AI as a Service: Will AIaaS Take Off in 2021?

Digital transformation, digital acceleration, digital diversification — just a few of the many phrases that have been thrust to the forefront of executive magazines in airport lounges across the land in the past six months (and we’ve not been adverse to liberal usage either).

Everybody working in and around technology has heard of SaaS before. In fact, in 2020, people working in other industries will most certainly be familiar. This term has become ubiquitous, and just behind are the somewhat lesser known acronyms IaaS and PaaS, which are short for Infrastructure as a Service, and Platform as a Service, respectively. However, one phrase that’s less commonly discussed is Artificial Intelligence as a Service, or AIaaS.

A new model emerges

Today, most companies are using at least one type of ‘as a service’ offering. It gives them a way of focusing on their core business, while spending less money on an important service. Now, the same methods that made other ‘as a service’ models popular are being applied to a new field: artificial intelligence.

Companies looking toward digital transformation want to take advantage of all the insights that can be gathered from data: better understanding of their customers, why some choose to purchase and some don’t, what areas of their business can be automated, and more. Sometimes, what seems like intangible information to the outside can actually present a competitive edge.

The democratisation of AI technology

The future of digital transformation itself depends on the democratisation (the process by which access to technology rapidly continues to become more accessible to more people) of the latest technologies. According to Forbes, the combination of the SaaS model with artificial intelligence could help bring AI to the masses without restrictive pricing. In essence, AI won’t just be nice to have, it will be a must have.

Until recently artificial intelligence was far too costly for most companies. The actual tech was expensive, the people who work using it were hard to find and commanded prohibitive salaries, and companies didn’t even have the data to study. But, as cloud services have become widespread and accessible, companies can gather and store essentially limitless data. This is where AI-as-a-service comes in.

Read the full article at: https://thescalers.com/ai-as-a-service-will-aiaas-take-off-in-2021/