Tech Journal Ask a Distinguished Engineer
Demystifying ChatGPT, Modernization and Cloud Costs
By Joe Flynn / 21 Mar 2023 / Topics: Application development Managed workplace Intelligent edge Data and AI
By Joe Flynn / 21 Mar 2023 / Topics: Application development Managed workplace Intelligent edge Data and AI
At Insight, our Distinguished Engineers are industry-recognized experts with the highest levels of thought leadership, mentoring and industry influence. They're highly tenured, well-respected and sought-after veterans of the industry — and their perspectives on key trends and evolving technologies give business leaders new ways to approach digital transformation.
Here, we share their takes on hot topics on the minds of many consumers and business leaders alike.
I think that's the right perspective to take. AI certainly isn't about replacing jobs but advancing what we can do and achieve. It's about replacing repetitive, complex or challenging tasks with technology to assist and augment what we can accomplish. An example is using technical innovation as part of ensuring consistency or to make things more productive for us. It's about making sure that, as we innovate, we can focus on the activities that enable the betterment of society, or allow us to be able to learn more advanced concepts.
Innovation has been a driving force for as long as civilization has existed. I hate to date myself, but I remember when robotics first came on the scene. People were going crazy thinking, "Oh my God, I'm not going to have a job anymore."
This fear is true of any sort of innovative technology or any automation that occurs over time. This is the human element. But we evolve. Understanding the benefits, value proposition and impact of innovation is key to driving the advances that innovation can enable and the requisite adaptability that is part of human nature.
I’m an adjunct professor, so — perhaps like many of my students — I wonder, can ChatGPT write my paper for me? Can it answer questions for me? And yes, it could be used to write a paper for you, but what have you learned? Academic integrity really has to do with application of learning and using your own perspective and subjectivity to create original thought (submissions or content). Personally, I think something like ChatGPT and its capabilities can be used to assist the learning process and help organize your thoughts — but not be a proxy for your thoughts. The innovation of ChatGPT is that it can provide acceleration in your ability to explore concepts, summarize large quantities of information and gain perspectives in areas where you may have limited time or inclination to explore.
I love the term, “fit for purpose.” Use AI and ChatGPT for the right reasons. The intent is not to replace human intelligence. It's meant to provide consistency where it's necessary and eliminate redundant tasks that maybe fatigue a human. Leverage the consistency and efficiencies that are provided by some of this innovation.
Carm brings more than 25 years of experience to the table with deep expertise in cloud computing, data science, data analytics, cybersecurity and organizational innovation. He is also skilled at building and driving Centers of Excellence, which he’s done for IBM Cloud and AWS Cloud.
Connect with Carm on LinkedIn.
When we talk about the modern workplace experience, it starts with that out-of-box experience on the device. Provisioning methodologies from companies like Apple, Microsoft, Chrome and others allow you to provision a device right out of the box so the employee is getting the best user experience. In our labs at Insight, we call it “pre-provisioning,” and it’s part of the zero-touch provisioning process. We can customize and personalize the device to the end user. IT doesn't have to touch it. When the employee receives their device, they power it on, log in, and they immediately get their applications and data. And the best part is, with modern workplace technologies, it's secure and you can drive security throughout the entire aspect of it.
Many companies for 10, 20, even 25 years, leveraged on-prem technologies. That means when IT ordered a device, an IT staff member would take the device out of the box, install applications and updates, and then deliver the device to the end user in person and walk them through logging in and setting up their personal experience. Everything's great when they're in the office. But now, when we shift to the new way of working, getting a user a device remotely is not as easy. You have to send them the device. And in most cases, the user is going to call and say, "I can't log in," or "I have to connect the VPN and VPN's not working." And so they're losing productivity in that user experience right out of the gate. It's just down the drain.
With modern device provisioning, the device is provisioned from a cloud. Employees are getting a great user experience right out of the box. IT isn’t answering calls for login issues. And it doesn't matter if the end user is in the office or at home.
And, when it comes to device end of life or conducting a device refresh for a user and replacing one device for another, that's a seamless approach. They're not having to reset or set anything up, it just follows from one device to the next. And it's a phenomenal experience.
Fueled by a passion for trending technology, Joe continues to build on his 25 years of industry experience. A trusted leader among clients and teammates and a go-to subject matter expert in our Modern Workplace area of expertise, Joe is an influential voice for redefining and proving the value of the modern workplace.
Connect with Joe on LinkedIn.
That's a really good question. We've helped clients through many different entry points, and it really depends on the pain point they’re having. Increasingly, we hear, "Oh my gosh, my cloud spend is too much. What the heck's going on?" And there's great tooling we've developed — including tooling from partners — that we leverage to help us understand everything that’s running because most clients that have that problem don't even know what they're running. They don't even know their consumption. They just know they have this humongous bill, and that's a great entry point. So, we can start taking a look at actual consumption, and based on that, we can fairly easily identify, "Hey, that workload right there — you probably need to spend your time on that one, and that one will give you the greatest amount of return for the least amount of effort." And they'll start setting the right people and processes in place for you to do that.
The most senior of our Distinguished Engineers with more than 30 years as a technologist, Juan has demonstrated expertise in everything from networking and IT strategy to server architecture and much more. As chief architect, he’s seen this market evolve and transform, leading every step of the way as a client-obsessed thought leader and dedicated mentor.
Connect with Juan on LinkedIn.
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