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If you are living through budget hell right now like many of us, welcome to November! Most of us need to live through at least a week or so of revisions before all the dust settles.

I am getting this question from many of my partners and industry leaders – 2018 taught us that we can get tremendous uplifts through leveraging AI, however – what should we expect in 2019? And more importantly – how should we go about the budgeting exercise for 2019?

While I do not claim to possess the veritable crystal gazing skills – I am happy to venture out my 2 cents on this.

• Be bold– You know your organization best and already have a very good sense of where the improvements need to happen. What you did not know so far was whether the technology exists to achieve those automation. Assume that you can make those changes this year. The technology is already here. Your POCs or pilots this year might have already demonstrated that. From our vantage point I see the potential and the maturity of technology. If you have to deliver significant efficiencies in your helpdesk or operations – be bold.
  
  
• Build vs Buy– There are multiple ways to achieve what you want to do in 2019. Unlike the build/services option that are often expensive and risk prone – you might want to explore and budget for “buying” as well. Typically it might be able to give you a headstart in savings for the year by being able to implement faster. Don’t assume traditional pricing for AI. The world is changing and so are the pricing models for AI.
  
  
• ROI Calculation– According to our experience a 15 to 30% uplift in support staff productivity is achievable. Of course, this is a generic recommendation. If you want to have a quick word to take our perspective on your specific process – please feel free to reach out – and we will do our best to provide an estimate.Good luck in emerging from your budgeting process unscathed and look forward to supporting you in your cognitive automation endeavours.