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<\/div> Follow ZDNET: <\/em>Add us as a favorite source<\/span><\/a><\/span> On Google.<\/em><\/p>\n Business architects, who blend technology expertise with business acumen, are emerging as ideal professionals to lead organizations through the complex world of AI. As well as having a mix of business and technical skills, professionals wishing to advance in today’s and tomorrow’s economy need to demonstrate “a tenacious spirit and a tenacious personality”. <\/p>\n Also: Worried AI agents will replace you? 5 ways you can turn concern into action at work<\/strong><\/p>\n This is the advice from a senior executive at one of the world’s leading technology infrastructure organizations, who says IT implementation is no longer a one-off task. “New technology takes a lot of trial and error,” he said Andrew Allen<\/a>Senior Vice President of Financial Operations for the CIO Office at Siemens. “What do you want it to do? How do you want it to go?” Yet, at the same time, Allen said he doesn’t think AI will replace the skills of technology professionals at his company.<\/p>\n ZDNET recently spoke with Allen at the Salesforce AgentForce event in New York, where he discussed steering the organization with more than 250,000 employees globally on a new course in an increasingly AI-saturated world. <\/p>\n Combined technology and business skills are in high demand at Siemens, a giant conglomerate that produces and sells digital and automation solutions for a range of heavy industries. The company looks for business architects and like-minded professionals, Allen said, “who have a deep understanding of the complexities of the business and the problems we’re trying to solve, and who are able to translate that into technical solutions.”<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you start looking at what agents can do, you need people who can translate that and understand it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt also means that before you start, you need a good idea of \u200b\u200bwhat you are doing, you need user stories, ethics, ROI and a business case.\u201d <\/p>\n Also: Building an agentic AI strategy that pays off without the risk of business failure<\/strong><\/p>\n Allen acknowledged that connecting agents throughout the organization means more complexity, which requires management skills: “You have to figure out what you want \u2013 what’s your north star? What do you want the technology to do? What business problem are you trying to solve? If you can ground your use cases in the business opportunity or the business problem, it really helps you implement the technology.”<\/p>\nZDNET Highlights<\/h3>\n
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Solving business challenges<\/h2>\n