As you are likely very aware, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a real attention-getter in the business world, as well as public media. I mean, how do you even know if this is me or not?!
AI has been around for a long time. Hey Alexa! Hey Siri! That’s right. Artificial Intelligence. Ever think about how Instagram shows you reels based on your past views? Amazon makes recommendations based on your browsing and purchase history. By the newest standard, that is old hat AI, but it is AI. Lately, significant advances have been made that increased the power of these learning algorithms exponentially. The new tools — Chat GPT, BARD, Well-said — are examples very widely covered in the media.
So where do we go from here? Well, here are eight ways to optimize your business with AI.
1. Assess your organization’s potential use of AI. Have regular talks with your IT company, so they can evaluate where there is opportunity and prioritize where to implement first.
2. Ensure compliance. For example, HIPAA, PCI. HITRUST. ISO27001, SOC1, SOC2, NIST. AI is a powerful and potentially intrusive tool. Who wants to get ransomed for your data? I don’t! Compliance is critical.
3. Understand your key performance indicators (KPIs) and organizational goals from the top down. What do you identify as the key strategies and how will you measure your success?
4. Propose a possible range of AI solutions. Here is an area where your trusted IT expert can be of particular value. That IT expert will be knowledgeable about the variety of applications out there and lead you to select those most appropriate for your goals.
5. Estimate the solution’s return on investment (ROI). Remember, measurement is important. And you cannot do everything. So, identify each potential AI solution’s ROI. This will guide you to make the most effective use of your resources.
6. Implement the solution. A managed services provider can implement the solution for you. Most business owners do not have the resources available for what can be a time-intensive project.
7. Manage tool-related risks. This is a post-implementation issue that most businesses do not have the in-house resources to maintain long term. Examples of ongoing tasks include password management, security patches and Microsoft updates.
8. Ongoing evaluation for effectiveness and reliability. Remember, nothing is stagnant in business. Technologies change, the competitive environment changes. Your organization moves forward. Make sure you commit to ongoing reviews of the effectiveness of your chosen solution.
In the end, AI can be useful. But with any powerful tool, it can cause a lot of trouble. That’s where a knowledgeable helping hand can come into play. Small-to-medium to large sized businesses may lack the in-house IT resources and depth of knowledge to implement and maintain an AI infrastructure. A trusted IT company can provide that one-on-one, personal relationship. A robot cannot.
