Andrew Kouloumbrides is the CEO of Xceptor.

How should this year be known?

The new year will be known as “The Year of the AI Revolution.” AI-enabled automation will revolutionize processes and forge “change the bank” innovation.

What was the most important lesson of 2018?

That robotic process automation is not an enterprise-wide intelligent automation or AI strategy. The ‘P’ in RPA is a blind alley. It is best suited to automate and mimic simple tasks and often has been used where it should not have been used. This has already led to buyer’s remorse.

In order to truly transform, firms need enterprise-grade AI-enabled solutions. Processes need to be challenged, overhauled and optimized. Although instances of RPAs certainly have their place, they are automation’s low hanging fruit and sit at the start of the intelligent automation spectrum. To truly transform and “change the bank,” firms need to move further out along the spectrum to intelligent automation. AI-enabled automation broadens the scope of what can be automated effectively and it embraces all types of data.

Should fintech investment rise, plateau, or trail off in 2019?

It will definitely rise. They say, ‘It takes a village to bring up a child,” and it is going to take a village of fintechs to collaborate with firms to transform and build bright, digital futures.