Enterprise AI: The Key to a Productivity Leap

The AI conversation revolves around products and co-pilots. But the real discussion should focus on the transformation of work that enables a leap in overall productivity. While the first to benefit from AI are the hardware and computing power providers fueling large language models, Finland is not lagging in adoption—far from it. Finnish business processes and the systems that drive them are relatively modern, making them an ideal foundation for the next model of human-machine collaboration. Read what’s coming in the next few years—and what it means for business.

This article is a continuation of the presentation given by Seppo Kuula and Emil Sievinen at the CDOIQ event. CDOIQ is an annual symposium focused on data leadership, traditionally held on the MIT campus in Cambridge, USA. This year, however, the event took place at Aalto University in Espoo, Finland. The symposium featured leading experts in data leadership from Finland, Europe, and the United States.

Did you miss the event? Let's continue the conversation! 

AI adoption is a  journey that goes step-by-step. Last year, we witnessed the rise of co-pilots and personal AI assistants. But these are just a small part of what AI can achieve in enterprise use—and what it can enable. This year marks the first time we’ll see AI truly taking action on our behalf through AI agents. Small tasks. Individual actions. But they will execute them endlessly, improving all the time.

This development is the key to sustained and continuous productivity growth. As work evolves, productivity rises. Eventually, reduced working hours won’t be just an experiment but a reality. The foundation laid by large language models is now incubating tens of thousands of enterprise-specific intelligent applications—set to replace the traditional software landscapes built over decades.

How will Enterprise AI Change Business?

AI is everywhere. No surprise if the hype is starting to wear thin—especially if it's unclear what AI is actually supposed to achieve. I'll try to clear that up. 

Ensin kerron lyhyesti AI-agenteista. Ne ovat tekoälyratkaisuja, jotka hyödyntävät usein foundation-malleja (GPT-4, Gemini, Claude yms.) tiedon käsittelyyn, mutta rikastavat niiden kyvykkyyksiä lisäämällä kontekstuaalisia päätöksenteon, muistin ja toimintakyvyn mahdollistavia ominaisuuksia.

Starting with AI agents. These are advanced AI solutions that often leverage foundation models (GPT-4, Gemini, Claude, etc.) for data processing but go beyond by adding capabilities for contextual decision-making, memory, and autonomous action.

Most human work follows a structured, multi-step process where decisions and actions are taken based on available information. Think about your company’s ERP or other operational systems—those mapped-out processes illustrate exactly what AI agents can do. 

And they will do it faster and more accurately than humans ever could—and this is just the beginning.

With AI’s exponential growth, the world will transform in the next 10 years in ways we can barely grasp today. The situation mirrors where we were with the internet 30 years ago.

We stand on the brink of unprecedented opportunities—to solve global challenges and enhance quality of life.

The Year of AI Agents: 2025 and the Rise of Actionable AI in 2026

As I write this, we’re in the early spring of 2025. Right now, AI agents are primarily used to handle individual tasks and small workflows, with humans still overseeing the process and making critical decisions.

However, as these agents gain context-awareness and learn from an organization's own process data, they improve. At the same time, we refine how we use them. The better we understand both AI agents and our own workflows, the more we can optimize operations and delegate increasingly complex tasks to AI.

The goal is for AI to seamlessly integrate into core business systems—becoming a natural part of their fundamental operations.

One year from now, we will have entered the age of actionable AI—a shift from experiments and incremental wins to advanced AI solutions capable of automating entire business processes. This is when AI will unlock completely new capabilities, such as hyper-personalized customer experiences at scale.

By the late 2020s, AI adoption will reach the next major milestone: autonomic AI. At this stage, business operations will be fully digitized, with AI agents managing and orchestrating each other while humans oversee broader strategic directions. Enterprise systems will no longer just process information; they will become truly intelligent and self-governing.

The groundwork we are laying now will soon bear fruit—turning the long-anticipated productivity leap into reality.

How Do AI Agent Ecosystems and Their Collaboration Work?

The next major leap in AI isn’t just about making individual agents more powerful—it’s about building entire AI-agent ecosystems.

In the near future, AI-driven workforces won’t be limited to isolated software handling singular tasks. Instead, they will function as interconnected networks where agents communicate, share information, and self-organize into highly efficient systems.

A prime example of this is an enterprise-wide AI-agent network. Imagine:

• The finance AI collaborates with the procurement AI, forecasting cash flow and optimizing purchases automatically.
• Customer service agents interact with marketing algorithms, dynamically personalizing communication based on real-time customer data.

All of this happens seamlessly—without humans having to manually define every interaction or oversee every decision.

This ecosystem approach ensures that AI solutions aren’t just internal assistants performing ad-hoc tasks. Instead, they become the core operating model of a company, enabling real-time optimization, cross-functional efficiency, and predictive decision-making.

In the future, businesses will have numerous AI agents working together continuously, streamlining operations, anticipating market shifts, and enabling unprecedented flexibility and efficiency—all by functioning as part of a larger, intelligent whole.

How to Get Started with an AI Workforce?

The first step in adopting AI agents is to understand your business processes and identify areas where AI can deliver immediate, tangible benefits. Implementing AI agents doesn’t mean overhauling your entire operation overnight—it’s a strategic and phased approach.

Early AI agents typically handle straightforward and well-defined tasks. However, as they evolve, they can be connected to one another, expanding their role across different functions and workflows. AI agents are only as effective as the data they have access to. Organizations must ensure their data is available, high-quality, and AI-ready. Without structured data management, AI adoption can create more challenges than solutions.

Successfully integrating AI agents isn’t just a technology project—it’s a strategic shift in how a business operates. AI should be seen not just as a tool but as a new kind of digital workforce that companies must learn to collaborate with effectively. AI agents are not just assistants—they are high-performing digital colleagues. 

The Next Surge in Global GDP Growth (After World Wars and Future Discounting)

By leveraging existing foundation models, we have the opportunity to be among the first to build business-specific AI agents and agent ecosystems. But action is required now—waiting is not an option.

AI agents and their ecosystems are the most promising AI-driven solutions in terms of productivity and economic impact. Their potential is so significant that Goldman Sachs has projected a 7% increase in global GDP over the next decade due to AI-driven advancements.

Even so, this is just a milestone on the AI journey—and one that could already unlock radical societal improvements, such as the long-discussed four-day workweek.

As we approach the era of autonomic AI, where AI systems oversee entire operations, productivity will soar. Tasks that once took weeks or months will be completed in seconds. Entire business processes will run autonomously, without delays or inefficiencies.

At this point, there are no clear limits to productivity growth. In economic terms, we are talking about a potentially infinite GDP trajectory—a reality where value creation is no longer bound by traditional constraints.

The Time to Act is Now

This is a transformation we want to be part of—as businesses, as Finns, and as Europeans. But more importantly, it’s a transformation we must be part of if we aim to solve our economic challenges and remain competitive on the global stage.

The era of AI agents and actionable AI is already here. The era of autonomous AI is fast approaching. Now is the time to lay the foundations—to build the technical capabilities, define business strategies, and secure our position in the global market.

The technology is ready. Businesses must be, too. The Enterprise-AI train is already moving—it’s time to get on board.

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