AI adoption is increasing in the global market, but businesses still have a few doubts about it. Here, we’ll discuss the need to partner with AI consulting companies and how they can help an enterprise achieve its goals.
There have been many technological developments during the last few years in the international market. Businesses are shifting from traditional to modern data-driven models and using cloud services for IT infrastructure. Artificial intelligence has become a common keyword in digitally and technologically transforming business processes.
The global AI market is likely to grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 39.7% and touch $309.6 billion by 2026.
‘Many large enterprises are rapidly transforming their systems to adopt AI tools to increase productivity and profits. Small and medium enterprises are a little behind due to cost issues. Many large companies as well as startups are investing in AI and ML models and increasing their budgets to digitally transform their systems.
However, startups are realizing the importance of investing in artificial intelligence applications. Several organizations are increasing their budgets to spend more money on AI and ML models. That said, there are a few barriers to AI adoption slowing that slows down the adoption rate.
The main barriers to AI adoption are the lack of access to expertise and the cost of developing an AI application from scratch and that’s where AI consulting companies come to play. These roadblocks can be easily overcome by partnering with AI consulting companies. These companies have the necessary talent and tools to provide AI-based services for cost-effective prices. According to MarketWatch’s latest study, the AI consulting services market will earn a multi-million dollar revenue and grow exponentially in the next seven years. Today, many big as well as small. More and more organizations are relying on artificial intelligence consultants for digital transformation services.
In this guide to AI consulting, we’ll read more about the types of services offered, how to choose the best AI consultants for your business, and the five best AI consulting solution providers in the market.
Artificial intelligence consulting is where AI engineers and experts assist business organizations from various industries to adopt AI applications to achieve their goals. This is easier said than done as it involves a series of activities and is a long-term process.
AI consulting companies have several roles and responsibilities, such as:
Let’s look at the steps that AI consulting companies follow to help businesses leverage artificial intelligence technology in the right manner.
The first step is to create a strategy or plan of action to adopt AI within an enterprise. Here, the AI consultants will have in-depth meetings with the clients to identify areas best suited for AI integration. These are then prioritized to list the required tools for the adoption process.
The focus is on strategizing the right path to create the necessary IT infrastructure and data pipelines to integrate AI tools with existing legacy systems. The availability of resources, cost of investment, duration of the project, etc., are considered when planning the strategy.
Many AI projects fail to take off or end up incomplete due to a lack of evaluation. Whether a business wants to build an AI application from scratch or customize an existing one, the AI consultants will first determine the feasibility of the process and evaluate the possible outcome. These AI experts will assist organizations in choosing projects with commercial viability and success. This reduces the risk of failure and loss of investment.
Now, the major responsibility lies with the AI consulting company to implement and deploy the project (building, integrating, customizing, etc.) as per the approved plan.
For example, if a business wants to deploy chatbots to assist customer care executives, the AI consulting team will create the necessary framework to set up AI chatbots and automate their roles at the helpdesk.
Some AI consulting companies also offer training services. After all, the end user/ employees must know how to work with the application. Training sessions are conducted to educate employees about the various features of the new AI application and ways to deal with errors.
Alongside this, the consulting company can continue to provide maintenance services if the organization wants. This ensures that AI experts regularly check the systems for errors and upgrade the features to make sure it offers the latest and expected services.
The AI consulting company is also responsible to ensure that the artificial intelligence systems developed/ customized for the organization are compliant and meet global guidelines. Ensuring data security and developing data governance systems or protocols are a part of the process. The AI consultants may have to add multiple security layers in enterprises that work with highly confidential data.
AI consulting firms are broadly divided into the following types:
These consulting companies are focused on offering tech (IT) based services. They have expert teams to provide off-shore, nearshore, and IT staff augmentation services.
This is also known as top management consulting. These AI strategy consulting companies help businesses understand how and when to implement AI in the enterprise. Large consulting companies also acquire smaller firms and deal with cross-industry adoption of artificial intelligence.
These AI consulting companies offer cloud-based services. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are examples of this type of AI consulting. They deal with cloud storage, network management, and cloud computing applications or services.
Deloitte, EY, PwC, and KPMG are the big four AI consulting companies that have been in the industry for more than 50 years. They offer services to clients from around the world and have premium prices. This makes them cost-intensive for small and medium-sized businesses.
Companies like DataToBiz offer end-to-end AI consulting solutions, where they take care of all AI-based processes, from strategy formation to maintenance. The consulting companies may run on limited staff but provide service to multiple clients by dividing the experts into smaller and independent teams based on clients’ requirements.
With an increasing demand for AI consultants, new firms have entered the market, offering a wide range of services. It is important to choose the right AI consulting partner to work with your business. It is a long-term commitment and involves a good amount of money. Make sure to take time to research the top AI consulting service providers before you decide. Here are a few questions to ask before you finalize.
Does the consulting company offer niche-based services? Do the AI engineers have the domain experience to work on your projects? Here, you should focus on the expertise of individual professionals instead of the company.
Does the AI company offer customized services and solutions? Customization is vital to make the most of an application or tool. Can the service provider provide a solution to meet your demands? Choose an AI company that offers flexible, scalable, and customized solutions based on your business requirements.
Is the AI consulting company willing to share its project portfolio and mention past or current clients? Is the team ready to discuss pricing? Transparency and communication are crucial when choosing an AI partner.
What kind of pricing system does the AI consulting provider have? Is it flexible and cost-effective? Can you negotiate and ask for services you require from experts? A reliable AI company will have a flexible price structure to accommodate your needs.
What do the previous clients say about the company? What kind of feedback/ testimonials do other clients provide? Talk to them directly to ask about hidden costs, quality of services, support, and more.
Have face-to-face (or online) meetings with AI engineers from the consulting company to get an idea. They should understand your business mission and goals to provide the best solutions to adopt AI and help you achieve your targets.
Let’s look at the top AI consulting firms that offer a plethora of services in the global market.
DataToBiz is founded by a team of AI experts with years of experience working with businesses from different industries. The company offers services for data science, business intelligence, big data, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and machine learning. It deals with clients from India and offshore locations like Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
DataToBiz has developed exclusive AI applications like PrepAI, HireLakeAI, and SensiblyAI to assist organizations to adopt artificial intelligence in different verticals. The company deals with SMBs, MSMEs, and large enterprises from the IT, healthcare, entertainment, logistics, EdTech, finance, manufacturing, surveillance, retail, and eCommerce industries. DataToBiz provides customized, flexible, and scalable AI consulting solutions for cost-effective prices.
InData Labs offers AI consulting and implementation services. It has its own R&D center and develops AI-based apps for clients from different industries. The company has its headquarters in Cyprus, with offices in Singapore and Lithuania. It specializes in eCommerce, marketing, digital healthcare, supply chain, FinTech, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
InData Labs offers services for predictive analytics, intelligent automation, NLP (Natural Language Processing), and computer vision. It is an AWS-certified partner and offers selected tier services to clients based on their business volume and requirements. The company also has Microsoft and IBM certifications.
Cambridge Consultants is one of the leading technology and development consultancy companies in the world. It holds more than six decades of experience in helping businesses adopt the latest technology. The company has partnered with 500+ clients over the years and worked on countless projects.
Cambridge Consultants is known for achieving several breakthroughs in AI across various fields and industries. It has also collaborated with the UK Ministry of Defence to handle cyberattacks and build advanced AI applications to help the military fortify its internal system. Its headquarters are in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
ThirdEye Data is a Silicon Valley company that offers data and AI engineers for hire. The AI consulting company deals with big data, data engineering, artificial intelligence, data science, and data analytics. It has won several awards in the industry for providing complete solutions to clients from various niches.
ThirdEye Data offers full spectrum big data and cloud services. It has worked on several AI projects and has clients from the Fortune 500 list. The company has been helping organizations transform their systems and processes to adopt the latest technologies and migrate to cloud platforms like Azure and AWS.
ITRex has a presence in Ukraine, Poland, and the US. It is an enterprise software development company that offers consulting services for artificial intelligence, deep learning, machine learning, SaaS, mobile and web development, cloud services, DevOps, and more. Automation, blockchain, IoT, and Metaverse are also a part of their services.
ITRex provides self-servicing BI and big data platform solutions based on client’s requirements. Biotech, retail, eCommerce, Edtech, logistics, etc., are some industries the company works with. It provides full-scale services to adopt, implement, customize, and maintain AI applications in an enterprise.
Artificial intelligence is already an integral part of our lives. It will continue to play a major role in every industry in the coming years. Businesses need to step up the game and adopt AI to streamline, automate, and revamp their processes. However, choosing the right AI consulting company as a business partner is equally important.
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