The ScaleFactor State of SMB Finance report says only 10% of retail businesses are using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The report reveals Small and Medium Business (SMB) retailers are the most reluctant to implement AI or machine learning (ML) solutions into their workflow. Furthermore, 40% say they are not interested in this technology. Despite the disinterest, 44% of retail businesses say they do not find the process of implementing AI or ML challenging; the highest across all industries. And over a third (39%) admit to not knowing AI/machine learning were options for their accounting solutions.

Artificial intelligence (AI) changes the way we go about our everyday lives. Consider Apple's line of mobile devices with Siri. And think about Amazon's smart home products featuring Alexa. They make us comfortable interacting with a virtual assistant. These forms of AI make our lives easier and help us perform hands-free tasks.

The great potential of artificial intelligence (AI) comes with some dire warnings, both real and imagined. With the goal of applying AI technologies to achieve extraordinary good, Noodle.ai is presenting the good and bad side in a new infographic. With such an ominous title, "AI The Dark Side versus The Force for Good" you would think the bad news is worse than it is, but the infographic is cautiously optimistic about the technology. This bodes well for small businesses who are looking to implement AI as part of their daily operations. And as more small businesses increase their digital presence, the benefits of AI will be more impactful for the organization as whole.

If you already provide data storage, analytics, security and other services as part of your cloud offerings, integrating Artificial Intelligence or AI can excite your customers and provide opportunities for new revenue streams. Because it is a transformative technology which is slated to change the way virtually every industry sector does business -- for the better. Adopting AI and associated technologies such as machine learning and automation can give small cloud resellers the tools they need to compete, retain and gain customers, increase the bottom line, and more importantly stay in business. Here is how AI can be integrated into several cloud services. As terabytes and petabytes chunks start becoming the norm in data storage, managing how the information is stored and transported is getting increasingly problematic.

Small businesses have always played a vital role in economic growth because they are known for creating more jobs than their larger counterparts as SBA reports. But even though small businesses have seen an immense growth due to the introduction of the internet, it is quite difficult to properly market themselves. A report by the National Small Business Association states that a decrease in consumer spending, economic uncertainty, and cost of health insurance benefits are the reasons behind the failure of a business. That is where this article comes in. And I have taken the liberty of listing 18 small business trends that can help them do just that.

Influencer marketing has now become a key tool in the overall marketing mix used by brands. This is because it delivers more return for your ad dollars. With influencer marketing now a proven strategy, marketers are using cloud-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to process and act on all of the data being generated by consumers, influencers and brands to reach their target audiences. And as influencers continue to increase the amount of "influence" they command over consumers, marketers have to use technologies which allow them to monitor all of the metrics in social media, websites, and blogs as well as the devices they use on different platforms. A report from Rhythmone revealed 69% of consumers are likely to make a purchase if a product is recommended by someone they follow, and 92% of them have made a purchase after reading about a product on their favorite blog.

I was one of the beta users of Amazon's Alexa when it first came out three years ago. My wife, Sara thought it was silly at the start, but she has grown to love her as our home digital assistant. But artificial intelligence (AI) technology is no longer just for consumers. With its zero-user interface, it can help transform the way a small business works. An AI can transcribe calls for company sales reps and then enable a comparison of the strategies used by the most successful sales reps with the rest of the company.

Having an eCommerce platform for your business means competing with the giant online retailers in the marketplace. While you may not have their resources, you can use similar technologies to make your company efficient and highly visible in a very crowded playing field. And the way to do it is by using artificial intelligence or AI -- delivered through the cloud. The great thing about AI is it has become integral in the way many businesses operate and the way consumers interact with digital touch points. And according to HubSpot, 63 percent of customers don't even know they have been using AI technologies.

SugarCRM held its annual user conference, SugarCon, earlier this week in San Francisco. Over 1,200 people were on hand to see what direction the company was taking its platform in. And while many of its competitors are expanding their offerings to include ecommerce, configure-price-quoting (CPQ), marketing automation and other related areas, SugarCRM CEO Larry Augustin emphatically stated that Sugar is staying true to its CRM roots and explore the many ways CRM can be even more important to business success in the near future. I had a chance to speak with Augustin and hear how the company is looking to bring the latest and greatest technology developments to the platform to make CRM a system more relevant, and attractive, for sales professionals to turn to in order to build successful relationships with modern consumers. Below is an edited transcript of that conversation, as well as the video of our full conversation.