Latest news with #AIInference
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
How a nonprofit's AI tool is giving aid workers life-saving answers during humanitarian crises
For "CXO AI Playbook," Business Insider takes a look at mini case studies about AI adoption across industries, company sizes, and technology DNA. We've asked each of the featured companies to tell us about the problems they're trying to solve with AI, who's making these decisions internally, and their vision for using AI in the future. Founded in 1979, Mercy Corps is a global humanitarian aid organization based in Portland, Oregon. It operates in more than 40 countries, and has roughly 4,000 employees supporting communities affected by poverty, disaster, conflict, and the climate crisis. The majority of its staff members are from the countries where they work. Situation analysis: What problem was the organization trying to solve? In the developing world, agricultural crises like droughts, crop failures, and loss of livestock can rapidly escalate into humanitarian crises. Mercy Corps has experience anticipating these emergencies and reducing their impact. But a lack of timely, reliable data often prevents that knowledge from reaching the right people at the right time. Alicia Morrison, the director of data science at Mercy Corps, saw potential in generative AI for getting relevant information into the hands of decision-makers more quickly. The goal was to build a tool that could provide aid workers with quick, reliable answers to the day-to-day questions they face in the field. The answers would be based on past projects, research, and proven approaches, and include links to sources and citations so workers can know where the information comes from. "Making that tool available to the people doing the work helps them learn from what's been done and imagine new possibilities," she told Business Insider. "That's when we get the most creative ideas and uses of information." Key staff and partners Mercy Corps took part in Tech To the Rescue's AI for Changemakers program, a global accelerator that helps nonprofits experiment with AI. Through intensive, short-term training programs, Tech To the Rescue gives organizations a chance to pitch AI ideas and connect with private sector partners who can help bring them to life. Mercy Corps matched with Cloudera, a software company focused on data management, analytics, and AI. "They had the idea and we believed we could contribute our time, resources, and skills and add value," said Rob Dickens, a solutions architect at Cloudera. Cloudera donated engineering time and platform credits to develop the product, which is called the AI Methods Matcher. Dickens said development took about seven weeks, and the tool runs on Cloudera's AI Inference service, which uses Nvidia technology. AI in action Methods Matcher uses a type of generative AI called retrieval-augmented generation. It draws on an archive of successful projects to search for relevant information, summarize it, and offer recommendations. Now, decisions that aid workers make on the ground — from calculating vegetation health to tracking fertilizer distribution — can be guided by data. Morrison said the tool speeds up decision-making by reducing the time and manual research required to analyze large volumes of information. With Methods Matcher, Mercy Corps' teams can identify actions that have worked elsewhere and get evidence-based suggestions in real time. For example, in countries facing severe inflation, Mercy Corps often provides multipurpose cash assistance. But the organization needs to know the purchasing power of that cash to make an impact. In this case, an aid worker in the field might ask the tool, "How do I determine how much cash aid to give people in a region with rising inflation?" Methods Matcher responds with a tailored answer based on past Mercy Corps projects and research. Aid workers can ask follow-up questions in the same session, and because the tool "remembers" the conversation history, they can build on earlier questions without having to start over. The tool helps teams in the field quickly access information without waiting for support from HQ. "They can see for themselves how valuable this kind of information can be," Morrison said. Did it work, and how did leaders know? Since the tool's launch in November 2024, Morrison said that while they have yet to report metrics on the tool's impact, there has been strong early adoption among field teams. Mercy Corps is now working with Cloudera to expand Methods Matcher, develop new AI tools, and build data literacy across the organization. It's also gathering feedback on Methods Matcher from staff to understand what's working and what needs improvement. "We're a nonprofit, so we don't have a big team of in-house AI experts," Morrison said. "We're learning as we go — figuring out how to maintain these tools, how to evaluate them, and how to get people across the organization on board for the long haul." What's next? Mercy Corps has experienced a significant shift in funding in recent months, but Morrison said Methods Matcher and other AI tools remain "a priority investment area." She added that the organization will continue to improve based on team feedback. Dickens said Cloudera plans to bring agentic AI into the tool through its Agent Studio, automating tasks like gathering real-time data, analyzing trends, and generating reports or recommendations. This will allow Methods Matcher to surface relevant news and social media reports from affected areas, making it more responsive to events on the ground. "Aid workers will get richer, real-time context instead of manually compiling daily or monthly reports," he said.
Techday NZ
21-04-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Exclusive: Abhas Ricky on how Cloudera is powering the AI revolution
Artificial intelligence is moving out of the lab and into the engine rooms of business, according to Cloudera's Chief Strategy Officer, Abhas Ricky. Despite last month's NVIDIA GTC conference already in the rear-view mirror, he believes the momentum behind AI technologies and infrastructure "continues to evolve". "The NVIDIA GTC conference was packed with exciting announcements and insights," Ricky told TechDay during a recent interview. He said the number one thing that stood out to him was "how AI is transitioning from experimentation to enterprise-scale execution - and fast." For Cloudera, another key highlight was NVIDIA's AI Agents Blueprint – a framework that Ricky believes will help businesses integrate intelligent agents into everyday operations. "This blueprint provides a structured approach to building and deploying AI agents that can automate complex tasks, enhance decision-making, and improve operational efficiency," he explained. Cloudera sees agentic AI – systems that can act autonomously based on data and models – as a cornerstone of future enterprise tech. "By integrating such AI agents into Cloudera's platform, businesses can automate workflows, improve customer service, and orchestrate complex processes more effectively," Ricky said. Equally significant, he explained, was the return of focus to on-premises AI infrastructure. "Nearly every enterprise is reevaluating how to bring AI closer to their data," Ricky said. He noted that governance, performance, cost, and data sovereignty are the main drivers. Ricky also pointed to a recent Barclays survey which found 83% of enterprise CIOs plan to repatriate at least some workloads from the cloud to on-premises environments. In response, Cloudera is doubling down on its hybrid strategy. Its new offering, 'AI in a Box', is designed to give enterprises flexibility and control. "We're making it easier to build AI applications and AI agents from edge to AI using our partner ecosystem," Ricky said. "As an NVIDIA partner supporting our AI Inference Service, we believe we're uniquely positioned to help enterprises turn on-prem AI into a lasting competitive advantage." Cloudera is also optimistic about how these AI innovations will play out across sectors like healthcare, telco, finance, public services and retail. "These technologies are set to revolutionise diagnostics, efficiency, security and customer experience," he added. One striking example Ricky highlighted is NVIDIA's partnership with telco players to develop AI-RAN – an AI-powered approach to optimising radio access networks. "It enables AI applications to run on the RAN infrastructure itself, delivering new revenue streams and improving network performance," he said. "To unlock these outcomes, organisations need robust data flow governance and orchestration from edge to cloud – something Cloudera is ready to provide." But while opportunities are vast, Ricky is also clear about the challenges enterprises face when adopting agentic AI. "Security and compliance are critical," he said. "One of the biggest hurdles is ensuring proprietary data remains within the organisation's control. Our Private AI approach keeps all training data, configurations and models inside the security perimeter." Cloudera's solutions are built to meet regulatory frameworks like GDPR and HIPAA, Ricky added, ensuring businesses stay compliant while pushing the boundaries of AI innovation. Then there's infrastructure. "AI agents come with high computational demands," he noted. "Our unified data and AI lifecycle helps eliminate delays and keeps models current. Our hybrid platform allows AI workloads to run on any cloud or data centre, offering the flexibility needed for enterprise-scale deployments." Cloudera's response to these trends is rooted in its end-to-end platform, which enables inference at scale, low-code development through its AI Studios, and seamless integration of NVIDIA's accelerated computing technology. Ricky said users can deploy AI agents in under ten minutes, thanks to unified tools that span ingestion, transformation, model deployment and visualisation. Importantly, Cloudera's AI Inference service offers secure, production-grade deployment capabilities. "Powered by the full-stack NVIDIA accelerated computing platform, it ensures scalable, optimised and secure model deployments powering real-time AI," Ricky said. "Organisations can experience 36 times faster inference on NVIDIA GPUs." Among those seeing results already is Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), which is using Cloudera's AI Inference within its own virtual private cloud. "BNI can now rapidly scale GenAI operations while maintaining full control over its data," Ricky said. "It's a major step forward in transforming customer service and operational efficiency." Cloudera's strategic direction is anchored in three core pillars: delivering true hybrid cloud capabilities, enabling modern data architectures, and accelerating private enterprise AI. Ricky believes these are the keys to helping organisations turn their data into competitive advantage. "With an open data lakehouse powered by Apache Iceberg, there's no need to copy or move data," he explained. "Our unified data fabric provides consistent security, governance and observability – all essential foundations for successful AI initiatives." Strategic partnerships are central to this vision. Cloudera's collaboration with NVIDIA is just one example, alongside alliances with AWS, Pinecone, Google Cloud, CrewAI and Anthropic. Together, these partners form Cloudera's Enterprise AI Ecosystem – launched last year and expanded in 2024. "We created this ecosystem because we recognise that AI is a team sport," Ricky said. "Joint solution architectures and project accelerators make AI adoption easier, more economical, and safer." More than 20 AI project accelerators have already been deployed over 1,000 times in the past year. One notable success came from a contract procurement use case in a large oil and gas company, which saved around $2 million annually by reducing research time from weeks to days. Beyond AI, Cloudera is also focused on breaking down data silos through its interoperability initiatives. Ricky pointed to Cloudera's REST-Catalog, which enables seamless querying of data across platforms like Snowflake and AWS – reducing data movement costs by as much as 75%. System integrators also play a crucial role in extending Cloudera's reach. "Kolon Benit, for example, has led digital transformations for manufacturing and financial services clients in Korea," Ricky said. Asked how Cloudera plans to keep pushing forward, Ricky was unequivocal. "At Cloudera, we're all about driving business value through innovation," he said. "To truly capture the AI opportunity, organisations need flexibility, privacy, and the right tools. That's what we're building."
Tahawul Tech
10-02-2025
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
Cloudflare to Showcase Cutting-Edge Connectivity Cloud at LEAP Saudi 2025
Cloudflare, Inc., the leading connectivity cloud company, recently announced its third consecutive year of participation, at LEAP, the global platform for the most disruptive technology professionals, taking place in Riyadh between 9 – 12 February. The company will present its innovative Connectivity Cloud and suite of products and services designed to empower businesses and accelerate digital transformation. As Saudi Arabia continues its rapid digital evolution, Cloudflare is committed to playing a pivotal role in the country's technological advancement, providing advanced solutions to enhance security, speed, and performance across all sectors. At LEAP, Cloudflare will showcase its full range of solutions, including robust application and network security, cutting-edge Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Zero Trust models, and its revolutionary Workers platform that enables AI companies to build powerful, scalable tools and services. Cloudflare has long been a leader in AI-powered infrastructure, and attendees will experience firsthand how the company's technology is helping businesses harness the true potential of Artificial Intelligence. 'Cloudflare's commitment to artificial intelligence goes beyond buzzwords — AI is in our DNA,' says Bashar Bashaireh, VP Middle East, Türkiye & North Africa at Cloudflare. 'From the very beginning, Cloudflare has been a pioneer in embedding machine learning and AI across its product offerings. This approach has led to the development of our AI Inference Platform, now powered by an expanded GPU infrastructure that delivers faster inference, larger models, and superior observability. The platform is designed to meet the demands of modern AI, enabling organizations to deploy more complex AI applications with low-latency, global accessibility. With GPUs deployed in over 180 cities around the world, Cloudflare's Workers AI platform offers one of the largest global footprints for AI inference, ensuring that customers can process AI tasks as close to the end user as possible, all while maintaining security and data privacy. This allows businesses to deploy AI models and services with incredible speed and efficiency.' Cloudflare invites visitors to LEAP for a demo of the Connectivity Cloud, a robust network designed to accelerate digital transformation. This comprehensive infrastructure is capable of optimizing applications, enhancing network security, and simplifying the deployment of AI-driven solutions. A team of experts will be on hand to explain the full suite of offerings, including Cloudflare's Workers AI solution, designed to make it easier than ever to build, deploy, and scale AI applications. Cloudflare is committed to supporting Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and its ongoing efforts to embrace digital transformation. With Cloudflare's world-class infrastructure, local businesses in Saudi Arabia can ensure high-performance, low-latency applications, secure access to networks, and seamless deployment of AI applications to drive innovation across all industries. As the Kingdom continues to push forward with initiatives that foster technology, Cloudflare is proud to be at the forefront, helping businesses modernize their operations with the best-in-class connectivity, security, and AI tools. Trade attendees interested in a meeting, can visit Cloudflare@LEAP at Booth H1 U70. Image Credit: Cloudflare
