Exclusive: AWS Chief Technologist discusses generative AI, cloud innovations

The Chief Technologist for Australia and New Zealand at AWS, Rada Stanic, continues to maintain a strong relationship with strategic customers to drive the power of cloud technology and generative AI.

"In this role, I work with some of our strategic customers across all different segments," she explained during an interview. "Predominantly, I do work with large enterprises, but also our ISV customers and sometimes digital natives."

Stanic's role involves assisting customers with modern data platforms and helping them gain valuable insights from their data.

As generative AI emerged as a major technological shift, her work naturally extended to guiding customers through innovation and experimentation. "This year, it's also about moving from pilots and proof of concepts into production," she explained.

Generative AI has become a transformative force for many businesses. Stanic highlighted AWS's multi-layered approach, from infrastructure to user-friendly tools that enable even non-technical users to benefit. "We work at every layer of the stack," she noted, "from innovating at the silicon level to creating tools that make it easy for developers and non-developers alike to leverage generative AI."

One of the standout innovations she discussed was Amazon Bedrock, a service that allows builders to choose from various large language models through a simple API call, making the process of developing generative AI applications seamless. "They don't need to worry about setting up infrastructure," she said. "They just need to think about the business problem they want to solve."

Security and data privacy remain priorities for AWS customers. Stanic assured that Amazon Bedrock ensures data safety, stating, "The data is safe; they're not sharing it with AWS or any model providers, and all intellectual property is protected."

AWS has witnessed a surge in interest for generative AI applications, particularly in sectors looking to enhance productivity and efficiency.

For instance, Stanic described how the National Australia Bank (NAB) adopted Amazon CodeWhisperer - a tool for software developers that offers coding assistance and security recommendations.

"NAB expanded its use from 450 to 1,000 engineers between April and now, recording about 40% improvement in productivity," she highlighted.

Stanic pointed out that industry reports often reveal that up to 70% of a software developer's time is spent on administrative tasks. Reducing this time allows developers to focus on "creative, value-driven work" which enhances overall productivity.

Stanic also touched on the benefits of generative AI for contact centres, mentioning One New Zealand (One NZ) as an example.

"One NZ publicly shared their experience of using generative AI to improve the contact centre experience for their customers," she said, adding that many organisations are exploring similar solutions to boost agent productivity and customer satisfaction.

Reflecting on her six years at AWS, Stanic noted significant changes, especially in customer attitudes towards the cloud. "When I first joined, there was still some conversation around the benefits of moving to the cloud. That's no longer the case," she said. "Now it's about how to maximise cloud advantages for cost efficiency, performance, and faster innovation."

She credits AWS's relentless customer focus as one reason for its enduring trust among businesses.

"Over 90% of our innovations are driven by direct customer feedback," she explained. The remaining 10% is based on anticipating customers' future needs. This approach has fostered loyalty and positioned AWS as a leader in cloud services.

Stanic also emphasised AWS's extensive experience.

"There is no compression algorithm for experience," she said. "Our platform, initially built for amazon.com, has evolved with robust security and resilience, making it trusted by customers for their critical workloads." AWS's global reach is another draw, allowing businesses to scale across regions with ease.

In terms of recent developments, Stanic highlighted the growing interest in data mesh architectures. "Data mesh allows businesses to view data as products and share them between teams, fostering collaboration," she explained. AWS's Amazon DataZone supports this by offering easy data governance without requiring deep technical expertise.

Stanic underscored that the success of generative AI hinges on a solid data foundation.

"You can't innovate with AI without scalable data platforms," she said. "That's why I always encourage my customers to have a comprehensive data strategy to support their AI initiatives."

AWS's commitment to customer satisfaction extends beyond technology. Stanic referenced an Amazon leadership principle: "We had to assume that our customers would always be beautifully dissatisfied." This philosophy drives AWS to continually improve services and reduce costs, passing savings to customers and enabling them to invest further in innovation. "We've announced over 200 price reductions over the years," she added.

Despite the challenges and constant change, Stanic's enthusiasm for her role at AWS remains steadfast.

"People often ask me why I'm still here after six years," she said. "I'm addicted to the pace of innovation and the possibilities the platform offers to solve business challenges."

"It's always about helping our customers do more, save more, and serve their customers better."