Generating new product ideas, automating of e-shop procedures, creating design or advanced medical diagnostics, monitoring social media or using virtual assistants to serve customers – these are just a few examples of where artificial intelligence (AI) or other innovations can be used successfully.
Although their application is not yet very wide in Lithuania, the competitive environment and the pursuit of efficiency encourage organisations to look for innovative solutions. For these purposes, Novian Pro, which implements AI and other advanced technologies in practice, offers the use of Innovation as a Service. It allows development of technological innovations without creating own separate division.
This way, companies and organisations have the opportunity to carry out innovative projects with the help of an external team, gaining access to expert knowledge as needed. This allows them to implement innovations faster, reducing costs in this area and concentrating resources on the main activities of the organisation.
Innovation application experience: from space to defence projects
“Implementation of innovations today is a multifaceted process that includes not only strategy creation, planning, research and development activities, but also monitoring, evaluation and improvement of the innovations created. It is clear that broader competences are needed here, and we are prepared to offer them – both when choosing, as well as when creating and implementing a technological solution”, said Paulius Vaitkevičius, Head of Innovation and Products for Software Services at Novian.
According to him, Novian Pro is constantly delving into various new technologies, including artificial intelligence or big data, and has accumulated valuable experience working on advanced projects in defence, space, medicine and other sectors.
Vaitkevičius added that Novian Pro pays a lot of attention not only to AI and big data analysis, but also to other technologies that help implement innovations – process automation, communication systems on Earth and in space, the Internet of Things or Edge Computing. “If necessary, we can attract not only Novian software developers, AI and big data experts to the team, but also specialists from other organisations and universities,” he explained.
Innovation starts with research
The representative of Novian also emphasises the importance of the research phase in the implementation of innovations. “Research results determine the foundations of a technological or innovative solution and become a cornerstone in creating this solution. This allows to avoid mistakes and start developing the project with a clear and effective plan. In addition, high-quality research reduces potential risks in the creation of innovations”, said Vaitkevičius.
During the research phase, the project team focuses on the essential scientific and technological aspects, looking for insights into the problem at hand. Published literature and experiments are evaluated, and data are collected and analysed. The stage is completed after the necessary information has been accumulated for the further development of the project. It could be a technology prototype, a confirmation of a scientific theory, or other important insights.
In this way, the innovation service offered by Novian Pro allows the country’s organisations to fundamentally and flexibly increase their research and experimental development (R&D) capacities relevant to specific activities. In addition, when innovating, digitalising, or optimising operational processes, specialists from other IT fields, such as, low-code or IT infrastructure, can be brought to the team as needed.
Innovations are also coming to Lithuania
Although the country’s official statistics so far record a relatively small number of companies using artificial intelligence, the need for the application of this technology is increasing.
“We feel that the market’s interest in artificial intelligence has increased. Nowadays, the world is talking about AI increasingly louder; it is compared to truly revolutionary technologies, thus, it is obvious that many organisations are considering application of this innovation in their activities”, continued Vaitkevičius.
Data from the State Data Agency show that in 2023, AI technologies were used by nearly 5 per cent of Lithuanian companies. Companies mostly used them to automate work processes, analyse written language, convert spoken language into a computer-readable format, recognise objects or persons based on images, use machine learning to analyse data or monitor the environment.
According to Vaitkevičius, after assessing the potential of AI, this technology can be used much more widely. “Experience shows that it is possible to apply artificial intelligence in practically all areas of activity – from product development, sales and marketing to production, supply chain or organisation management,” said Vaitkevičius.
According to the country’s statistics, in 2023, approximately every fourth local company using AI used this technology to organise IT security, marketing or sales, production processes or business organisation processes.
AI development is hindered by operational or organisational challenges
It is obvious that the current moderate development of AI is also determined by the challenges posed by this technology. The State Data Agency announced that among the reasons that stop Lithuanian companies that do not use AI, but have considered investing in this technology, last year the most commonly cited were excessive costs, lack of competence in companies and uncertainty of legal consequences.
Organisations are also concerned about difficulties in the availability or quality of the necessary data, concerns about data protection and privacy violations, incompatibility with existing equipment, software or systems.
“If you want to start applying AI or other innovations in your activities, before starting, you should assess the goals and needs, and how technologies can contribute to the achievement of those goals,” said Vaitkevičius.
This analysis of the technological part is best performed with the help of experienced specialists, who could more accurately identify the need for AI or other technologies, and perhaps also the lack of need for the organisation, as it may turn out that completely different solutions are required.
According to him, an important role in the analysis process is played by the inventory of necessary and available data, their infrastructure, and finally – legal and ethical issues of AI.
According to Vaitkevičius, it is no less important that organisations choosing AI and other innovations should also evaluate operational changes – emergence of new technology and, probably, a new work culture, will also require changes.
Novian is delving into innovation-intensive areas
The companies of Novian Group provide programming, IT infrastructure and digitisation solutions and services in tax administration, smart city and other e-governance areas, actively cooperates with business companies.
In the field of programming, Novian has accumulated extensive experience in the development of customised information systems, in the field of process automation, it works in such innovation-intensive areas as digitalisation of operations, defence, aeronautics and space, and develops research and innovation activities.
In the field of the technologies, the Group’s competences include high-performance computing devices and clusters, open source cloud technologies, high-availability data, archiving and other solutions. The companies have exceptional technological potential in the region to carry out complex large-scale digitisation projects, and can also offer more extensive data-handling solutions.
More about innovation as a service here.
The source: project at vz.lt.
