The IT Experts

Adapting to Change

You can expect just about everything to change in your line of business, from the markets to customer preferences and so on. A machine isn’t capable of adapting in the same way a human can, especially when new skills or strategies might be necessary to solve emerging problems. Automated systems need to be programmed to act a certain way, and that might mean expensive updates, new software, or just throwing the whole thing out and starting anew. If you invest in people, you’re getting a much more dynamic and flexible solution that can benefit both your business and the employee’s professional development.

The Personal Touch

We doubt anyone actually wants to deal with the automated chatbots you might see online and on the phone, and while they can help make support more accessible, they’re not always the answer. No matter how advanced AI gets, it cannot match the empathy and problem-solving skills of someone who genuinely cares about the customer.

Skill Drives Innovation

Again, people are capable of creativity that a robotic system simply isn’t, and this innovation is what drives industry to change, evolve, and adapt. Wouldn’t you rather invest in training for your employees so they can build their skills and use them to create more innovative products and solutions for your business? Sure, AI can help you maintain the status quo, but skilled and knowledgeable employees will help you move past that and accomplish something great.

Training Pays Dividends

While automated systems might help you save money—at least at first—they require maintenance, management, and investments when the programs become outdated or faulty. Investing in people is a better long-term strategy, especially when they receive regular training, as they’ll be more engaged, perform better in the workplace, and remain loyal to your business over the years. In general, you can expect employees who are well-trained and well-invested-in to make fewer mistakes, make better decisions, and drive your business forward in ways that a machine can’t.

Humans Are Ready for the Unexpected

Machines might seem more reliable on the surface, but they can break down, experience software glitches, and struggle with new tasks outside their programming. Sound familiar? They’re the same as your employees, just less flexible and prepared for the unexpected. You can count on a human to be able to intuit a customer’s odd request or troubleshoot a specific issue, but the same can’t be said for a computer with strict programming.

You can get consistent, repeatable results with automation, but there’s no denying that some tasks are better handled by people. To learn how you can make the best out of both automated systems and your employees, check back to our blog for more articles on technology, humans, and the intersection of work and IT.

If you would like to talk about your experience with automation and how you can do a much better job of getting the tools that can help you succeed, give us a call today at (954) 834-2800.

What Makes a Cloud Solution Reliable?

Simply put, it’s the measure of how consistently your cloud solution can deliver its services without disruption. Businesses rely on the cloud more so today than at any other time in history, so you want to ensure that those resources and services are available at any time.

Here are some ways you can measure cloud reliability:

• The service is available to you
• You can access the service from any Internet-connected location
• You can access the service at any time
• You have secure access to the service
• You can accomplish your objective as you use the service

Here are some questions you can ask to gauge your cloud’s reliability:

Are Your Cloud Resources Redundant?

This involves data backup across multiple servers, all but guaranteeing that you’ll always have access to the data or services necessary, even if a hardware failure or disaster strikes.

Is Your Underlying Network Robust Enough to Pick Up Slack?

Your cloud should be built with failover protections and other connections in place, just in case they are needed.

Is Your System Tolerant to Change and Disruption?

Your cloud system should be able to operate even if certain components have failed, preventing disruptions and improving the availability of resources.

Are You Maintaining Your Cloud Solution?

This might involve monitoring your cloud to ensure that issues and concerns don’t emerge—and if they do, you can take action to address them before they impact availability.

Improve Your Overall Cloud Reliability

If you want to improve your cloud’s reliability, we’ve got some recommendations to consider.

First of all, you should have a comprehensive disaster recovery strategy in place—one that can help you restore systems should the need arise. We also recommend that you periodically test your systems to make sure they’re working as intended. Finally, we recommend that your cloud solutions be protected against cyberattacks and data breaches, as they can be disruptive and wasteful to deal with.

KB Technologies can help you with all of the above. All you have to do is contact us at (954) 834-2800 to learn more.

What is AI Literacy?

By definition, AI literacy is simply an individual’s capability to understand AI, thinking critically about it and its use. Naturally, as the technology has become more and more prevalent, everyone needs to develop some level of AI literacy… not just tech experts. To make the concept completely clear, think about AI literacy in the same way you would digital literacy… how to safely and effectively use the Internet. AI literacy is the same thing, applied to AI, allowing you to be smart about how you put it to use.

There Are a Few Reasons AI Literacy is So Crucial Nowadays

Businesses especially can benefit from a healthy level of AI literacy, simply because:

• AI has been integrated - A lot of the tools we all use every day—from virtual assistants to social media algorithms to everyday software—have built AI into their experiences, making it critical to know about AI to improve your use of them.
• Jobs are changing - Similarly, AI is shifting how work is done, eliminating some tasks through automation and introducing new processes. Understanding AI will help you shift with it.
• Misinformation is using it too - AI is far from perfect, which means it isn’t always accurate and can easily be used to create deepfakes and otherwise lie to the average user. AI literacy will help you keep ahead of such threats.
• Privacy and security need to be maintained - People hand over a lot of their data nowadays. Understanding AI can help build understanding of how privacy and security can also be impacted by these activities.

How to Build AI Literacy in Your Business

There are some simple means to endorse this kind of awareness in your organization:

• Promote basic understanding - While developers and programmers may need more information about AI, the average user doesn’t, and there are plenty of courses online through platforms like YouTube and Coursera to provide the necessary knowledge.
• Practice - Various tools, like ChatGPT, image generators, and voice assistants, are all very accessible and readily available for users to get used to. This kind of experience will help make the capabilities of such tools much clearer.
• Check its work - Don’t just take any AI response at face value. Consider the validity of the source material and whether there’s a particular bias or slant being applied.
• Stay informed - As AI continues to develop, it will be helpful to stay up to speed via news and industry information to stay abreast of how the technology shapes up.

Make no mistake: AI literacy is a skill that will only become more essential as time passes. Consider this an invitation to become more familiar with it… and to give our team at KB Technologies a call when you’re ready to integrate it into your business a little more.