Among the many cloud offerings that an enterprise can use to their advantage is artificial intelligence (AI). The cloud is driving the adoption of AI by providing a vehicle with which to gather the data sets used as raw materials and the processing power and scalability required to turn them into valuable information. Tools and techniques developed by major cloud providers help fill the skill gap related to AI programming. They put the power of AI research or commercial development within reach of any size company.
Businesses are investing heavily in AI with an overwhelming majority of corporate executives considering it the most impactful disruptive technology in which they are investing. Companies can use AI techniques like machine learning and natural language processing to address business challenges in exciting new ways that can give them a huge competitive edge in their market sector. Multiple providers are offering the benefits of AI to their customers.
Major Cloud AI Providers
Here’s a brief look at some of the options for organizations looking to the cloud for a path to effective use of artificial intelligence.
Azure clients can take advantage of decades of research and the same level of AI technology that powers Microsoft. The provider offers customers access to advanced capabilities in areas such as speech and object recognition and machine translation. Using the tools available through Azure AI, it is possible to rapidly develop, train, and deploy machine learning models to solve complex business problems. Open source development frameworks can be used to make solutions portable and avoid cloud vendor lock-in.
Google is another cloud giant with a large portfolio of AI solutions that businesses can use in various ways. One offering is Google’s AI Hub which is a hosted repository of components that can be used in plug-and-play configurations. Another option is the provider’s AI building blocks which can be used to implement image and video analysis through pre-trained APIs or custom-designed systems. Google’s AI Platform provides a means with which developers can quickly deploy AI solutions cost-effectively.
Big Blue has long been known for the AI prowess of its Watson supercomputer. IBM’s cloud offering brings Watson’s power to the masses. The technology enables companies to convert between text and speech, perform visual recognition, and build trainable AI models. Deep and machine learning techniques available in the cloud allow researchers to address problems that were beyond the scope of their legacy computing environments.
The convergence of cloud computing with artificial intelligence promises to usher in a wave of innovative business solutions and consumer applications. Clients ranging from large corporations to small startups can all benefit from the flexibility and scalability of cloud AI offerings. Your company should keep an open mind regarding how AI can help it stay competitive. Choosing the right AI cloud provider for its needs is the first step. It’s probably time to take it.