Leon Godwin, Cloud Direct’s Principal Cloud Evangelist, explores what organisations need to do to prepare themselves for the next realm of digital and AI.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is more accessible than ever, and it’s no secret that it has revolutionised the way we work, live and interact.

However, for businesses the journey towards an automated future is not without its challenges. To build an AI-empowered future, it’s essential to master the basics and lay a strong foundation.

Preparing for AI

Before diving into the complexities of AI, it’s crucial to set up a robust cloud infrastructure. The cloud offers the storage, analytic power, and scalability needed to handle your datasets and AI algorithms you might want to adopt.

When it comes to adopting AI, there are three key steps that you should be looking to take. These are:

• Choose the right cloud service: AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud are among the leading providers. However, Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI means that Azure has the most advanced and easy-to-use AI offerings in the market.
• Data management: Ensure that you have proper data governance and security protocols in place. You want to avoid poor quality data, or use secure data such as personal identifiable data.
• Resource allocation: Opt for auto-scaling options to ensure you have adequate resources during peak demand.
  

Removing the barriers

If only adopting AI was really as easy as following those three steps . Unfortunately due to AI being a new technology, there are also a few obstacles that businesses are currently facing when it comes to successfully adopting AI. These common obstacles are:

• Skill gap: One of the major barriers to AI adoption is the lack of skilled professionals. However, investing in training and education or partnering with an expert provider can bridge this gap.
• Costs: Depending on the size of your data sets, initial setup and ongoing maintenance can range from very inexpensive or very expensive. Therefore, assessing your requirements and producing a cost model for the adoption of AI is a key consideration. Often the long-term benefits outweigh these costs, especially when it comes to engagement, efficiency and insights, but you need to evaluate these costs before committing to AI-empowered business change.
• Resistance to change: Organisational resistance can be a significant roadblock. A change management strategy that includes employees at all levels can be invaluable.
  

Take away

Mastering your AI foundations and preparing for an automated future is not an overnight process. It requires careful planning, debunking myths, and addressing both technical and ethical concerns. By laying a solid cloud foundation, fostering ethical practices, and overcoming obstacles, you can set the stage for a future where humans and AI coexist and thrive.