Modern technology has enabled farmers to obtain impressive yields that sustain entire populations while allowing them to become as efficient as possible with their available resources. However, most of this technology is dependent upon stable electrical grids, large-scale aqueducts, and a steady fuel supply, all of which are not readily available to millions of farmers around the world.

One of these farmers is Monica, who depended on a water well located on her property as her only water source to sustain both her farm and her family. To make matters worse, climate change made rain increasingly scarce in her region of Kenya, Africa, which further decreased her available water supply and forced her to work harder just to maintain her current yields. Thankfully, just as things seemed impossible, digital transformation provided her with the solution she needed to secure a better future.

In this video, you’ll learn about Monica’s story and how, thanks to solar-powered Microsoft technology, she was able to automate her entire irrigation system, gain access to accurate weather forecasts, and obtain more income year round.

The benefits of AI are undeniable, yet the technology itself is still not widely seen as a surefire investment by a large percentage of today’s decision makers. As a matter of fact, a recent study revealed that only 40 percent out of 1,500 executives have stated that they’re currently executing one AI initiative, or are in the process of doing so. There are multiple reasons for this— among them, a shortage of AI professionals, plus challenges when calculating profitability —but the real silver lining is that the fight for greater inclusion of AI-driven projects starts by bringing solid arguments to the boardroom.

In this article, you’ll read about four evidence-based and time-proven cases you can use to push forward the execution of your artificial intelligence initiatives.

Read More…

Today, artificial intelligence is becoming essential to the daily operations of the world’s leading enterprises. This integration has allowed subsequent breakthroughs in AI to trickle down into other industries and smaller-sized businesses, allowing them to reap the benefits of technological advancement and automation. Thanks to this snowball effect, artificial intelligence is no longer the work of science fiction, but a relevant and necessary tool that can help you achieve previously unattainable business opportunities and increase efficiency like never before.

In this infographic, you’ll learn more about the history of Microsoft’s AI breakthroughs to gain a better perspective on how your current initiatives can be complemented or enhanced by Azure AI.

View: Begin your artificial intelligence journey with Microsoft

When it comes to digital transformation, becoming more efficient has always been a top priority, especially with regard to natural resources. Here, smart farming has allowed the industry to evolve in an exponentially more sustainable way while also delivering innovative solutions to issues such as population growth, climate change, and livestock nurturing.

Subscribe now to get the latest news on how you can start creating a smarter farm, fueled by sustainable energy sources and powered by the intelligence of Microsoft Azure AI.

View: Create a smarter farm powered by sustainable energy and artificial intelligence. Learn more about Microsoft Azure AI.

Sometimes, having access to the right data at the right time can enable life-saving decisions. If you don’t believe so, just ask Monica, a Kenyan farmer who has to leverage water from a well in her back yard to irrigate her crops as well as provide her family with drinkable water. Due to climate change, rainy seasons have become more and more scarce, forcing her to carefully manage her water output depending on the weather patterns in her region.

Watch this video to learn how solar-powered digital transformation and Microsoft Azure are empowering farmers like Monica with easily accessible, accurate data that allows them to effectively predict rainfall, control their irrigation systems, and increase yields.

Emerging technologies always demand new approaches to risks and opportunities. They often force us to rethink and modify our existing methodologies in favor of more integrated and interconnected processes.

In this regard, artificial intelligence is definitely no exception. However, there’s still a lot of mysticism around what implications AI might have for today’s businesses and what measures organizations must take to ensure the successful execution of their AI initiatives.

In this article, you’ll learn about four ways in which ways AI is poised to turn the enterprise landscape on its head and how your business can better prepare for its ventures into artificial intelligence.

Read More…

Digital transformation enabled businesses to obtain data from places they never thought possible and to monitor every aspect of customer interactions to gain a holistic view of their customers. Companies soon realized, though, that an overabundance of unstructured data was not only wasteful, but could also become counter-productive, and that some automation was needed to identify the data that could be acted upon to generate real value. However, as the influx of data grew more and more massive, it became clear that more advanced methods of automation were needed to keep up with the scale of commercial IoT and digital operations. Enter artificial intelligence.

In this infographic, you’ll learn why capitalizing on AI has become crucial for today’s leading enterprises, and how investing in Microsoft Azure AI can help you create a smarter, faster-growing business.

View: 3 reasons to invest in Microsoft Azure AI

Digital hasn’t only made things more comfortable for us, it’s also made them better for those without access to basic health or basic services around the world. One example of this is, by creating an interconnected world, we gain a better understanding of how technology can be used to control our natural resources more efficiently and accessibly. While these use cases may be employed in the First World to make existing services self-sustainable and cleaner, in more remote parts of the globe they can be used to create new services that make life better for everyone.

Subscribe now to learn more about how you can utilize Microsoft Azure to make your clean energy solutions a reality.

View: Harness the power of affordable, clean, and sustainable energy. Learn more about Microsoft Azure.

“Work smarter, not harder” has become the motto of the digital age. Yet in some parts of the world where modern technology is not accessible, hard, manual labor is the only choice people have to get things done.

For example, in parts of Africa where running water is not available, farmers like Monica must manually extract water from a well and distribute it amongst her family, crops, and animals. This isn’t just exhausting but also extremely inefficient, and can lead to small yields for such an extensive level of effort. To make matters worse, seasonal changes greatly impact the amount of water available, making life for people like Monica that much harder.

So, how can you leverage the power of modern technology to help these farmers produce more food and secure a better future? Watch this video to learn how SunCulture is using solar energy to bring hope and prosperity to Monica and more farmers like her in Kenya.

If you’re reading this, then chances are that getting easy access to clean, running water isn’t an issue for you. But for around 43 percent of the world’s total population, this simply is not the case. For them, obtaining the drinkable water they need to sustain their families requires hard work and commitment.

To make matters even more critical, most of them live in rural areas in which farming is their main source of income. This means that any available water must be carefully distributed between their crops and family, an exhausting situation that can take all day just to keep a small patch of land in farmable condition.

Such is the case for Monica, a Kenyan farmer who every day must assume the roles of mother of four, farmer, merchant, and housekeeper just to make ends meet. In this video, you’ll learn how she managed her dwindling water supply to keep her farm yielding, family fed, and trade at the local market—a situation that was soon to improve dramatically thanks to modern technology.