From rising operating costs to wage inflation, business leaders are facing challenges on an unprecedented scale. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, this is driving the need for more in-depth data gathering, understanding and insight generation to inform smarter decision making and identify cost-saving opportunities. Some might remember when coding skills were required to operate a computer. This feels like it was a long time ago. We now have low-code/no-code environments that allow users to drag and drop application components, connect them, and create mobile or web apps - without significant programming knowledge.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled apps helped protect small and medium-sized businesses against many of the risks that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a study, which noted that only a quarter of small firms currently use them. The research, by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and published in the journal Information Systems Frontiers, surveyed 317 small and medium sized firms based in London. The study found the use of AI-powered apps was associated with a 3.1 per cent reduced risk to business during the pandemic. "We found that SMEs' business risks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic declined with the use of AI applications across a ten-item scale including marketing, sales, communication, predictions, pricing and cash flow, fake reviews, cybersecurity, recruitment, and legal services," said lead author Professor Nick Drydakis, Director of the Centre for Pluralist Economics at the University. "The outcomes proved true regardless of enterprise size, turnover, and years of operation, indicating that AI applications have helped SMEs to adapt to unprecedented conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic," he added.

This post was originally featured on the 30SecondsToFly blog in 2017. Ready Player One, Ernest Cline's first novel (soon to be adapted to film by Steven Spielberg), portrays a futuristic dystopian society that consumed all the energetic resources on earth and spends most of its time emerged in a Virtual Reality platform, the Oasis. Besides the brilliant references and tributes to the '80s presented in the book, the author also makes some propositions about the role Artificial Intelligence will play in our lives in a (not so) distant future. Instead of going to the physical stores to complain about a product or a service, the customers only have to put on their VR headsets and introduce their requests and complaints to a virtual assistant (who is operated anywhere else in the world by another human being). In one of the book's chapters, an interaction between a customer and an IT assistant takes place inside of the Oasis.

A new book shows business leaders how artificial intelligence is actionable technology that companies are quietly implementing to improve customer experience and reduce costs. Evan Ryan, the founder of the expanding artificial intelligence (AI) consulting firm Teammate AI is bringing all the benefits of AI to small and medium-sized businesses. His book, "AI As Your Teammate: Electrify Growth without Increasing Payroll," demystifies AI and shows that it is not about taking humans out of business. The book is available on November 30, 2021. "AI is the fastest, easiest way to scale a business, but it is also a big mystery to most business owners," said Ryan. "I recently read in Fast Company that AI is no longer just for big organizations. It is a revolution for all."

Companies are interested in buying insurance to mitigate the risk of adoption and deployment of new AI applications with no history of use. "When it comes to the commercial use of AI, businesses can't rely on government regulation to protect them against potential losses in the event it fails to live up to its promise," stated Saar Yoskovitch, CEO and cofounder of Augury, in a recent account in Open Access Government. As deployed AI systems mature, they will increasingly make high risk decisions. "But AI models are often brittle, do not deal well with edge cases and may have been trained on a dataset with inherent biases," stated Yoskovitch. This is especially prevalent with AI systems that use human behavior as an input, such as auto insurance applications that capture an individual customer's driving behavior.

Businesses should start small and fail fast with machine learning (ML) projects to get the best ROI. Some of the most common use cases for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) include fraud detection, sales optimization, marketing, and document analysis. But the benefits of implementing ML goes even further. This ebook, based on the latest ZDNet / TechRepublic special feature, helps small and medium-sized businesses build a technology stack that promotes innovation and enables growth. Steve Tycast, director of data and analytics at AIM Consulting, said ML efforts focused on operational analytics can reduce costs, drive efficiencies, and increase speed to market.

Businesses should start small and fail fast with machine learning (ML) projects to get the best ROI. Some of the most common use cases for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) include fraud detection, sales optimization, marketing, and document analysis. But the benefits of implementing ML goes even further. This ebook, based on the latest ZDNet / TechRepublic special feature, helps small and medium-sized businesses build a technology stack that promotes innovation and enables growth. Steve Tycast, director of data and analytics at AIM Consulting, said ML efforts focused on operational analytics can reduce costs, drive efficiencies, and increase speed to market.

Artificial intelligence (AI) was invented to support humans. With time, it has developed into a technology that delivers results. Although expensive initially, AI has now become affordable for small businesses as well. According to a survey of CEOs from small and medium-sized businesses, 29.5% of CEOs have spoken in favour of AI technology and its various benefits on businesses. Artificial intelligence has garnered trust with time, and some big names such as Bill Gates and Elon Musk have become its supporters.

Building a competent cybersecurity practice takes effective and intelligent cybersecurity solutions. When a layered strategy is combined with artificial intelligence and machine learning, businesses of all sizes can increase their resistance to attacks and breaches. Before getting started, it's essential to understand the role artificial intelligence and machine learning play in effective cybersecurity, as well has how they can help better protect clients and bolster profitability for MSPs.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly a part of how businesses stay competitive – they're using it to predict customer behaviour, automate tasks, personalise customer experiences, manage supply chains and more. And AI-powered technology isn't just for large enterprises – many small businesses are also enjoying the benefits of AI. It comes as no surprise that nearly three-quarters of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will invest in software and apps over the next year, according to a 2018 Vistage survey. But would you have guessed that – along with CRM – AI tops the list of technologies that SMBs are planning to invest in? At Dreamforce 2018, Vistage's Chief Research Officer, Joe Galvin, shared the whats, hows and whys of AI for small and medium-sized businesses in the session'Customer Insights: How AI Is Revolutionising SMBs Today'.