Cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are two fundamental pillars that are driving businesses forward in numerous ways beyond the realm of Information Technology.
According to various reports and studies, the Global Cloud AI Market is expected to register a compound annual growth rate of 22.4% during the forecast period 2017-2027.
This growth is attributed to the increasing adoption of cloud-based solutions and the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies in various industries including healthcare, retail, automotive, and finance.
By leveraging the cloud, organizations can take advantage of pre-built models, a wide range of algorithms, and powerful computing resources to develop and deploy AI/ML solutions that can help drive business growth and innovation.
The use of cloud-based AI services offers several benefits such as scalability, cost-effectiveness, and ease of deployment. It allows organizations to access AI and ML tools without investing in expensive infrastructure and hardware. Cloud AI also enables real-time data analysis and insights, which can help companies make informed decisions and gain a competitive edge.
However, to fully unlock the power of AI/ML in the cloud, organizations need to consider the benefits and costs associated with these solutions.
In this blog, we will explore some of the key advantages of using AI/ML in the cloud, and how organizations can maximize benefits by overcoming the challenges associated with this technology.
Advantages of AI/ML in the cloud
Scalability
One of the biggest advantages of using AI/ML in the cloud is scalability. Your organization can easily scale its AI/ML solutions on a need-basis, without having to invest in additional hardware and infrastructure. This can help your company to quickly respond to changing business requirements and avoid costly downtime and delays.
Cost-efficiency
By leveraging the cloud, your company can reduce its upfront investment costs, as you only pay for what you use. This can help your company to lower its overall costs, and provide a more cost-effective way to access the power of AI/ML.
Access to advanced technologies
The cloud offers a wealth of cutting-edge AI/ML technologies that can help your organization stay ahead of the curve. You gain access to a vast array of pre-built models, algorithms, and advanced computing resources, enabling you to accelerate your AI/ML initiatives. Additionally, you get the flexibility to experiment with new technologies and quickly test and deploy new solutions, giving you a competitive edge.
Flexibility
With AI/ML in the cloud, you can choose from a range of deployment options, including on-demand, pay-per-use, or hybrid deployment models. This can help your organization find the best deployment option that fits your business requirements and budget.
Data Management
By processing and generating data in real-time, AI assists in enhancing cloud workloads across a range of areas including customer service, marketing, ERP, and supply chain management.
You need to make sure that your data is organized and accessible in a way that allows your algorithms to learn from it. Cloud providers offer various data management services like data lakes, data warehouses, and databases to store and manage data in a scalable way.
Challenges of AI/ML in the cloud
Even AI/ML in the cloud has its own set of challenges, just like every other technology. A few of them are:
Data Security
Another important challenge to consider is data security. With AI/ML in the cloud, organizations need to ensure that their data is secure and protected from unauthorized access, which can result in additional security and data management costs.
Specialized skills and expertise
AI/ML solutions can be complex and challenging to implement, especially for organizations with limited technical expertise. You may need to invest in training and development to build the skills and knowledge required to use AI/ML effectively in the cloud.
Yet, you can easily address these challenges by partnering with the right Enterprise Cloud Services Provider who has proven experience and expertise in implementing AI/ML solutions utilizing the cloud.
Unleashing the power of Cloud-fuelled AI/ML
Now, let’s have a look at some of the ways in which AI/ML can be enhanced by utilizing the power of the cloud:
Elasticity of cloud
To effectively support AI models, a flexible cloud infrastructure is necessary that can adjust its capacity based on the workload. For instance, consider supply chain and logistics management. By utilizing large-scale AI/ML solutions to handle repetitive and laborious tasks associated with supplier management and product delivery, you can enhance your procurement process while enabling your supply chain team to allocate their time and energy toward more valuable and strategic endeavours.
Flexibility and versatility
The versatility of cloud infrastructure makes it an optimal choice for AI experimentation. As an example, throughout the development process of a specific product, AI/ML powered by the cloud can supply the vast IT resources necessary for promoting innovation and flexibility, which can lead to decreased R&D expenses, enhanced product excellence, and expedited time-to-market schedules. Moreover, when these resources are no longer required, they can be easily shut down since they are accessible as a service and are utilized on an as-needed basis.
Scalable storage and processing
The cloud offers extensive data storage and computational resources, including GPUs, which are essential for the processing and storing of high-speed real-time streaming data, as well as large-scale batch data required for AI/ML. Furthermore, once you establish a partnership with a cloud provider, you can promptly and easily access these resources at any time, without the need for lengthy procurement and infrastructure allocation procedures that can be expensive.
Ready-to-use pre-trained AI algorithms
Pre-trained AI models that are readily available can expedite the time-to-market process. Major hyperscalers offer pre-trained models that can generate data-driven insights leading to improved customer experience in a shorter period and at a reduced cost. For instance, utilizing pre-trained models provided by hyperscalers in areas like neural language processing, vision enhancement, and speech and text processing could be more efficient and cost-effective for numerous business projects. This enables the development of high-value AI/ML-infused applications that deliver insights.
Embarking on the journey to AI/ML in the cloud
The cloud has the potential to enhance AI/ML capabilities and drive innovation, but achieving success requires careful planning and insight. To build a strong foundation for cloud-powered AI/ML, you need to develop a clear vision and strategy that aligns with your business priorities.
To drive business value, it’s crucial to establish a robust cloud and data platform that enables models to deliver insights into business processes. AI/ML can act as a knowledge and insight accelerator, and cloud infrastructure can provide your company with the necessary computing resources to build and deploy models.
Once the foundation is in place, scaling and governing the AI/ML program at the enterprise level is essential. Educating and empowering your employees and transforming business processes can help achieve this goal, but implementing guardrails to align with business needs and goals is necessary for the sustainable success of your company.
Ensuring that AI/ML insights are accurate and unbiased is critical to establishing trust within your organization. To achieve this, ML models need feedback loops and continuous retraining to produce trustworthy outputs devoid of bias.
The prospective gain
When executed correctly, cloud-based AI/ML can offer significant benefits. By leveraging on-demand computing resources and processing capabilities, you can gain valuable insights and fuel innovation to set your products and services apart from the competition. This translates into faster and more efficient product development, as well as maximizing profits. In today’s fiercely competitive landscape, unexpected challenges can emerge at any time, making it vital for you to have the power and agility to not only survive but thrive.
For queries related to cloud-specialized skills and expertise, get in touch with our Cloud Computing experts now!
