Why your business is never too small for an AI factory

Due to its ability to level the playing field, small and medium businesses (SMBs) are hungry for all things artificial intelligence (AI) and eager to leverage this next-generation tool to streamline their operations and foster innovation at a faster pace. This is evident in how they are seemingly ahead of larger enterprises in implementing the technology, according to a recent survey. For instance, 95% of SMB IT professionals feel confident in their generative AI (GenAI) skills, as compared to 81 percent of enterprise IT professionals. At the same time, IT teams from enterprises are five times more likely than their SMB counterparts to face issues with balancing speed, business value, and security when deploying new technologies.

These should come as little surprise, given that deploying emerging, innovative technology is increasingly necessary for businesses, and that the burden of maintaining legacy apps and technology can easily encumber resource-strapped SMBs. Not only do these lack the scalability and functionality of modern applications, they are also expensive to upkeep and update. As a result, these will lead to increased operational costs for SMBs—expenses that these businesses could not afford. Then there is also the opportunity cost of not being as agile and responsive as their competitors, which can be detrimental to any SMB.

Behind the operations of an AI factory

But even as SMBs look towards AI to sharpen their competitive edge and bolster their business value, many are reticent about adopting AI solutions like AI factories, due to their perceived scale and investment. However, the characteristics and operations of SMBs make them better positioned to deploy—and capture—the full value of AI factories. Faced with fewer bureaucratic hurdles than enterprises, SMBs can adapt to market trends more agilely than larger organizations.

Take for instance the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA, Dell Technologies’ approach to delivering cutting-edge AI innovation for businesses of all sizes, including SMBs. The Dell AI Factory helps SMBs speed up AI adoption by providing the building blocks for seamlessly integrating AI models and frameworks into their operations. SMBs can accelerate their AI-powered use cases, from content creation to digital assistants, while replicating these outcomes at scale. Moreover, the right AI factory can also help SMBs accelerate their AI deployment and reduce risks by avoiding planning pitfalls.

Another component of an effective AI factory is the ability to quickly and consistently identify, prepare and deliver the data needed by the AI system. With Dell Technologies Data Management Services, SMBs can deploy data management practices that drive rapid, agile development of AI systems—and allow them to achieve their data-driven goals.

How SMBs can benefit from the Dell AI Factory

Despite its name, the AI factory isn’t a massive, industrial facility tailored for bigger enterprises. Many SMBs are already expressing great interest in AI and GenAI in particular, with the technology already—or set to be—an integral part of their operations. According to IDC, 43 percent of mid-market Asia Pacific companies expect to see the largest GenAI impact in task automation, as well as generating creative solutions for marketing, sales, and customer service.

Here are why SMBs should harness the power of AI, and potentially capture a wealth of opportunities, via the Dell AI Factory:

• Simplify and scale AI deployments: SMBs can streamline their AI deployment with workflow automation. With the AI services and solutions from the Dell AI Factory, SMBs can even adopt full-stack GenAI solutions via pre-tested, proven blueprints to achieve improved business outcomes.

• Tailor AI to unique data and needs: AI need not be costly, as SMBs can maximize profitability with Validated Designs from Dell. These can reduce deployment timelines, or even eliminate the time needed to design, test, and integrate components. And on top of enhancing cost management, the AI portfolio from Dell and NVIDIA lets SMBs work with partners that tailor solutions to business goals and optimize their investments.

• Deploy use cases without sacrificing security: AI deployments do come with security risks, but SMBs can enable secure, on-premise operations while still implementing their AI strategy. Dell’s storage solutions, which are purpose-built for large data volumes, also deliver the robust data protection SMBs need to safeguard their data and protect their intellectual property.

Recent advances to the Dell AI Factory will also enhance performance and reduce time-to-outcomes for AI operations and use cases. For instance, the NVIDIA HGX H200 and H100NVL support options now provide up to 1.9 times higher performance over NVIDIA HGX H100.

Find out more about how SMBs can implement their AI strategy with Dell AI Factory.