Featured Article

Author: Saurabh Kaushik, IBM

In recent years, AI has fundamentally transformed businesses by enhancing customer engagement, streamlining processes, and improving decision-making. Now, a new phase of AI, known as Agentic AI, is emerging, which enables autonomous decision-making and action-taking capabilities. For business leaders and AI enthusiasts, this shift introduces exciting opportunities for innovation and demands a careful approach to choosing the right data solution to support such powerful AI.

The Agentic AI Advantage

Agentic AI brings “smart autonomy” to business operations, allowing AI to not only analyze data but also to act on it autonomously. This capacity can be revolutionary, enabling tasks like real-time customer personalization, predictive maintenance, supply chain optimization, and fraud detection without the need for constant human oversight. With the right data foundation, businesses can significantly increase agility, improve responsiveness, and drive operational efficiency, all of which contribute directly to a stronger bottom line.

However, to harness Agentic AI’s potential, businesses need a data infrastructure that can support the demands of autonomous decision-making. Here’s a guide on choosing and maximizing the value of a data solution for Agentic AI.

Choosing the Right Data Solution

The data solution powering Agentic AI must be scalable, responsive, and intelligent. Below are key criteria for selecting the best data solution:

1. Unified Data Architecture: The Power of a Lakehouse

Agentic AI requires access to diverse data, often scattered across different departments or systems. A Lakehouse architecture combines the flexibility of a data lake with the performance of a data warehouse, centralizing data storage and making it accessible for AI-driven processes. With a lakehouse, data remains in one place, reducing redundancy and allowing Agentic AI to process various data types without costly duplication or complex integrations.

2. Real-Time Data Processing for Instant Decisions

Agentic AI thrives on real-time data. For instance, in customer service, an AI could adjust offerings based on user activity in seconds. When selecting a data solution, prioritize platforms capable of streaming and processing data in real time. This ensures that AI can respond to events as they happen, creating a feedback loop where new data continuously informs decisions, boosting responsiveness and accuracy.

3. Data Governance and Compliance

For Agentic AI to operate autonomously and responsibly, data governance and compliance are essential. Access controls, data lineage, and audit trails provide transparency into how data is used and transformed. A data solution with strong governance not only reduces regulatory risk but also builds trust in the AI’s outputs, which is crucial when decisions impact customers or sensitive business areas.

4. Observability and Diagnostics

Observability ensures that AI processes remain accurate and reliable by allowing continuous monitoring of data quality, performance, and decision outputs. When anomalies or performance dips are detected, diagnostics help pinpoint and resolve issues quickly, keeping Agentic AI operating at its best. This proactive approach to managing AI behavior minimizes disruptions and increases ROI by maintaining decision accuracy and effectiveness.

5. Cost Efficiency and Scalability

The data needs of Agentic AI can vary dramatically, so scalable architecture—such as serverless or elastic models—is crucial. These options allow businesses to pay for compute and storage only when needed, lowering operational expenses and maximizing cost efficiency. Businesses can thereby manage resources efficiently, especially during fluctuating demands, ensuring that ROI remains high.

Maximizing ROI with Agentic AI

Once a business has the right data solution, it’s time to strategize on how to maximize ROI from Agentic AI. Here’s a framework to achieve strong returns on your AI investment:

1. Focus on High-Impact, Low-Risk Use Cases: Begin with pilot projects that promise quick wins, such as automating routine tasks or optimizing resource allocation. These use cases provide immediate results, build internal confidence, and allow for early learnings that inform broader implementations.
2. Establish a Continuous Improvement Loop: Agentic AI should operate in a feedback loop where new data continuously refines processes. Real-time data combined with observability features enables the AI to learn from every decision, enhancing both short-term and long-term performance. Businesses should consistently monitor metrics, adjust workflows, and refine models to maximize ongoing value.
3. Drive Adoption Across Functions: For Agentic AI to deliver its full value, it must be integrated across teams. Educating stakeholders, creating user-friendly interfaces, and incentivizing adoption can drive deeper engagement. This cross-functional approach amplifies AI’s impact and helps embed Agentic AI in daily operations.
4. Expand and Innovate Gradually: As initial projects demonstrate success, expand the AI’s scope to more complex areas. Gradual scaling prevents overextension and allows teams to refine processes before taking on more challenging tasks. Strategic innovation, such as incorporating predictive or prescriptive analytics, can help the AI uncover new opportunities and boost ROI.
5. Optimize Costs Through Resource Management: Finally, continuously optimize resource usage by scaling up high-impact areas and scaling back low-ROI initiatives. Regular audits of compute and storage needs help keep operational expenses under control while ensuring the AI continues delivering value.

The Future of Agentic AI in Business

The journey into Agentic AI represents a significant leap forward in business capabilities. For organizations ready to embrace this transformation, the opportunities are immense. With the right data solution and strategic approach, Agentic AI can unlock a future of autonomous decision-making that drives profitability, efficiency, and innovation.

By focusing on a robust data foundation, real-time processing, governance, observability, and scalability, businesses can maximize their returns and position themselves for continued growth in an AI-driven future. In a world where rapid, informed decision-making is essential, Agentic AI offers a powerful path forward, ushering in an era of smarter, more responsive enterprise.

Embrace Agentic AI and unlock a future where your data works autonomously, delivering value at every turn.

Title picture: freepik.com