New business technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) are dramatically changing how companies do business. From designing products to delivering services, AI can eliminate redundant employee tasks, lower operating and maintenance costs, and provide employee training without travel. The most common examples of new AI technologies include.
RPA – Robotic Process Automation
BMS – Building Management Systems
ML – Machine Learning
VR – Virtual Reality
AR – Augmented Reality
BAS – Building Automation Systems
With a flexible and highly adaptable cabling infrastructure in place, system maintenance, changes, upgrades, or a complete reconfiguration will remain affordable and convenient for property owners and facility teams. As a result, AI readiness is an essential design element for new construction projects and the built environment.
What Is AI Readiness?
While organizations may be at different stages of their AI journeys, their progress to the next stage or ongoing success depends on having the correct elements across skills and resources, infrastructure and technology, and processes and models. According to the Intel Data Center1, AI readiness can be divided into three categories.
• Foundational: Having an appropriate infrastructure and the required interfaces is a prerequisite for using AI to grow a business.
• Operational – Suitable management, governance, and maintenance mechanisms are critical to the sustainability and expansion of AI solutions.
• Transformational – the ability of an organization to maximize the value it gets from AI
As discussed in the Intel white paper, the foundational readiness options utilized will heavily influence operational and transformational readiness’s future progress and success.
Foundational AI Readiness Defined
When discussing AI readiness, Foundational Readiness refers to preparing and aligning an organization’s infrastructure, processes, and culture to adopt and implement AI technologies effectively. It involves ensuring that the core elements necessary for successful AI integration are in place, allowing the organization to maximize the benefits of AI while minimizing potential risks.
As organizations assess their AI readiness levels, here are the critical components for property owners, business owners, and facility teams to consider.
Data Infrastructure
Managers and supervisors must ensure that the data to be used for AI platforms is clean, well-organized, and readily accessible. The data must have robust governance practices in place to protect the data from unauthorized viewing, usage, and sharing. Strong data protection measures must be implemented to ensure compliance with regulations while safeguarding sensitive information.
The data infrastructure must be able to aggregate data from various sources into a unified system, which is essential for training AI models to meet each company’s unique challenges or business model. Additionally, the cabling infrastructure must handle massive volumes of data efficiently while being flexible and adaptable to adopt future technologies as they become available.
Technology Infrastructure
Adequate computational resources, such as Graphic Processing Units (GPU) and cloud computing capabilities, are necessary to handle AI’s intensive processing demands. A flexible and scalable IT infrastructure, such as low-profile raised flooring systems, helps organizations quickly scale or reconfigure their AI needs as new technologies become available. Because every company utilizes AI differently, having the right platform and required software to develop, deploy, and manage data is essential for success.
Why is Foundational AI Readiness Important?
According to Intel1, companies that move straight to operational readiness before addressing foundational readiness are more likely to experience.
· Higher AI implementation costs
· Wasted time, energy, and resources
· Lower success rates
· Missed opportunities
By focusing on foundational readiness, businesses can ensure they have the necessary cabling infrastructure to integrate AI into commercial spaces today and twenty years from now. Companies that address foundational AI readiness today will drive innovation while maintaining a competitive industry edge.
Besides addressing tenant data needs, buildings that address foundational AI readiness will become more valuable as the demand for smart buildings increases and the BIoT (Building Internet of Things) expands across larger metropolitan areas.
Using Raised Floors to Improve Foundational Readiness
Raised access floor systems, like the Gridd Adaptive Cabling Distribution System replace the traditional cable trays hidden above ceilings or raceways within the concrete slab. The system creates a small (1.6” or 2.75”) airspace above the existing concrete slab, making the data cabling quick and easy to access and service.
The modular panels are made from 100% US steel, providing unsurpassed strength and durability across the building’s lifecycle while meeting all applicable fire and building codes. Gridd also meets sustainability and recyclability requirements to improve circularity.
As AI continues changing how companies manufacture goods or provide services, Gridd allows property owners and FM teams to reconfigure a space endlessly. To learn more about how raised access floors can help you address foundational AI readiness, contact a Gridd Advisor.