University of Kwazulu-Natal

How Ey Drives Global Impact Through Advanced Tech And Ai

Bonisiwe Shabane
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how ey drives global impact through advanced tech and ai

The world around us is changing at lightning speed and technology is a main contributor to this era of innovation. Major global consultancy EY, for example, is leveraging advanced technology to create new value for clients, society and the planet. Central to EY's vision is the transformation enabled by data, AI and a diverse technology ecosystem that equips its global teams to help clients confidently face the future and tackle the most pressing challenges... At the core of EY’s approach is a robust technology transformation framework that includes strategy, next-generation operations, resilient architecture and infrastructure. Its consulting teams provide comprehensive technology services that align with clients’ business objectives to maximise digital value and operational agility – including workforce analytics, digital engineering and managed technology services designed to accelerate innovation... Discover the insights you need to make better decisions today, to shape the future with confidence.

Private Equity Pulse: key takeaways from Q3 2025 EY helps clients create long-term value for all stakeholders. Enabled by data and technology, our services and solutions provide trust through assurance and help clients transform, grow and operate. Climate change and sustainability services Discover how EY insights and services are helping to reframe the future of your industry. How do the knowledge leaders learn about AI?

UNLEASH sits down for an exclusive interview with Raj Sharma, EY Global Managing Partner of Growth and Innovation, to get the full story. One of the world's largest consultancies, EY, is going 'all in' on its AI strategy through a $1.4 billion investment. Upskilling has played a crucial role in preparing EY's 400,000-strong global workforce for the AI era. UNLEASH speaks exclusively to Raj Sharma, EY Global Managing Partner of Growth and Innovation, to get the inside story of the consultancy giant's AI strategy. Going ‘all in’ is often a calculated risk – even the surest of hands isn’t a guaranteed winner, but when it comes to AI and the future of work, organizations are becoming more confident... As one of the largest professional services organizations in the world, EY needs to stay ahead of the curve with AI.

With technological change happening so quickly, what’s the best strategy for this seismic shift? EY deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot to more than 150,000 employees worldwide. This encouraged AI adoption for daily work in a familiar environment. Then, with Copilot Studio, employees learned to build their own agents to accelerate productivity. EY is laying the groundwork for the agentic frontier, where humans direct teams of agents that run entire business processes and workflows, checking in as needed, and reviewing work for quality and business value. Businesses everywhere stand at the edge of a seismic shift, where humans and machine intelligence collaborate to discover new possibilities.

Given its scale and influence in the professional services world, EY is reinvesting to empower its people so that they can help clients seize the moment and stay ahead of the curve. “The stakes are high right now for our clients and for EY, particularly around the area of measuring and managing the value of AI,” says Edwina Fitzmaurice, Global Innovation Market Activation Leader at EY. Discover the insights you need to make better decisions today, to shape the future with confidence. Private Equity Pulse: key takeaways from Q3 2025 EY helps clients create long-term value for all stakeholders. Enabled by data and technology, our services and solutions provide trust through assurance and help clients transform, grow and operate.

Climate change and sustainability services Discover how EY insights and services are helping to reframe the future of your industry. EY, the global professional services firm, has published research indicating technology companies face mounting pressure to demonstrate returns from AI investments as they enter 2025. The report, which examines AI implementation across global markets, reveals companies are developing frameworks to measure both financial and operational impacts of AI solutions, particularly in autonomous systems and generative AI - machine learning... EY Global and Americas Technology Sector Leader James W. Brundage says: "2025 will be a pivotal year for the tech industry to demonstrate AI ROI to both customers and shareholders, requiring effective communication of value drivers and demonstrating the operational efficiencies achieved."

The research points to Google's implementation of PaLM 2, a large language model system, in customer service operations as an example of autonomous AI deployment. The system processes customer queries and provides responses without human intervention, representing a shift towards what industry terms 'agentic AI' - autonomous systems that can make decisions independently. EY Americas Consulting Technology Sector Leader Geoff Vickrey says: "Agentic AI will rapidly become commonplace as customers across industries race to deploy preconfigured process solutions." Multinational consultancy Ernst & Young (EY) said generative AI (genAI) is “radically reshaping” the way it operates, and the company boasts a 96% adoption rate of the technology by employees. After spending $1.4 billion on a customized generative AI platform called EY.ai, the company said the technology is creating new efficiencies and allowing its employees to focus on higher-level tasks. Following an initial pilot with 4,200 EY tech-focused team members in 2023, the global organization released its large language model (LLM) to its nearly 400,000 employees.

Even so, the company’s executive leadership insists it’s not handing off all of its business functions and operations to an AI proxy and that humans remain at the center of innovation and development. Looking to the future, EY sees the next evolution as artificial general intelligence (AGI) — a neural network that will be able to think for itself and capable of performing any intellectual task a... Computerworld interviewed Saiz about how genAI is changing the way the company operates and how its employees perform their jobs. You launched EY.ai a year ago. How has that transformed your organization? What kinds of efficiencies and/or productivity gains have you seen?

“Over the past year, we’ve harnessed AI to radically reshape the way we operate, both internally and in service to our clients. We’ve integrated AI into numerous facets of our operations, from enhancing client service delivery to improving our internal efficiencies. Teams are now able to focus more on high-value activities that truly drive innovation and business growth, while AI assists with complex data analysis and operational tasks. Partners Paul Goodhew and Dilek Çilingir Kostem explain how EY is harnessing the power of AI and sustainability to redefine the future of professional services and ensure their strategic evolution in a rapidly changing... The relentless march of technology shows no signs of abating, leaving organisations scrambling to keep pace or risk obsolescence. EY is determined not to be left behind.

The venerable professional services firm is aggressively future-proofing its business by embedding artificial intelligence and sustainability into its very operations. For EY’s leadership, adapting isn’t an option – it’s imperative. The firm recognises it operates in a world of constant disruption, where complacency poses an existential threat. Clients now demand more than just best-in-class services. They expect solutions that create long-term value while minimising environmental impact. As such, EY is overhauling its business model to embed sustainable practices across all facets of the organization.

Accountancy Age, The CFO’s sister publication, recently sat down with Paul Goodhew, EY’s Global Assurance Innovation & Emerging Technology Leader, and Dilek Çilingir Kostem, EY’s Global Assurance Talent Leader, to understand why the firm... This understanding drives EY’s strategic emphasis on developing key competencies within their workforce, particularly in areas such as technology, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and sustainability. This dedication ensures that EY professionals stay ahead of industry trends and meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of their clients. The integration of AI into enterprise operations is set to reach an inflection point in 2025, as organisations transition from experimental AI deployments to comprehensive digital transformation strategies. This shift marks a departure from traditional automation, moving towards systems where AI agents work autonomously alongside human employees. However, these changes can bring structural challenges for global enterprises.

Existing hierarchical management models face pressure to adapt as AI systems take on decision-making roles previously reserved for middle management. Meanwhile, the emergence of quantum computing capabilities introduces new cybersecurity vulnerabilities, forcing organisations to reconsider their approach to data protection. Regulatory frameworks, meanwhile, are struggling to keep pace with technological change. The EU AI Act establishes initial governance structures for AI deployment in Europe, yet questions remain about implementation across global supply chains and data networks. This regulatory uncertainty coincides with growing pressure on enterprises to demonstrate responsible AI deployment while maintaining competitive advantages. The shift towards AI-integrated operations requires new organisational structures, moving away from traditional hierarchical workflows towards objective-focused strategies.

“The vision we are moving towards is one where humans interact with AI agents, while the C-suite oversees decision-making and becomes the control tower of this new hybrid operating system,” says Beatriz Sanz Saiz,... EY tests this transformation through its EY.ai platform, which brings together human capabilities and AI to help clients transform their businesses through confident and responsible adoption of AI. “At EY, we are already navigating this transformation through our EY.ai platform. This initiative showcases how a flexible, adaptive approach to AI integration can revolutionise work structures and outcomes,” says Beatriz. The global EY organisation has unveiled its strategic plans for 2025 including further investment in technology and AI, strengthening its alliances and supporting sustainability and climate change services. EY released its global Value Realised report which highlighted financial and non-financial performance such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and disclosures.

The report also highlighted strategic collaborations aimed at generating long-term value for clients, people and society. The firm's newly established global strategy ‘all in’ was also revealed in the report. “This strategy aims to shape the next US$50 billion in EY revenue through purposeful growth and targeted investments in areas like transformation, managed services and sustainability while maintaining a strong focus on audit quality,”...

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