According to recent GlobalData analysis, the total market for AI was worth $103 billion in 2023. Estimates suggest that, by 2030, it will top $1 trillion – a huge compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39%. Recent progress in machine learning, rooted in the increased sophistication of computer algorithms and the ability of hefty new data centres to support their deployment, means AI is becoming a commercial mainstay capable of solving real-life problems. The most innovative firms are seizing the opportunity, taking innovation in-house and offering immediate answers to customer queries that might once have seemed intractable.
Asset financers, as with businesses in many industries, face a future where operational transformation will soon become an imperative. At the same time, new regulatory standards, like the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), require platforms to meet stringent requirements for privacy, security, and robustness. Decision makers must navigate a landscape where personalisation, efficiency and compliance are more critical than ever. Alfa Systems 6, the latest iteration of Alfa’s auto and equipment finance software platform, is setting the standard. It offers a foundation for tailored, user-driven processes that meet and exceed the needs of its users.
Central to this revolution is Compose, a no-code tool that puts customers in the driving seat in determining how their interfaces look and behave via revolutionary personalisation tools. Equally groundbreaking is AskThea, a generative AI chatbot that integrates Alfa Systems documentation with clients’ own resources, creating an intuitive, company-specific digital assistant. From onboarding to operational adjustments, it provides instant, precise guidance, delivering transformative value across all levels of an organisation.
Together, Compose and AskThea exemplify how in-house innovation is taking the corporate world by storm – driving asset finance forward with tools that combine operational agility, robust compliance and cutting-edge technology. Understanding how and why these new, innovative platforms differ from their predecessors is critical for asset financers hoping to make the most of them and stay abreast of a changing industry.
Turbocharging digital revolution
What are the key themes of change in the asset financing space? Personalisation is a critical and overarching one. Decisionmakers now operate in a world where clients expect tailored, responsive interfaces. They want streamlined operations and precise control over data and workflows. Digital transformation is a many-headed beast – and Alfa Systems’ Compose tool is a key example of how personalisation can be weaved in, offering a drag-and-drop, no-code environment that allows clients to configure their user interfaces to meet specific operational needs. Compose’s adaptability gives clients the freedom to build interfaces that evolve alongside their business requirements.
It is all part of the same story: platforms like Alfa Systems 6 are setting a foundation for intelligent, automated, business-specific processes. By allowing firms to design rule-based workflows that rapidly expedite routine decisions, Alfa mitigates the need for manual intervention, thus boosting operational efficiency. This automation also extends to managing complex tasks such as pricing, underwriting, and document processing, freeing up valuable resources for more strategic work.
Yet the digital revolution also brings heightened concerns over data governance and ethics. With regulations in these areas tightening, asset financers face the dual challenge of harnessing transformative tech like AI while ensuring compliance with standards for data quality and security. Alfa Systems 6 addresses these concerns by embedding ethical AI use, with each automated decision readily auditable. This balance of innovation and regulatory alignment allows clients to adopt advanced tools without the associated risks.
By fostering an environment based on best-in-class tools, alongside the ability to integrate custom-built components, Alfa helps financers excel across every area of their operations. The figurehead of these tools is AskThea, a conversational, generative AI chatbot. Built on advanced AI models and trained on Alfa Systems’ extensive documentation libraries, AskThea provides users across all levels – administrators, developers, and customer support alike – with instant access to detailed information and system functionality guidance. It lays the groundwork for a fully immersive, AI-driven support experience – meeting and exceeding the evolving needs of every individual asset financing firm in an age of digitalisation and personalisation.
AskThea: asset finance in the age of AI
Chatbot technology is not new. What makes AskThea so innovative? Turning to its origins helps to answer this question. It began as an internal pitch on Alfa’s Innovation Forum in May 2023, with the vision of a conversational tool offering immediate, in-depth responses to questions about Alfa Systems’ functionality and configuration – greatly simplifying the task of locating complex information. Through initiatives such as Hackathons and Innovation Days, where dedicated time is allocated to projects with revolutionary potential rather than immediate commercial application, it rapidly developed in sophistication over the course of a year – and now goes far beyond an Alfa Systems support device.
AskThea’s real potential lies in its ability to integrate clients’ own documentation libraries and resources alongside Alfa’s, making it an all-encompassing toolbox for an entire company’s systems structure. The chatbot leverages OpenSearch to index content and offers advanced prompt engineering, ensuring relevant, precise responses based on real documentation. This means critical guidance can be retrieved in seconds on everything from onboarding new employees to adapting the platform for evolving business requirements. As Alfa clients incorporate their own procedural documents, training resources and business guidelines, AskThea can develop to serve as a digital brain that understands everything they could need for their specific operational demands.
AskThea is one of the most recent releases as part of the Alfa Systems 6 “pillar” approach, but is already set to be adopted by a major US auto lender in the coming months. As adoption widens, it will create a new standard for AI-driven support in asset finance – setting the stage for an industry defined by sophisticated, adaptable, and accessible technology.
There are many uncertainties surrounding the AI revolution. But Alfa Systems 6 is keeping its users ahead of the curve with its industry-leading generative capabilities. Not only that; it gives asset financers all the tools they need to address wider challenges facing the industry – from sustainability reporting to green financing to regulatory compliance. Follow the link below and learn how you could benefit today.
