Artificial Intelligence (AI) is so much more than a buzzword; it's a transformative technology reshaping industries all over the world.

So today, understanding AI's capabilities and integration into businesses is crucial for staying competitive. Microsoft Azure platform harnesses AI's potential and helps position your business at the forefront of innovation.

Authored by Dan Hall, Technologist Data Centre & Cloud

So what is AI?

Generally speaking, AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn. AI encompasses a wide range of technologies and approaches, including:

• Machine Learning (ML): Algorithms that enable computers to learn from and make decisions based on data.
• Natural Language Processing (NLP): Technology that allows machines to understand and interpret human language.
• Robotic Process Automation (RPA): Automation of repetitive tasks using bots.
• Computer Vision: The ability of machines to interpret and make decisions based on visual inputs.

“According to Gartner, 75% of businesses will shift from piloting AI projects to operationalising AI across their organisations by 2025.”

How does AI fit into your business?

The short answer is finding the use cases. AI is only as powerful as the problems it solves for you or the efficiency it creates. Finding how and where it can help is key but sometimes this step is the hardest.

Integrating AI into your business can really improve efficiency, accuracy and insights. Through reducing time-consuming processes and negating errors, the outputs can lead to vastly improved productivity.

By incorporating AI, businesses can streamline operations, make better decisions and unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation.

“According to Harvard Business Review, forward-looking companies are increasingly using a purpose-built, full-stack cloud infrastructure for the intense requirements of these new AI-powered applications.”

How does Microsoft Azure get your AI-ready?

Microsoft Azure offers an extensive suite of AI and machine learning services designed to accelerate your AI journey. And when it comes to supporting that journey, Azure provides businesses with the tools needed to prepare for and implement AI effectively.

One of the key offerings is Azure Machine Learning, a service that provides a variety of tools to build, train and deploy machine learning models. Another feature is Azure Cognitive Services, which allows users to easily integrate features like image recognition, language translation and sentiment analysis into applications without requiring deep AI knowledge.

To underpin everything, because the landscape of AI hardware and software is continuously growing at pace, Azure’s cloud infrastructure strengthens these capabilities with its scalability, security and seamless integration. All of these factors ensure that the AI solutions are not only effective but also reliable and adaptable to businesses evolving needs.

Next steps to starting your Microsoft Azure journey

Embarking on an AI journey with Microsoft Azure involves several key steps:

• Define Objectives: Clearly outline what you want to achieve with AI.
• Assess Current Infrastructure: Evaluate your existing technology stack and data management processes to identify how they can integrate with Azure’s AI services.
• Get familiar with Azure: Utilise Azure’s learning resources to understand how its AI tools work and how they can be applied to your business needs.
• Start Small: Begin with a pilot project to test the capabilities of Azure AI services to assess effectiveness before full-scale deployment.
• Scale Up: Gradually expand AI applications across different business areas, continuously monitoring performance and outcomes.

How can CAE support in the cloud journey?

Managing complex IT infrastructure is what we do, that’s why so many businesses choose to work with us as their cloud partner . While we enable them to implement and optimise their cloud computing, they can focus all their efforts on running their business operations. To ensure we understand where you are now, and where you want to go we begin every customer cloud journey with a cloud assessment .

Begin your cloud journey with us and let us know you're interested in a cloud assessment for your business.