In the latest Certified Skills in AI and Tech podcast, Kryterion speaks with Ram Rajagopalan, VP of Product Management at RingCentral. Join Ram as he shares insights into AI and communication solutions. 

Leveraging over 15 years of experience, Ram explores scaling AI initiatives, enhancing user experiences, and driving business outcomes. Discover how RingCentral utilizes AI to streamline communication processes, improve customer interactions, and stay ahead in today’s dynamic market.  

Globally Accessible AI

When you consider the past two years and the emergence of ChatGPT, OpenAI, and all of this, how did it shift the way your company functions?

Very dramatically, and the effects are still unfolding for the industry. I look at it in two buckets: first, our engineers using GitHub, Copilot, and other tools to enhance productivity, and second, the evolution in customer solutions. So, while there are improvements to everyday work for our developers, it’s a significant inflection point for our customers. Previously, engaging with AI solutions was a data science problem, but now, with advancements like ChatGPT, LLMS, and open-source models, it’s becoming more of a data engineering problem, making AI solutions accessible even to small businesses. Thus, AI is no longer too expensive or complex to deploy, thanks to advancements in large language models and generative AI.

Aligning AI with Business Strategy

Do you see AI as a market expansion versus contraction?

I mean, the analogy I can draw is the transition from typewriters to computers. It expanded industries, created new verticals, and ultimately increased productivity. Similarly, AI, while appearing threatening, will likely enhance productivity rather than pose a threat to jobs.

How has AI shifted the focus of your company?

For us, it reinforced our focus on applied AI rather than building large language models. We saw the opportunity in using these technologies to create compelling solutions for our customers, rather than competing in building our own large language models. That’s where we believe we can add value.

How can you compete in that space?

There are players like OpenAI, Microsoft Azure, and others who offer enterprise-grade solutions. Beyond OpenAI, there are other options like Google, Amazon, and open-source models, presenting a broad spectrum of avenues. At the end of the day, customers care about solutions, not the intricacies of how they’re solved. So, we’re more focused on customer solutions. It worked in favor of unlocking innovation from all channels within the engineering team. It opened the floodgates for more engineers to contribute solutions leveraging AI. However, here’s still a need for traditional machine learning expertise, but now the problem space is broadened.

Boosting Employee Productivity with AI

When you think about your employees now, do you have a training process to get them thinking in this mindset?

For now, we encourage individuals to enhance their skills through available resources like Udemy. I think understanding how to prompt is critical, and it’s an ongoing learning curve. It took us some time to become proficient, but there’s still room for improvement. There’s a lot of opportunity for new players to come in and democratize access to AI solutions. I see a future where more businesses and individuals benefit from AI, driving productivity gains.

Kryterion’s Approach to AI-integrated Test Development and Delivery 

At Kryterion, we clearly see the opportunities and disruption that AI is bringing to our industry. Our top priority is to provide clients with the best mix of security, innovation, service, and value in our tools for test development and delivery. AI is quickly becoming an integral technology in our products and direction. The path we are on with AI encompasses the immediate benefits it provides while maintaining a sharp awareness of its evolution allowing us to ensure our products continue to meet or exceed the needs of our clients.  

Please contact us to set up a meeting so we can further discuss how important AI is to our future and our clients. 

Want to keep up with insights on AI in the testing industry? Listen to the Kryterion podcast