is arguably Sri Lanka’s biggest in-house AI hackathon by far in every measurable way.

Twenty-four teams were registered for the hackathon with 170 contestants in all categories. Our teams are agile, and while catering to business needs in their regular sprints, they worked relentlessly to identify use-cases and problems that could become candidates for AI-based solutions. Although it has become a trend to throw AI and ML into every single problem that pops up, the key is to identify problems that can truly become beneficial when solved. These teams went further and converted use cases into AI-enabled solutions that can reduce turmoil and help predict what customers really want. Amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic during meetings, discussions and brainstorming face-to-face, the teams adapted and embraced the virtual way of working to the fullest, resulting in multiple ground-breaking ideas, concepts and products.

It is true that not all the ideas can be rolled out to production. The teams had come up with multiple ideas, debated and negotiated with business units to filter out the best ideas that will spur momentum.

Have you ever experienced the excitement of a light bulb moment in the middle of the night and suppressing it until morning to share with your team-mates?

The month-long hackathon was filled with such exciting moments.

Taking part in a hackathon can be rewarding and we don’t just mean the prizes at the end of the competition. It can be rewarding to work as a team, working through friendly competition with your colleagues, learning about new technologies, breaking barriers and changing the monotony of working from home to deliver immensely improved customer satisfaction and user experience.

Was it successful?

Yes, it was! More so than imagined at the beginning.

AIce Breaker 1.0 generated more than 25 new AI-led ideas within just one month to improve operational excellence and user experience in several ways. This endeavor enabled the identification of multiple improvements on many key fronts such as operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, churn management, user experience, and market prediction. Eleven entries went on to develop a Proof of Concept (POC) within the duration of the competition and Dialog IT is planning to give life to these concepts by the third quarter of 2022. It is expected they will improve our service to our customers.

A technical advisory committee was appointed to feed the teams with AI knowledge whenever required. The panel of judges consisted of our internal resources who were experts in diverse disciplines including Information Technology, Engineering, Business Management, and Innovation. The flow of the competition was set to be flexible for the contestants, advisory committee and also the judges.

Dialog IT is not looking to merely integrate these AI solutions into our core systems but are already embracing this new breed of AI-enabled solutions to deliver The Future. Today. We believe that AIce Breaker 1.0 has produced amazing groundbreaking solutions and at the same time has given us the opportunity to groom our teams to adopt AI and ML to deliver an unparalleled service and experience to millions of valuable customers who trust us to deliver quality and service.