AI, Cloud Transformation, and the Enterprise Future – Takeaways from the Executive Roundtable at Google’s Chicago Office
Discover key insights from our recent Executive Roundtable with Google Cloud, where leaders explored how AI and cloud modernization are transforming enterprises — from supply chain orchestration to data infrastructure and ROI validation.
Why AI Matters Now More Than Ever in Enterprise Transformation
According to BCG, 74% of companies struggle to achieve meaningful value from their AI initiatives. This leaves strategic opportunities on the table, despite AI transformation’s immense promise:
- Up to 50% efficiency gains in IT operations
- Reduced operational costs through automation
- Enterprise-wide scalability with modernized systems
- Faster, data-driven decision-making
But if the potential is so clear, why do so many organizations fail to realize it? That question was at the heart of the panel and peer discussions during our roundtable.
Key Themes from the Afternoon
1. Balancing Innovation with Operational Realities
A recurring theme was how to balance investment in emerging AI technologies with the need to optimize what already exists. AI-enabled forecasting, automation, and optimization are helping enterprises strike this balance by shortening planning cycles and enabling real-time scenario adjustments.
For example, one global appliance manufacturer reduced its forecasting error rate (MAPE) from 69% to 30%, while saving $6.5M annually through AI-powered supply chain optimization.
2. Breaking Down Silos with Unified Intelligence
Another key discussion point was the importance of integrating data across business functions. Legacy, siloed platforms often create blind spots and hinder AI adoption. The case of a leading bank, which migrated from a rigid, Cloudera-based system to Google Cloud, showed how modernization reduces overhead, cuts infrastructure costs, and strengthens foundations for predictive analytics and AI.
Unified, AI-powered analytics emerged as the new strategic imperative, enabling leaders to link AI investments directly to measurable outcomes.
3. Marketing, Customer Intelligence, and Experience
Beyond operations, AI is also reshaping marketing strategy and customer engagement. With tools like Evalueserve’s IntelliLens accelerator, enterprises are using AI-driven marketing mix modeling to optimize spend, maximize ROI, and enable transparent, explainable decision-making.
4. Intelligent Risk Management and Resilience
Our discussions around supply chain management showed how agentic AI can anticipate disruptions, reroute shipments, and simulate compliance scenarios, turning risk management from reactive to proactive. By breaking down silos and orchestrating across sourcing, logistics, and regulatory requirements, enterprises are building more resilient, adaptable networks.
5. Proving ROI: The CIO’s Challenge
One candid conversation centered on the barriers CIOs face in demonstrating ROI from AI. Common issues include:
- Fragmented performance insights
- Disparate data across on-prem, cloud, and legacy systems
- Difficulty linking AI spend to business outcomes
- Outdated architectures misrepresenting AI’s true impact
The conversation also revealed the solution to these issues: unified, governed data infrastructures.
Final Reflections
From forecasting and supply chain orchestration to marketing intelligence and infrastructure modernization, the executive roundtable reinforced a clear message: AI is not just a future enabler — it is already a present-day catalyst for efficiency, resilience, and growth.
Yet success depends on breaking down silos, modernizing legacy systems, and ensuring that AI initiatives are grounded in measurable ROI.
We’re grateful to all who joined us for this dynamic afternoon of exchange, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue as enterprises chart the next phase of their transformation journey.
About our Executive Exchange Series
Evalueserve’s Executive Exchange events provide an unparalleled opportunity for senior executives to connect, share insights, and explore innovative ideas in a relaxed setting over dinner and drinks. Hosted in global business hubs such as New York, Toronto, and London, our exchanges feature engaging expert-led discussions on trends such as digital transformation and AI.
These intimate, invitation-only dinners are carefully curated around key industries including banking, private markets, life sciences and healthcare, technology, and more.
