intelligent

Named the official word of the year by Collins Dictionary , AI is set to have an impact for many years to come . With billions of dollars invested in 2023 alone , over the next 12 months ‘ Artificial Intelligence is going to advance further ’, predicted Terry Storrar , Managing Director , Leaseweb UK . He said : “ It will become more mainstream than this year as it is gradually embraced as an enabler and not a replacement for human expertise . We will reach a stage where AI is not feared , but used as a tool which can open up vast potential across many industry sectors . Some of the uses to AI to explore the unknown haven ’ t even been identified yet , so we won ’ t see the full worth of AI for years to come .”

Mark Wilson , Technology and Innovation Director at Node4 , echoes this sentiment , but recognises that not all businesses are moving at the same pace . “ Many CIOs will be laserfocused on integrating AI in their strategy by investing in AI hardware and software as well as AI skills , such as data scientists or engineers and governance through policies or ethics ,” he explained . “ That ’ s a big investment and so , for other CIOs , 2024 will be about ‘ watching and waiting ’ to see what happens before they fully invest in their own tactical AI developments . In the meantime , they may choose to rent a graphics processing unit as a service or consume compute and storage from hyperscalers , like Microsoft , where their investment is more flexible .”

Head in the clouds

The apprehension around investing in AI technology is not only indicative of the many unexplored avenues of AI , but also the current economic climate . With costs remaining high , all businesses continue to feel the pinch and are looking wherever possible to keep costs at a minimum . Technology plays a key part in this . Node4 ’ s Wilson acknowledged : “ Economic concerns are prompting businesses to optimise technology use for cost-effectiveness and strategic decision-making .”

The scalability and flexibility of cloud is one area that can generate huge cost savings for small- and medium-sized enterprises . And this is driving change in the cloud market with more businesses choosing highly flexible

Terry Storrar , Managing Director , Leaseweb UK

Mark Wilson , Technology and Innovation Director at Node4

WE WILL REACH A STAGE WHERE AI IS NOT FEARED , BUT USED AS A TOOL WHICH CAN OPEN UP VAST POTENTIAL ACROSS MANY INDUSTRY SECTORS .

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