EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
As AI continues to take the business world by storm , regulations are something that companies will start to become more familiar with .
Zoho is one example of a company that is looking to develop AI technology in an ethical way to keep people ’ s data safe . Technology Magazine caught up with Sachin Agrawal , Managing Director at Zoho UK , about the company ’ s plans moving forward .
Having worked across several major IT companies , including IBM , Sachin formed his own software-as-a-service ( SaaS ) company before joining Zoho within the UK . Here , he speaks about the importance of developing responsible AI and how Zoho is positioning itself to protect valuable customer data in a world of increasing digital regulations .
Q . PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR CAREER PATH TOWARDS ZOHO . WHAT FIRST GOT YOU INTERESTED IN AI ?
» My career started in management consulting with the Tata Group in 1996 , helping companies with their market entry , expansion and growth strategies , but with the IT industry booming in 1999 , I made the jump to join one of the major Indian IT companies Tech Mahindra , working in India and the US and witnessing the . com boom and bust at close quarters .
I have enjoyed the same entrepreneurial energy and environment at Zoho , heading up operations in the UK , which is the third largest market for the company behind the US and India .
“ At Zoho , we run on Zoho , so we experience all of the benefits first-hand before we launch to customers ”
SACHIN AGRAWAL MANAGING DIRECTOR , ZOHO UK
While I was familiar with AI from my time in the tech industry , it ’ s at Zoho that I ’ ve been closest to it , where we ’ ve been developing and embedding AI capabilities into our products for many years . As a consultant and a business leader , I saw how technology was a key enabler in driving automation and efficiency to business processes and with the power of AI unfolding , I was excited about the level of impact growing multifold .
Q . HOW IS ZOHO CURRENTLY UTILISING AI ?
» Zoho has been developing our use of AI for over a decade , in-house , and we are applying it within tools to create better solutions for customers .
We have embedded AI throughout our product suite . For example , using it to intelligently recognise receipt data when using Zoho Expense , or to spell and grammar check content in apps such as Zoho Writer or Mail . It is helping to give insights to sales teams as to the best time to call customers for success too , for example , and of course in our BI and
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