Driving AI success through an enhanced information management strategy

The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the way in which we live and work is undeniable – it’s rapidly changing the way in which people create, explore and learn latest skills. The workplace isn’t any different, with corporations and employees seeking to integrate AI into their each day workflows to extend productivity and efficiency. In 2024, AI adoption will gain momentum – with 65% of organizations say they commonly use generative AI.

On the opposite hand, data security stays a priority for corporations across all industries. Since we’re still within the early stages of widespread AI adoption, employees are increasingly using open-source tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot to hurry up their work – unaware of the safety risks this might pose to their business. In fact, in 2023, Samsung banned using open-source AI tools entirely – because employees had inadvertently shared sensitive code with ChatGPT.

This concern is growing as AI technology advances. According to a recent Prosper insights and evaluation According to a survey, 36.3% of business owners are “extremely concerned” a couple of violation of their privacy through AI’s use of their data, followed by 26.5% who say they’re “very concerned.”

In addition, AvePoint’s latest Report on AI and knowledge management – a survey of over 750 digital workplace leaders all over the world and across industries – shows that 71% of organizations are concerned about data privacy and security and 45% of organizations have faced unintended data exposure when deploying AI.

So how can organizations allay these fears and learn to securely use AI as a tool that helps employees work more effectively? According to AvePoint, adopting a complicated information and data management strategy is essential to making sure the protected use of AI. Most organizations (88% in accordance with the survey) have an information management strategy in place, but lack basic measures comparable to archiving and retention policies and lifecycle management solutions.

Dana Simberkoff, Chief Risk, Privacy and Information Security Officer at AvePoint, says, “It’s not surprising that data privacy and security were among the biggest concerns for companies before the adoption of AI. But the reality is that not enough companies have the policies in place today, leaving them exposed to risks that could be mitigated if they better protected and managed their data and trained their employees to use this technology safely.”

As the outcomes of this survey show, it’s critical to balance AI innovation and adoption with data security and risk considerations, ensuring that organizations do their due diligence to guard themselves before evaluating and deploying AI solutions.

Here are some suggestions for corporations on methods to safely implement AI across the enterprise – including by improving their information management policies:

• Don’t even take into consideration enabling access to AI until you might have fully audited and arranged the IT and data environment. Before they start evaluating AI solutions to find out which of them will deliver the most effective results, security teams must properly organize, manage, and archive their data environment. Adopting AI without prioritizing data readiness and access controls will only exacerbate security risk—as employees could inadvertently share sensitive data. This may be completed using tools like those from AvePoint—that automate the management, administration, and protection of workplace data.
• Establish a policy on acceptable use of AI early on. Employees are human too—and humans make mistakes. To avoid a member of the organization unknowingly sharing sensitive data with an open source AI tool, it is important to place the mandatory safeguards in place for protected use. These must be disseminated throughout the organization early within the adoption process so everyone seems to be aware of the risks involved and methods to use these tools appropriately. Shockingly, in accordance with AvePoint’s survey, lower than half of organizations have an AI usage policy in place—suggesting that security leaders urgently must take more motion.
• Provide your employees with comprehensive and ongoing training opportunities on AI – including the associated risks and evolving threats. In addition to an evolving AI usage policy, industry-specific training and workshops have to be offered. This shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all training module, but somewhat highly customized and internally developed training that helps employees construct knowledge of evolving threats, fraud, and latest tools.

“It is not enough for companies to ‘set it and forget it’ new AI tools. As with any new technology, adopting AI requires very careful security and data considerations, the development of new policies, and close collaboration between security, IT, and finance teams,” Simberkoff adds. “In the coming years, all organizations – from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses – will continue to invest a flood of resources in developing and deploying AI. Ensuring safe use and evolving data governance is arguably the most important step in this process and should be a top priority in 2024 and beyond.”

We’re already seeing the implications of AI without boundaries or proper education – recent examples of abuse include a lawyer who used ChatGPT in court, only to search out out that the case information he provided was completely mistaken. Much like Samsung’s employees who by chance shared data with open source AI, we’ll proceed to see cases where this happens without policies and education on AI usage in place. With AI tools, there’s power in bringing your personal knowledge and context.

On the opposite hand, hackers are also using AI for stylish attacks. Companies like T-Mobile and Activision have fallen victim to AI-powered data thefts, highlighting the importance of corporations putting information management and governance at the highest of their agenda before it’s too late.

AvePoint’s survey also shows that corporations with mature information management strategies are 1.5 times more prone to reap AI advantages. We all want to learn from the transformation that AI guarantees, but in the approaching years, balancing adoption against these data management and security concerns have to be a top priority for corporations across all industries.