How to create cost effective infrastructure for AI startups

AI has become one of the most recent buzzwords that everything seems to be talking about but not explaining what it is and what are its benefits. And to the surprise of many business owners and startup entrepreneurs, AI is not a cheap pleasure. No doubt, it can be a cost-saving measure to some extent, but it is not the ultimate solution to every problem business is. However, don’t feel discouraged just yet. There is a way to build an AI infrastructure, even for a startup, without squandering your money on this process. Learn more about ways to create a cost-effective and reliable infrastructure for AI startups right here.ʼ 

What infrastructure is needed for artificial intelligence?

Building cost effective infrastructure for AI startups requires a lot of resources and significant costs. Technology continues to evolve and become even more complex, which means that businesses will have to adjust to the changes. This entails a lot of issues, such as a demand for more resources, costly infrastructure, and others. Here is what you need to keep in mind to build a cost-effective infrastructure for an AI startup:

Computer Power

AI algorithms require significant computational power to process large datasets and complete complex calculations. This can be done only with the help of high-performance servers, clusters, and cloud-based computing resources. 

Networking 

To ensure that results are delivered fast and smoothly, a startup should have fast and reliable networks. High-bandwidth and low-latency networks are the best solutions in this case – by ensuring high-quality network connectivity, you guarantee safe and quick data transfer, communication between distributed components, and accessing external data or cloud sources. 

Data security

AI infrastructure requires robust security measures to protect data and mitigate potential risks since AI often operates with a large amount of sensitive data. Depending on the industry, AI algorithms might be handling the personal info of clients, patients’ records, financial information, etc. Data must be protected at all times, which means that AI startups have to come up with solutions that would guarantee protection against all possible threats. 

Computing Capacity

To work with AI algorithms, it’s important to ensure that your organization has sufficient computing resources such as GPUs and CPUs. Both can be good for handling AI workloads, but GPU is a much better option, considering that it does a much better job at accelerating deep learning compared to CPU. However, you don’t need a GPU in every situation, so weigh all the pros and cons along with factors specific to your business to decide if you need CPU, GPU, or a combination of both.

Storage 

The data volumes will only continue to grow, and this is an impossible thing to avoid. This is why it is crucial to ensure that you have an opportunity to scale storage. Think about what type of storage you need – it can be local storage, network-attached storage, distributed file systems, or object storage. No matter what you pick, the storage capacity should be able to handle high-volume and high-velocity data that will be generated by AI workloads. 

AI models will inevitably become more and more complex, which means that sooner or later, they will also be more expensive to run. This is why it is important to understand what kind of strategies companies can use to lower AI infrastructure costs and other expenses. Even though there is no ultimate solution in this case, there are some things organizations can do to achieve cost-effective infrastructure – and this is what we’ll tell you about next.

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Importance of balancing cost optimization with performance and scalability

Implementing cost-saving measures is always a good idea. But is there a thing as “too much cost-saving”? Well, even though it is always a good idea to reduce costs, sometimes, it can harm your business. Balance is a key solution in this case. Let’s discuss all the main factors when it comes to balancing cost optimization with performance and scalability: 

User experience and quality

If you save up too much, you compromise the quality. Cost optimization is a good idea as long as it doesn’t impact the quality of your offerings. Maintaining high-quality standards and balancing cost optimization at the same time is possible, even though it might seem like a hard task at first. Continue delivering top-notch user experience – just make sure you don’t go overboard and work on your budget management. 

Performance 

Quality is not the only thing that can be compromised if cost optimization is not done correctly. Even though it might be expensive to maintain high-performance levels, this is a justified expense. By keeping the performance at high levels, your teams will be able to achieve the desired results and meet customers’ expectations much faster and with fewer issues. In this case, a balanced approach can help you attain the desired performance levels while still effectively managing resources.

Scalability 

One of the hardest things for businesses to do is to learn how to accommodate changing demands without overspending. To do that, companies need to use predictive analytics and make backup plans for various situations so they would always be prepared for any sort of situation. By allocating resources effectively, you can ensure that you will be able to meet increasing demands easily without spending too much on it. 

Competitive advantage 

Balancing cost optimization, performance, and scalability can give you a major advantage in the market. In this situation, a balance is akin to a golden mean – instead of having to focus on one thing, you will be empowered to achieve your goals with the help of cost-effective solutions that compromise neither quality nor performance and will allow you to reach higher customer satisfaction levels instead.

Long-term viability 

A holistic approach that takes into account cost optimization, performance levels, and the need for scalability is a guarantee toward the success of and long-term viability of the company. Balanced cost optimization is a great way to build a sustainable business model that will not only help your company adjust to the ever-changing market conditions but will also ensure that you remain competitive and drive growth despite all the hardships.

Maintaining balance is not an easy task, especially when you have to keep in mind not just one or two important factors, but at least five. However, there are ways to take the burden off your and your team’s shoulders, and with the right set of tools and principles, you will be able to find the right balance without going through too much trouble.

Why is AI costly and how to decrease spendings?

So, why is AI costly? Although AI could potentially decrease the company’s spendings, it can still be an expensive investment. It is costly due to multiple factors, such as the need for research and development, computational power, talent and expertise, scalability, ongoing maintenance and updates, etc. All of this seems overwhelming, but there are a few ways to deal with the high cost of AI. Here are some methods you can use: 

Focus on data efficiency 

Instead of accumulating vast amounts of data, consider gathering only relevant and quality data instead. You don’t need to pile up data chunks that are of no use to you. To avoid this, employ such data compression techniques as data augmentation or synthetic data generation, which significantly reduces the need for extensive data collection. 

Pre-trained models 

One of the best ways to shorten training time and computational resources is the utilization of pre-trained models. By fine-tuning these models with a small dataset specific to your use case, you save time and resources, which also saves you money.

Cloud services 

Cloud computing platforms have multiple applications and benefits that make them a much better choice compared to on-premises infrastructure. It is easy to monitor, keep safe, and scale as your business grows. Moreover, many platforms offer pay-as-you-go pricing models, which is a much better way to manage your budget and cut expenses. 

Automation & optimization 

By automating various processes and repetitive tasks, you free your team from time-consuming tasks that don’t only require human resources to be completed, but a lot of money as well. Moreover, by implementing the most suitable for your business automation techniques and using AutoML tools, you would be able to streamline a ton of processes, such as model development, feature selection, and hyperparameter tuning, which will save your team a lot of time and effort. Automation may be something that takes time to get used to, but it is worth it in the long run. 

Incremental approach 

Cost optimization should be a step-by-step process. Even if you do have all the resources you need, it’s best to approach a matter of building and optimizing AI infrastructure gradually. Begin with a minimum viable product and 

Open source tools 

There are tons of AI frameworks and libraries available out there, so leverage them instead of spending thousands on expensive tools. Open-source instruments and applications are often free and supported by huge communities that don’t only create those tools but also constantly update them. 

Collaborate with other services and companies

Dealing with such a huge task as building a cost-effective AI infrastructure on your own is not the best idea. Consider working with other startups, consulting firms, and services that specialize in AI and DevOps that would help you build the infrastructure from scratch and avoid the need for long-term investments like hiring an in-house team or buying expensive software. 

Adopting these strategies might take a while, but it won’t take long for you to notice how drastically things will change after taking measures to stop unnecessary expenses. By Investing in AI infrastructure, you take a step toward innovations, and even though it might be hard at first, it is worth it. Moreover, there are experts ready to help you out — so you won’t be alone in this.

How can IT Svit help you optimize your expenses?

By working with the professional IT Svit team, you will be able to achieve numerous goals of yours 2-3 times faster. Our approach is client-centered, meaning that we will create a plan tailored exclusively to your needs and goals. Our team consists of seasoned developers and engineers who know how to create cost effective infrastructure from the ground up and have experience working with such technologies as KWS, AWS, Azure, GCP, and many others. Partnering with IT Svit offers many advantages, including:

We will complete a full assessment of your infrastructure 

Right after we begin our collaboration, our specialists will conduct a thorough analysis of your existing AI infrastructure. This is how we’ll be able to identify areas for improvements and cost-saving opportunities. By understanding your specific needs and conditions, we will know exactly what your business needs are and what it takes to meet them.

Our team of experts will right-size your AI infrastructure

Overprovisioning is a bad habit that almost always leads to unnecessary expenses. One of our main tasks is to point out not only your strengths, but also your weaknesses, and if that is the case, we will help you deal with overprovisioning accordingly. We will ensure that you have just the right amount of storage capacity, network resources, and computing power that would meet your workload demands. 

You will leverage the power of cloud computing with us 

Cloud services are key to cost reduction – and even though it might seem scary to move to the cloud at first, with our professionals, you won’t worry about anything, since we’ve got it covered. We specialize in cloud technologies and can use our knowledge and expertise to help you find the most suitable cloud platform, allocate resources, and take advantage of other cost-effective services and solutions that align with your AI workloads. 

Automation and efficiency are easy to achieve with our pros by your side 

Our team of experts is ready to take on any challenges – and we will be more than happy to assist you with implementing the best DevOps practices and automation methods and tools to streamline your AI workloads. From automating repetitive tasks to enhancing operation efficiency, we will provide you with a solution to every ordeal that doesn’t allow you to max out the AI’s potential.

Scalable & elastic infrastructure is a guarantee

Our team will design your AI infrastructure from scratch, making it scalable and elastic, which leaves enough room for future changes and opportunities to adapt to changing workloads. Thanks to this, you will be able to scale resources up or down as needed, saving money and paying only for what you need and use. 

Cooperation with IT Svit is a journey and not just one short trip 

Our main focus is not just helping you with any projects you’re working on right now; our primary task is to provide you with ongoing support and monitoring to track the performance and cost efficiency of your AI infrastructure. With our continuous support, you will get regular updates that will allow you to make important decisions regarding your infrastructure. With our team, you will keep optimizing your expenses without compromising the quality of your software. 

Here at itsvit.com, you can find out more about our services and how we can help you build a reliable AI infrastructure. Let us know whenever you are ready to tap into the transformative power of AI, and we’ll get started right away!