Many small business leaders are still trying to build out an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy to drive efficiencies, supercharge automation and spark creative productivity among their people.
What’s clear though, is that these organisations risk being left behind if they aren’t maximising the potential of AI.
Analysts expect small businesses to quickly grasp the nettle. For example, IDC predicts that by 2028, 60% of SMBs will use services from vendors that leverage GenAI.1
Meanwhile Tom Mainelli, group vice president for device and consumer research at IDC, says: “The NPU-equipped AI PCs shipping today are the beginning of a technology ramp that could lead to big changes in the way we interact with our PCs.”2
The amazing AI assistant is already here
AI has the potential to drive growth by allowing stretched workforces to address complex more capably than with purely human know-how.
Think of AI as a brilliant assistant: one that can work 24 hours a day, process information at incredible speeds, answer questions and do users’ bidding.
Today, SMBs are already extracting value from AI: just as was the case with the advent of the web, companies need to move fast if they want to use it to bridge the gap to rivals that have more money and people.
In May 2024, hailing this as “the year AI at work gets real”, Microsoft’s Work Index report suggested that 75% of global knowledge workers are already using AI.3
Outcomes spanned time saving, ability to focus on more important work, enhanced creativity and job satisfaction. Moreover, the report suggests that many workers will bring AI with them if their employer doesn’t offer it, and this is even more common (80% versus 78%) at SMBs.
AI PCs: A chance to accelerate
The big question is how to get a fast start or sprint to the next stage with AI.
A new generation of AI-ready PCs deliver the hardware specs and design features to drive AI adoption in the workforce and optimise work.
Dell Copilot+ PCs have a dedicated keyboard button (look for the ribbon logo) for jumping to Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant.4
These PCs use the Snapdragon® X Series processing architecture, which includes an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that acts as an on-board accelerator for AI tasks such as finding lost documents using Microsoft Recall5, automatically enhancing the AV environment for live presentations or webinars using Windows Studio Effects or creating images using Paint Cocreator.6
These are devices for the new AI world of business that will let staff meet urgent deadlines, create amazing content from idea to end-product in a fraction of the time usually needed, retrace steps, and keep everything secure.
And all this is possible within a sleek device that provides plenty of battery life so users can continue to blaze through work and jump from location to location even when they’re not near a power socket.
Whether companies have jumped in early or bided their time, investing in PCs that are optimised for the new AI world is a smart investment.
Find out more about Dell Copilot+ PCs here.
1 IDC, IDC Futurescape: Worldwide Small and Medium-Sized Business 2024 Predictions, October 2023
2 Computerworld, Dell ramps up ‘AI PC’ plans with Latitude and Precision refresh, February 2024 https://www.computerworld.com/article/1612178/dell-ramps-up-ai-pc-plans-with-latitude-and-precision-refresh.html
3 Microsoft, 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report https://assets-c4akfrf5b4d3f4b7.z01.azurefd.net/assets/2024/05/Microsoft_2024_Work_Trend_Index_Annual_Report_663b79bdc8f91.pdf
4 Copilot in Windows – Timing of feature delivery and availability varies by market and device. Use Copilot with a Microsoft Account or use Copilot with commercial data protection at no additional cost by signing into a work or school account (Microsoft Entra ID) with Microsoft 365 E3, E5, F3, A3 or A5 for faculty, Business Premium, and Business Standard. Coming to more Entra ID users over time.
5 Please note: Recall is coming soon through a post-launch Windows Update. See here. Recall is optimized for select languages (English, Chinese (simplified), French, German, Japanese, and Spanish). Content-based and storage limitations apply.
6 Cocreator is optimized for English text prompts. Requires Microsoft account.
