Ertug Ayik oversees operations across 76 regional countries, bringing a wealth of experience and strategic insight to the role. This marks HP’s second year participating in GITEX Africa, a testament to its commitment to engaging with key markets and showcasing cutting-edge technologies.
In our conversation, Ayik shares his perspectives on how HP is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise employee communications and collaboration. He delves into the specific AI-driven solutions that HP is presenting at GITEX Africa, which aim to enhance work relationships and improve productivity.
Additionally, Ayik discusses the broader trends in the hybrid workspace, offering valuable insights into how AI shapes the future of work. This comprehensive discussion highlights HP’s strategic approach to integrating AI into its products and solutions, ensuring that they meet the evolving needs of the modern workforce.
Q: How is HP leveraging AI to improve employee communications and collaboration?
A: AI and collaboration are integral to the future of work, especially in the context of the significant shifts brought about by the pandemic. The rise of hybrid work environments means that employees are no longer confined to a single location or device. They need the flexibility to work from home, the office, or even on the go while maintaining a consistent and secure experience across all these settings. Collaboration, therefore, becomes crucial in ensuring seamless communication, whether it’s face-to-face or virtual.
HP has been at the forefront of integrating AI into its product offerings to enhance these collaborative efforts. Recently, we introduced AI-enabled computing solutions for both consumer and commercial customers. AI’s primary role in these solutions is to automate repetitive operational tasks, thereby increasing efficiency and allowing employees to focus on more strategic aspects of their work. For instance, AI can automatically take meeting notes, create drafts for presentations, and enhance the audio-visual experience in virtual meetings by ensuring clear communication free from background noise and visual distractions. These AI capabilities are embedded across our device range, including our collaboration tools, making them smarter and more user-friendly.
What specific AI-driven solutions is HP showcasing at GITEX Africa to enhance work relationships?
At GITEX Africa, HP showcases a range of AI-driven solutions to enhance individual productivity and team collaboration. One of the highlights is our AI-capable Poly collaboration devices.
These devices are equipped with advanced video technologies that ensure participants appear clearly on screen during virtual meetings, simulating an in-person experience even when participants are physically distant. AI functionalities focus on individual speakers, enhancing their visibility and audibility and cancelling background noise and distractions.
Additionally, we are demonstrating our AI-enabled PCs, which bring powerful computing capabilities directly to the user’s fingertips. These PCs can handle tasks such as voice and image recognition, analytics, and executing large language models on the device. This on-device processing is particularly beneficial for maintaining data privacy, as it minimises the need to share sensitive information with cloud services.
Security is another critical area where our AI solutions shine. With more people working remotely, the risk of cyber-attacks has increased. Our AI-enabled security software protects PCs and other devices against such threats. These solutions help safeguard user data and maintain the integrity of work environments, whether employees are working from a café or their home office.
How do AI-driven insights help managers understand their team dynamics better?
Managing a remote or hybrid team has unique challenges, particularly maintaining engagement and productivity. Research shows that only 27 per cent of employees feel engaged at work, which is alarmingly low and can directly impact performance. AI-driven insights can play a transformative role in addressing this issue by automating routine tasks that often consume valuable time and energy.
By leveraging AI, managers can free up their teams to focus on more meaningful and impactful work. For example, AI can handle scheduling, task management, and data analysis, which are often time-consuming and repetitive. This boosts efficiency and allows employees to engage more deeply with their core responsibilities. Additionally, AI can provide managers with real-time data on team performance and dynamics, highlighting areas where support or intervention might be needed.
This enhanced visibility helps managers better understand their teams, fostering a more engaged and motivated workforce. The result is a more productive, satisfied, and high-performing team directly contributing to the organization’s overall success.
What are the key trends you see in the hybrid workspace now and in the future?
The hybrid workspace has become a defining feature of the modern work environment, driven by the need for flexibility and adaptability. One key trend we see is the shift away from traditional 9-to-5 office hours.
Employees now seek the freedom to choose where and when they work based on the nature of their tasks. For instance, focused, individual tasks are better suited for a quiet home environment, while collaborative projects benefit from the dynamic interaction possible in an office setting.
This shift necessitates tools and technologies that support seamless transitions between different work environments. AI and advanced collaboration tools are central to this evolution, providing the flexibility and functionality that modern employees require. Companies are investing in technology that supports remote work and enhances in-office experiences, ensuring a cohesive and integrated work environment regardless of location.
Looking ahead, we anticipate that this trend will continue to evolve, with more sophisticated AI-driven solutions emerging to enhance hybrid work further. These solutions will likely focus on improving user experience, boosting productivity, and maintaining high levels of security, ensuring that employees can work effectively and efficiently from anywhere.
Can you provide examples of AI capabilities in HP’s collaboration devices?
One of the standout features of HP’s Poly collaboration devices is their advanced video functionality. These devices use AI to ensure that participants in virtual meetings appear as if they are sitting right in front of the camera, even if they are physically at the end of a long conference table. This creates a more immersive and engaging meeting experience, making virtual interactions feel more personal and effective.
Another key AI capability is noise cancellation. Background sounds can be a significant distraction in busy or noisy environments. Our AI-driven noise cancellation technology filters out these unwanted sounds, ensuring the person speaking is heard clearly and without interruption.
This is particularly useful in hybrid work settings where employees might join meetings from various locations with varying background noise levels. Moreover, our AI-enabled PCs offer features like voice and image recognition, enabling users to interact with their devices more naturally and intuitively.
These capabilities also extend to security, with AI helping to detect and respond to potential threats in real-time, protecting sensitive information and ensuring the integrity of communication and collaboration efforts.
