I'm part of a small IT team (just two of us) at my manufacturing company, and my boss, the CFO, is skeptical about cloud technology. He's asked me to explore some AI options that we can implement on-premises. We're a company of about 200 employees, and I'd love to hear from others in a similar position. What low-hanging fruit or practical AI solutions have you found beneficial in your operations?
5 Answers
You might struggle to find a single vendor providing both AI solutions and on-prem systems. It might help to get your CFO to evaluate the security practices of cloud providers and see if he can be convinced of their benefits. Also, check out AI solutions from companies like Siit; they’ve got plugins for tasks like article suggestions and automated data triage, which could fit nicely into your workflow.
It seems like your CFO might be using the term "AI" a bit vaguely. If his requests lack focus or specifics, it could be tough to move forward. From what I see, one simple win could be using tools like meeting summary software to streamline your processes. It's low risk and easy to implement without diving too deep into AI complexities.
Identifying specific workflows that consume a lot of time would be key. If you're sticking to on-prem solutions, keep in mind that your options might be limited and potentially less effective. But don't underestimate local models—they can work well with the right setup and some effort for tuning.
True! But you’ll need adequate hardware to make the most of those local models. It's not just about having the software; the infrastructure has to be there, too.
Before you decide on hardware or software, get clear on what your specific use cases are. Whether it’s automating data pipelines or just having Q&A capabilities with AI, clarity on the goal will guide you to the right solutions. The investment in hardware can pay off quickly compared to Software as a Service options.
If you’re not using Microsoft 365, tools like Copilot can help keep things on the local side while still providing AI capabilities. However, figuring out what specific applications your CFO wants to explore will be essential before making recommendations.
I'm curious, besides meeting summaries, what other tasks has Copilot improved for you? It’d be great to hear some success stories.
That’s a good point. If they can’t provide clear goals, a simple tool like that might be the best first step. And it could help demonstrate the value of AI in a way that’s easy to grasp.