Are Artificial Intelligence PCs Right for Your Organization?

Before deciding whether implementing AI PCs is the right move for your organization, one of the first things to consider is what specific AI tasks will you be doing (training, inference, etc.).

Other crucial elements to consider include:

• Defining use cases: Decide if your organization will be using AI PCs for simple or more advanced AI tasks (e.g., image recognition vs. deep learning).

• Assessing your hardware needs: Determine your CPU, GPU, NPU, RAM and storage requirements.

• Ensuring software compatibility: Confirm that your system supports your AI frameworks and software tools.
  
  
• Considering data protection, privacy and ethical AI concerns: Evaluate measures to safeguard sensitive data, ensure compliance with privacy regulations and address ethical implications.
  
  
• Considering scalability and costs: Plan for future growth and potential upgrades.

Following these steps can better prepare you for deciding what specific types of AI PCs your organization needs and will enable you to select the system that will best meet your goals while also balancing cost and performance.

1. Performance. The NPU enables local processing (avoiding the cloud), resulting in faster processing and improved performance and productivity. Other features and benefits include intelligent search, automated data analysis and smart assistants.

2. Security. In terms of enhancing security, AI PCs can analyze incoming emails or internet links to detect phishing, and the built-in NPU provides security at the deepest hardware level.

3. Cost savings. These processors can perform AI tasks much more efficiently by handling operations like neural network inference at lower energy costs, which is especially important for edge devices and mobile applications that need to be energy efficient.

4. Efficiency. AI PCs can significantly contribute to energy efficiency. One way they achieve this is by optimizing performance. AI-enhanced CPUs are engineered with energy-efficient AI chips that deliver high performance with lower power consumption compared to traditional CPUs or GPUs.

AI PCs also reduce cloud dependency since they initiate AI tasks directly on the device rather than relying on cloud computing. AI PCs also promote energy savings in data centers by shifting some of the AI workloads to local devices, alleviating the strain on data centers.

There are several signs that can indicate your organization’s current PCs may no longer be meeting your performance requirements. Recognizing these symptoms early can help avoid business disruptions and allow you to plan for timely upgrades. 

Some of the most common signs include:

• sluggish performance
• frequent crashes and system errors
• the inability to run new software or updates
• security vulnerabilities
• the inability to support remote work or modern collaboration tools
• the inability to leverage AI and modern software features

If your business is experiencing many of these signs, it may be time to switch to AI PCs.

The evolution of AI PCs over the next few years will likely be marked by rapid advancements in hardware, software and integration across different industries. As AI becomes an even more integral part of  daily workflows, AI-enabled devices will continue to play a pivotal role in transforming business operations, improving productivity and enabling new and innovative ways to do business.

Implementing AI PCs into your current device infrastructure can help your business stay competitive in an increasingly AI-driven market by enabling smarter and faster possibilities. Teaming up with a trusted IT partner like CDW can help your organization put a strategic plan in place that addresses potential roadblocks and adapts to your needs to help you unlock the full potential of AI computers and drive maximum value and innovation.