Artificial intelligence is about data. The lecture offered a demand-side perspective: what Slovak companies can handle today, where they run into obstacles, and how they approach AI. We summarize the key findings as well as a tool that can help with the development of digital skills.
Business demand and four ways of working with data
There were many solution offerings at the event, but the view from the other side is just as interesting—what companies want and need. Data can be leveraged through four strategies: from internal processes (e.g., Industry 4.0), from external or purchased sources (e.g., medical data), from customer data collection (smart devices, cars), and for platform-based matching of supply and demand (Uber, Airbnb). For Slovakia, the most relevant are the ‘left-hand’ approaches, especially using their own production and process data, which aligns with the industrial structure of the economy.
Managers are persuaded by the argument that AI predicts the future better. In analytics we distinguish descriptive (what happened) and diagnostic (why), as well as predictive (what will happen) and prescriptive (what to do). The last two are the natural playing field for artificial intelligence and attract the most attention from entrepreneurs.
Where companies invest: from IoT to decision-making analytics
A survey among Slovak small and medium-sized enterprises shows the strongest demand for using data for management, business analytics, and decision support. Interest in these areas is growing, while disinterest is declining, also under the influence of large language models. The investment trajectory is usually gradual: from basic digital technologies, through the digitization of complex processes, to advanced solutions and ultimately AI.
Among the basics, connectivity dominates; in processes, administration and human resources are digitized first. Among advanced technologies, the Internet of Things and control systems stand out, but managerial data analytics is also growing. Companies often have their data digitized and accessible; the weaker point is their analytical processing. AI is almost never deployed on a ‘greenfield’—it is integrated into existing applications and infrastructure.
People, organization, and the digital skills framework
Digital transformation is a managed change across six domains: data, applications, infrastructure, and on the management side processes, people, and organization. A change in one area should trigger appropriate adjustments in the others; otherwise the technology will not deliver the expected results. Among processes, sales, marketing, and logistics are key for companies alongside administration and HR, and the emphasis on cybersecurity is visibly increasing.
People make the decisions and companies want to invest in them, but learning ‘on the fly’ prevails and there is often a lack of visibility into the team’s digital skills; government programs are used little due to inadequate offerings. The national project Digitálne zručnosti pre zelenú budúcnosť Slovenska is meant to help: it brings reference frameworks for digital and green skills and an A1–C2 scale aligned with the European DigComp. The requirements are prepared for approximately 1 800 occupations and were developed by employers’ sector councils. Provisionally from mid-January, testing is to be available for companies, managers, and employees, which will facilitate targeted selection of training—from cybersecurity to collaboration tools.
