With the growing popularity of Artificial Intelligence and AI-fueled tools and solutions, more and more companies tend to find it problematic to integrate AI into their business environment in an efficient manner that ensures optimal results. AI consulting companies provide the solution to this struggle. Their role is to help companies to start their AI initiatives in the most effective way.
In fact, if you’ve never utilized AI in your company, you most likely will need the help of an experienced AI consulting company that will help you with the entire endeavor and guide you through each step of AI implementation.
Definition of AI consulting
In the most simple words, AI consulting can be defined as helping companies with the use of AI technologies in their business models.
According to BCG report, enterprises that start their journey with AI struggle with three main issues related to lack of:
- Knowledge on AI capabilities
- Personnel who has AI-related knowledge and experience
- AI strategy
AI consultants are able to solve all of the above-mentioned problems. How do they do that? In general, the typical process of implementing a tailored AI strategy is based on three crucial steps:
Step 1: Formulation of strategy
Deciding on how AI’s usage and implementation will look like should happen before any actions are taken. In order to advise adequate solutions, an AI consultant needs to analyze the given client’s strategy, together with its possible challenges and opportunities.
Data management and analytical capabilities of the company also need to be considered during the decision process. By thinking through all these aspects, AI consulting companies can formulate an AI strategy that the client should undertake. It can also advise on introducing some rather significant changes that will result in better preparation for the possible challenges of the new business ecosystem.
Step 2: Commercial due diligence
Commercial due diligence should be considered as a unique, separate strategy project. Since the AI market situation differs from other fields, it is necessary to perform due diligence successfully in order to ensure that technology implementation will be successful and, above all, profitable.
Commercial success is particularly significant because the key to success in AI-related business is owning better labeled and organized data than in competitive companies. The more data your company has, the more possible market leadership in the future becomes.
Step 3: AI implementation
After the AI strategy is clear and adjusted to the company’s needs, it needs to be implemented in an efficient and result-driven way. And this is what companies like Addepto AI Consulting are specialized in.
The implementation process may consist of the following activities and stages:
- Project management
- Planning
- AI development
- Vendor selection
- Change of management
- Improvement of inside business procedures, which the introduction of AI solutions will impact.
AI consultants need to see through all the steps of implementation. Consulting companies should also prepare employees of client firms to be able to work with AI systems so that everyone benefits from the new technology. The majority of consulting firms have dedicated teams that conduct this kind of training. It is also common to offer industry-specific counseling to industries and sectors in which proper understanding of AI is fundamental.
How can you hire a good AI consultant?
Choosing an AI consultant for a company that has never worked with AI solutions can be as challenging as implementing this technology. In order to ensure that AI will be successfully incorporated into your company, your ideal consultant should possess a few vital characteristics:
Complex AI knowledge
When you look for an AI consultant, you need someone who is more than just a data scientist. A company you are going to work with should know how to aggregate data and transform it into a format that AI will be able to learn from. It would also be helpful if the consultant understood the business implications of your company’s requirements. Such a company should also help you with planning, budgeting, as well as planning the architecture and deployment of chosen solutions.
Training capabilities
One of the main tasks of an AI consultant is building into your company an infrastructure that will allow ML and AI-related projects in the future. In order to do that, the majority of teams should gain knowledge on how to maintain and, if needed, develop the code brought in by the consultant. Building an AI capability for a company also involves stakeholders and board meeting and linking AI goals to Key Performance Indicators. That is why AI consultants need to be able to explain AI mechanisms to people who often lack technical knowledge and experience.
Good solution organization
Datacenter and network operations influence the well-being of the whole company. Working with AI and data, in general, is undoubtedly stressful and puts high pressure on your team. That is why AI consulates should prevent possible delays, downtimes, and other complications. Such situations should be taken into consideration as early as during the strategy planning stage. It is recommendable to use such solutions as various quality assurance techniques to ensure AI implementation will not cause any additional problems.
Thorough understanding of the security question
A deep understanding of security and related solutions is an absolute must for AI consultants. They often work with the most sensitive data that the company owns. That is why each consultant should be familiar with threat models and mechanisms of coping with them, as well as standard security policies. During the implementation process, it often turns out that a security system needs to be built from scratch. That is why solutions such as authentication, authorization, SSL, and firewalls should be known and understood by a chosen company. It is important to remember that security threats frequently change and develop. That is why there should be regular training for staff so that everyone complies with the most recent security policies.
As we know, AI’s popularity is continually growing, and so is the AI consulting market. AI consultants can help you to drive and leverage AI and related strategies. Their services not only include technical help, such as suggesting how automation or machine learning can be beneficial for the business, but they also help to adjust the whole company model to the new setup. In short, AI consulting companies can help you get the most out of AI-based solutions.
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