TechForge recently caught up with Gil Pekelman, CEO of all-in-one IT management platform Atera, to discuss how AI is quickly becoming IT professionals’ number one partner.
Can you tell us a bit about Atera and what it does?
We launched the Atera all-in-one platform for IT management in 2016. That was a long time ago. It was very broad, covering everything from technical stuff like patching and security to ongoing support, alerting, automation, ticket management, reporting, analytics, and more.
Atera is a single platform with one pane of glass for all your IT. The power of it is that you can manage all of this with a single code base and a single database. We're the only company that does this. For years, the alternative was to buy four or five different products and connect them all somehow, which is usually very difficult.
The reality is, it's a single code base and a single database. It's all connected, it's streamlined, and it's very intuitive. I mean, within five minutes of signing up or starting a trial, you're already up and running and onboarded. It's that intuitive.
We have over 12,000 customers in 120 countries around the world, and the UK is currently our second largest country in terms of the size of our business, behind the US.
What emerging trends do you think we will see in the AI field this year?
From the beginning, we have been committed to building AI into the DNA of our company. Our goal has always been to use data to identify problems and alert humans so they can solve or avoid them. In the beginning, our focus was on leveraging data to deliver solutions.
For the past nine years, we've been working to empower AI to handle mundane IT tasks, freeing up experts to focus on the more exciting things. With the launch of early access to Chat GPT and Open AI tools a year and a half ago, we pioneered a new trend we call Action AI.
Unlike typical generative AI, which creates content like songs or emails, Action AI operates in the real world, interacting with hardware and software to perform tasks autonomously. Our AI understands and independently solves IT problems, moving beyond mere interaction into real-world action.
Atera offers Copilot and Autopilot. Can you explain these?
Autopilot is autonomous. It knows about problems that may occur with your computer. As a widget on your computer, it communicates with you and fixes the problems autonomously. However, there are boundaries of what it is and isn't allowed to fix. And anything it is allowed to handle must be bulletproof; 100% safe or private; it has no opportunity to do any damage, etc.
So if a ticket is opened or a complaint is raised, if it's outside of these boundaries, Copilot kicks in. Copilot empowers IT professionals.
They are both companions. Autopilot is a companion that helps you solve everyday, recurring problems like resetting passwords, printer issues, installing software, etc. Copilot is a companion that helps IT professionals deal with the problems they face on a daily basis. They offer a range of tools.
Copilot is very sophisticated: if you have a problem, you ask a question and it not only gives you an answer like ChatGPT does, it investigates and runs all kinds of tests on your network, computers, printers, and then it draws conclusions and creates the actions needed to resolve it. However, it doesn't solve the problem for you; it's still up to you, the IT professional, to think about the various pieces of information and decide what you want to do.
Copilot cuts IT professionals' workday by nearly half. It's been tested in the field for some time and we're excited to officially release it today. Autopilot, on the other hand, is still in beta.
What advice would you give to companies looking to integrate AI technology into their business operations?
While we strongly encourage businesses to jump start their AI technology adoption, it is important to research and select the right, secure generative AI tool. Implementing AI can provide a variety of benefits, including automating routine tasks, increasing efficiency and productivity, improving accuracy by reducing human error, and faster problem resolution. That said, choosing the right generative AI tool is key to reaping the benefits without sacrificing security. For example, with our collaboration with Microsoft, your data is safe. Your data stays in the system and the AI does not use your data for training or to expand its database. This ensures safety and provides great benefits.
Incorporating AI into products enables two important aspects: First, IT teams are no longer bogged down in mundane, tedious tasks, and second, for end users, issues like a stuck printer, forgotten password, or slow internet are resolved in seconds or minutes instead of hours. This creates significant, measurable efficiency gains.
There are many different AIs out there. Some are beneficial, some are not. Some are just disguised Chat GPT and have a very thin layer of it. Our work literally changes the entire way you interact with IT. We know that when IT has issues, everything stops working and neither do you. Our solution ensures that everything keeps running smoothly.
What can we expect from AI in the coming years?
AI will become much more intelligent and cognitive in the future. One notable advancement will be its improved ability to infer, predict, and understand data. This capability will enable AI to foresee problems and solve them autonomously, providing incredible levels of reasoning capabilities.
We expect two advances, as demonstrated by the latest OpenAI release: rapid improvements in AI intelligence and vastly improved empathetic interactions, to transform how humans and AI interact.
Our work demonstrates this shift: as non-technical users interact with our software to solve their problems, the AI responds with a highly empathetic, human-like approach, making users feel as if they are talking to a real IT professional, ensuring a seamless and pleasant experience.
AI will continue to evolve, becoming increasingly powerful and capable. Recent breakthroughs in understanding how AI works will not only increase its capabilities, but also ensure its secure and ethical use, strengthening its role as a force for good.
What plans does Atera have for next year?
We're excited to announce the upcoming release of Autopilot in the coming months. Copilot, a comprehensive suite of advanced tools designed specifically for IT professionals, is already helping us improve efficiency and effectiveness, but Autopilot represents the next big advancement.
It's currently in beta, so anyone who wants to try it can. Autopilot interacts directly with end users to automate and resolve common IT issues that burden IT staff, like password resets and broken printers. By handling these mundane tasks, Autopilot frees up IT professionals to focus on more strategic and rewarding activities, ultimately improving overall productivity and job satisfaction.
For more information, visit atera.com.
Atera is a sponsor of TechEx North America 2024, taking place in Santa Clara, USA from June 5th to 6th. Visit the Atera team at booth 237 to experience a personalized demo and get the chance to test your IT skills and win prizes in the company's first AIT game, APOLLO IT.
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