Among the key technologies pushing businesses forward today are artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing. The numbers back this up. AI, for instance, is projected to be a mind-boggling $407-billion dollar industry by 2027, growing at a projected compound annual growth rate of 37.3% from 2023 to 2030. Cloud services, in the meantime, continue their steady rise, with Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) forecast to show the highest end-user spending growth for this year.

The high adoption rates for these two industries are certainly not out of coincidence or sheer luck. Since cloud computing gained significant traction and became mainstream in the late 2000s, it has served as a huge driver of change in how organisations do business. The entry of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms have only served to enhance the cloud’s adaptability and its capability to leverage data.

The combination of AI and cloud services are helping organisations achieve a number of business objectives that are fundamental to every enterprise: operational efficiency, cost savings, improved customer service, smart decision making, and more. Let’s explore five specific ways in which AI and cloud are enabling businesses to take their efficiency and innovation to the next level:

Cloud and AI power predictive analytics for insightful decision making

The cloud’s seemingly limitless resources have allowed enterprises to store tons of data—from basic email and transaction records, to the more sensitive ones like customer data and financial information. Data storage is only the first step, however. The capability of the cloud has also enabled real-time processing and analysis of data, which has helped in discovering patterns and understanding correlations.

Artificial intelligence has taken the use of data a step further. Machine learning and predictive analytics algorithms are now helping AI solutions generate more accurate models and forecasts. By using predictive analytics in the cloud, corporate leaders are provided with new insights, leading to data-based decisions that mitigate risk and capitalise on opportunities.

Cloud and AI improve customer support and enhance customer personalisation

Cloud services that utilise AI have redefined customer support and personalised service. The cloud on its own has allowed SMEs to offer better customer support services by ensuring that client inquiries, issues, and complaints are handled as quickly and efficiently as possible regardless of day, time, or location. Peak periods or high-demand seasons are also not a problem because companies can scale support operations seamlessly with the cloud infrastructure.

Putting AI solutions such as chatbots/virtual assistants and sentiment analysis into tech support services creates a more tailored experience for clients. AI technologies not only help ensure clients are provided with answers and solutions that are appropriate for their needs, but they also determine the customer sentiment at that moment and respond in kind. Further, AI analyses tons of customer data to offer personalised recommendations and proactive assistance.

Cloud and AI support supply chain optimisation

Cloud-based AI solutions offer companies an enhanced system for improving visibility in their operations and allowing efficient resource allocation. Cloud services offer a centralised repository of the supply chain data—warehouse, suppliers, distributors, and the like. This helps them monitor key factors such as inventory levels, production rates, transportation conditions, and enables timely decision making when necessary.

AI improves supply chain optimisation because it harnesses advanced algorithms to analyse the vast amounts of data from all supply chain sources. The use of AI better identifies trends and predicts demand, thus resulting in increased efficiency, stronger resiliency, and improved customer satisfaction.

Cloud and AI automate fraud detection and improve security

The widespread use of technology in almost every aspect of business operations has increased the security risk for most companies. The good thing is, cloud services and artificial intelligence combined can bolster security measures and mitigate threats. The highly-scalable cloud infrastructure is fully capable of analysing vast amounts of data in real-time—data that can indicate signs of fraudulent activities.

Integrating AI into cloud security platforms enhances their capabilities by continuously analysing new patterns and identifying emerging threats that may come from these. AI also automates the detection process, allowing for faster processing and minimising false positives. The improved cloud and AI system overall offers better security safeguards for organisations.

Cloud and AI streamlines data analysis and reporting

The importance of accurate data analytics and reporting in the current data-driven world cannot be emphasised enough. This is why the cloud’s capacity to store and analyse data (and tons of it) and the capability of AI solutions to perform further complex analysis, extract patterns, and generate accurate reports have proven to be invaluable to many enterprises.

Artificial intelligence platforms can produce diverse reports including: customer segmentation, marketing reports, predictive analytics reports, anomaly detection, inventory optimisation, and many more. All these can provide actionable insights that can help guide organisational leaders into taking the right next steps for their business.

Is Your Business Maximising AI and the Cloud?

Artificial intelligence and cloud computing are technologies no business should be without. But combining the strengths of these two gives your business a greater competitive edge and better opportunities for innovation and growth. Not sure how to enhance your cloud services with AI? Talk to your managed services provider to leverage today’s most promising solutions.