Over the years, the world has seen tremendous advances in technology. Humanity is stepping towards breakthroughs that were not even imagined a few years ago. There have been inspired and monumental developments in information technology and artificial intelligence – turning many science fiction ideas into the reality of today. Never before in history have businesses and consumers been so interconnected as they are today. Artificial intelligence (AI) has played a vital role in bringing people together from around the world.
The evolution of conventional and digital marketing channels has transformed consumer engagement. Growth is evident in finance and technology at similar rates, with new products and services conveniently at hand, including improved financial technology (FinTech) products. Nevertheless, the world is constantly producing new market trends and consumer behaviors. The key to success in this ever-changing world is understanding and influencing the buyers’ behavior.
Even though businesses need to understand how crucial integration is, only a handful of professionals genuinely grasp its importance, and one of them is Krishna C. Mukherjee, a senior executive of KWI. Throughout his career, Mukherjee has made outstanding contributions in the field of artificial intelligence, and he has consistently emphasized its importance.
Structural Brilliance of AI
Artificial intelligence is a technology that tries to imitate the reasoning and judgment of human beings. By copying human intelligence, computers can learn from experience. The artificial intelligence systems get more competent as they are fed more data. It allows them to test and compare solutions in a given task at a much faster processing rate than a human brain can function. Imagine millions of calculations happening in the blink of an eye.
The speed with which AI systems process data enables them to become experts faster than humans, making them highly effective for any process requiring intelligent decision-making. This ability to think and behave like humans makes artificial intelligence a compelling technology. Mukherjee has been a pioneer in using AI to implement the popular Software as a Service (SaaS) model and build Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Today, the amount of data, which is generated by both humans and machines, has surpassed our expectations. By seamlessly integrating AI into products, Mukherjee has created ecosystems within various technological areas.
If we look into our not-so-distant past, we can see how far we have come in a short span of time. Previously, the lack of technology bound us, and businesses were buried in paperwork due to the unavailability of automated systems. However, today’s technological advancements would not have been possible without the contributions of visionaries, architects, and engineers like Krishna C. Mukherjee. Large multi-national companies, such as Microsoft, Wolters Kluwer, Bloomberg LP, and Fidelity Information Services have also benefitted from Mukherjee’s expertise and intellect.
Krishna C. Mukherjee functioned as Chief Software Architect and Engineer for Microsoft. He played a vital role in the architecture, design, and development of Microsoft’s famous products, including Office, Windows, and Visual Studio. His understanding of artificial intelligence helped to achieve significant improvements in the productivity of the users of Microsoft’s products, which would not have been possible without the speed and convenience that AI provides.
Mukherjee led the research and development of Office for both Microsoft’s and Apple’s operating systems. From building the proofing tools for Office and introducing AI technology at Microsoft to overseeing the creation of popular features such as AutoCorrect, AutoFormat, Office Assistant, and IntelliSense – Mukherjee laid the foundations for the future of AI in product development at Microsoft. Subsequently, he was the driving force behind Microsoft’s Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) technologies that have been facilitating collaboration between diverse teams within large organizations.
Mukherjee’s aptitude for technology, finance, and automation inspired him to invent the consumer-centric software Intelligent Filing Manager (INTELLIFM) for Wolters Kluwer. This software is designed to cater to large volumes of data, especially in the insurance, finance, and medical industries. Foreseeing the importance of cloud computing, Mukherjee focused on innovations in this area. During the late 1990s and 2000s, he built the SaaS business model and made it a commercial success. He directed the development of award-winning applications, such as CTAdvantage.com, hCue.com, MediRegs.com, and LienSolutions.com, for Wolters Kluwer. Customers use these applications to manage data and automate workflows. The applications generate recurring revenue for Wolters Kluwer and save costs for its customers. Mukherjee used INTELLIFM and Microsoft technologies to build the SaaS applications. Under Mukherjee’s leadership as the Chief Information Officer, Wolters Kluwer emerged as a global information services provider.
Artificial intelligence was not considered helpful in tracking and managing data before Mukherjee’s work in this area. He led the design and development of the Bloomberg Valuation Service (BVAL). In addition, he pioneered the use of AI in price tracking, estimation, valuation, and comparisons across multiple financial institutions.
Moreover, Mukherjee developed the AutoPay platform to solve the problems associated with making periodic payments. Prior to AutoPay, customers were unable to pay their pending bills due to the unavailability of efficient systems. Mukherjee designed and built AutoPay to address the issues customers had to deal with regularly. Using Mukherjee’s AutoPay system, the customers can make on-time payments with no late fees or overdrafts.
By offering AutoPay, companies do not have to mail a considerable number of paper invoices, and they can reduce the manual handling of cash and checks. Additionally, they do not have to spend time following up with the late-paying customers. Thus, AutoPay allows businesses to eliminate overhead, save costs, and provide high customer satisfaction.
Icon’s customers use the IconParkingSystems.com site to sign up for monthly, daily, and hourly parking at premier locations. They pay their bills with electronic checks (ACH), debit cards, and credit cards using the AutoPay system that Mukherjee built. Icon receives the payments on time. The company does not have to manage an excessive amount of paperwork for processing paper checks and cash. The electronic payments made by customers are automatically processed and posted to Icon’s ledger. Mukherjee’s AutoPay model has been adopted widely. Today, it is used in various industries across the world.
With his innovations based on SaaS, predictive analytics, AI, and automation, Mukherjee made the finance and payments industries objective, dependable, and efficient.
Adaptability
It can be challenging to manage and organize every aspect of a business. The market has become highly competitive and saturated, which is valid for every industry. As time passes and technology grows, companies must adapt and implement strategies to help achieve the overall organizational goal. Managing resources and workforce while maintaining a good consumer experience is essential for businesses to succeed and become profitable.
To ensure that the designed strategies are correctly implemented, the required technology must be innovative and allow upgradation. Keeping the needs of today’s business world in mind, Mukherjee has been working as a senior executive for KWI. He has created perfect APIs and products for omnichannel retailing, eCommerce, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), merchandising, and Point of Sale (POS) systems.
Mukherjee understands that making things smooth and efficient for both the business and the end-user is essential. With the perspective of helping businesses and consumers stay connected, he has created omnichannel retailing products where the channels through which the consumers connect are integrated. So, the services provided to the customers are not only transparent but also convenient and easily accessible.
Every successful business has one thing in common – satisfied customers. Understanding the needs of customers is very important in order to provide a good experience. Among the many implications of AI, getting an in-depth understanding of the market is one of the most effective ones. Businesses need to understand why the customers contact them and how they can make this interaction more productive, simple, and satisfactory.
Currently, Mukherjee is associated in a Senior Technology Leadership role with Fidelity Information Services (FIS). Using his vast knowledge of AI and years of experience in the field, he directs globally distributed teams to design and develop cloud-based Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and virtual assistant (VA) systems that utilize natural language processing and deep learning. These conversational AI systems are advanced enough to accept inputs from users, answer queries, and perform various creative tasks. They optimize and automate customer interactions and transfer them to a human advisor only if necessary. FIS is progressing towards automating customer interaction with the help of the IVRs and VAs, thus saving time and resources. Mukherjee is enabling FIS to provide exemplary customer service, minimize operational costs, improve security, and prevent fraudulent activities.
During his career spanning over three decades, Krishna C. Mukherjee has made noteworthy contributions to the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning, for which he has received international recognition, awards, and honors. The future will open more doors for technology at a pace never seen before. In order to stay relevant and keep their edge in this competitive environment, businesses need to learn to adapt and make room for integration. Krishna C. Mukherjee has ardently emphasized this principle throughout his illustrious career.
Opinions expressed by NY Weekly contributors are their own.
