Cloud transformation clears companies for digital takeoff

Rajeev: Certain. I believe as of late none of those conversations might be full with out speaking about AI and gen AI. We began this early exploratory part early into the sport, particularly on this a part of the world. However for us, the secret’s approaching this primarily based on the client’s ache factors and enterprise wants after which we work backward to determine what sort of AI is greatest appropriate or related to us. In Cathay, at the moment, we give attention to three major sorts of AI. One is after all conversational AI. Basically, it’s a type of an inner and exterior chatbot. Our chatbot, we name it Vera, serves prospects straight and may deal with about 50% of the inquiries efficiently. And nearly two weeks again, we upgraded the LLM with a brand new mannequin, the chatbot with a brand new mannequin, which is ready to be extra environment friendly and rather more responsive by way of the human work. In order that’s one a part of the AI that we closely invested on. 

Second is RPA, or robotic course of automation, particularly what you are seeing is throughout the pandemic and post-Covid period, there’s restricted assets accessible, particularly in Hong Kong and throughout our provide chain. So RPA or the robotic processes helps to automate mundane repetitive duties, which does not solely fill the useful resource hole, but it surely additionally straight enhances the worker expertise. And up to now in Cathay, we have now a few hundred bots in manufacturing serving varied enterprise models, serving roughly 30,000 hours yearly of human exercise. So that is the second half. 

The third one is round ML and it is the gen AI. So like our digital crew or the info science crew has developed about 70-plus ML fashions in Cathay that turned the group knowledge into insights or actionable objects. These fashions assist us to make a greater resolution. For instance, what meals to be loaded into the plane and particular routes, by way of what amount and what sort of product presents we promote to prospects, and together with the fare loading and the pricing of our passenger in addition to a cargo bay area. There may be plenty of exploration that’s being carried out on this area as nicely. And a few examples I may relate is should you ever occur to come back to Hong Kong, subsequent time on the airport, you possibly can hear the general public announcement system and that’s additionally AI-powered not too long ago. Prior to now, our workers used to manually make these bulletins and now it has been moved away and has been moved into AI-powered voice know-how in order that we might be constant in our announcement. 

Megan: Oh, improbable. I am going to must pay attention for it subsequent time I am at Hong Kong airport. And you have talked about this matter a few occasions within the dialog. Look, once we’re speaking about cloud modernization, cybersecurity is usually a roadblock to agility, I suppose, if it is not managed successfully. So may you additionally inform us in slightly extra element how Cathay Pacific has built-in safety into its digital transformation journey, significantly with the adoption of improvement safety operations practices that you have talked about? 

Rajeev: Yeah, that is an attention-grabbing one. I take care of cybersecurity in addition to the infrastructure companies. With each of those important capabilities round my hand, I have to be conscious of each points, proper? Sure, it is an attention-grabbing one and it has modified over the time period, and I totally perceive why cybersecurity practices must be inflexible as a result of there’s plenty of compliance and it’s a extremely regulated operate, but when one thing goes improper, as a CISO we’re held accountable for these faults. I can perceive why the crew is so inflexible of their practices. And I additionally perceive from a enterprise perspective it might be perceived as a highway blocker to agility. 

One of many key points that we have now carried out in Cathay is we have now been following DevOps for fairly a lot of years, and not too long ago, I believe within the final two years, we began implementing DevSecOps into our STLC [software testing life cycle]. And what it primarily means is relatively than the core cybersecurity crew being liable for most of the safety testing and people types of points, we wish to shift left a few of these capabilities into the builders in order that the individuals who develop the code now are held accountable for the testing and the standard of the output. And so they’re additionally enabled by way of the cybersecurity course of. Proper? 

After all, once we began off this journey, there was an enormous resistance on the safety crew itself as a result of they do not actually belief the builders making an attempt to do the testing or the testing outputs. However over a time period with the introduction of varied instruments and automation that’s put in place, that is now getting right into a matured stage whereby it’s now enabling the upfront groups to handle all of the points of safety, like risk modeling, code scanning, and the vulnerability testing. However on the finish, the safety groups could be nonetheless validating and act as a form of a gatekeeper, however in a really gentle and inbuilt processes. And this fashion we are able to make sure that our cloud functions are safe by design and by default they will ship them sooner and extra reliably to our prospects. And on this whole course of, proper? 

Prior to now, safety has been at all times perceived as an accountability of the cybersecurity crew. And by enabling the builders of the safety points, now you have got a greater possession within the group with regards to cybersecurity and it’s constructing a greater cybersecurity tradition throughout the group. And that, to me, is a key as a result of from a safety facet, we at all times say that persons are your first line of protection and infrequently they’re additionally the final line of protection. I am glad that by these processes we’re in a position to enhance that maturity within the group.