By Betsy Burton and Adam Pease
Is An AI Platform in Your Near Future?
Yes….Yes….And Yes. In fact, most larger organizations are already using multiple AI platforms. In addition, many organizations are already using AI platforms that are embedded in existing applications and tools.
Over the next year Aragon Research is going to be producing a number of research pieces about this emerging market, Including market definition, an Aragon Research Globe, And very likely downloadable RFP’s and presentations.
So, what is an AI platform, and why has it become so important for end user organizations and technology/service providers to understand this market?
What Is an AI Platform?
An AI platform coordinates AI services to enable organizations to define and develop AI solutions.
The concept of a platform is not new. Infrastructure and application providers have supported platforms for years. A platform typically provides common services that enable content, applications, and services to interoperate.
For example, we have written extensively about a Digital Business Platform, Content Experience Platforms, Communication Automation Platforms, and Enterprise Content Platforms, and many more.
The key aspect of a platform is that it is a software product/service that enables developers, business users and technology providers to add and share content within the environment in order to create their own products/services.
How is an AI Platform Different from Other Platforms?
What makes an AI platform specific and differentiated is that it supports AI technologies and services, such as LLM, SLM, knowledge graphs, computer vision, deep learning, bots/agents, vector database, development tools, etc.
In other words, it provides common AI services to enable the development of AI enabled products.
Current AI platform providers would include infrastructure providers such as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft IBM and Amazon. In addition, there are a number of specialized vertical application providers that will support AI platforms that integrate their stack of technologies, such as Oracle, Salesforce, and Palantir.
Why Are AI Platforms on the Rise Now?
AI platforms are emerging now in response to the rapid adoption and development of generative AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing, and Google Bard. These platforms host new AI models, such as large language models and diffusion models, and enable businesses to leverage their services with varying degrees of flexibility.
We have seen the emergence of these types of platforms for years as technology providers seek to define and control their technology stack and therefore control their market.
What Is the Future of the AI Platforms Market?
As mentioned above, most large organizations are supporting multiple platforms today. Some of them are being brought into their organization by end users who are taking advantage of generative AI technologies. Some of them are being brought in by developers and IT as they work on AI enabling their products and services.
Therefore, the market is quickly becoming inundated by both horizontal and vertical AI platforms.
Therefore, we believe that this market is going to become crowded with a diverse array of AI platforms. And then, over time, it will settle down to a smaller number of dominant AI platforms.
Bottom Line
The AI platform market is relatively new and a number of large and small providers are still emerging in defining their services.
Aragon Research is committed to delivering actionable research that will help end user organizations as well as technology/service providers determine which platform(s) are the most important for them to consider.
I would encourage organizations to watch this research over the next year as we explore this emerging market.
