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Microsoft is testing an AI-powered image creator for Windows 11 Paint

September 29, 2023/in 4TC, Blogs/by Wingman

Based on OpenAI’s DALL-E text-to-image platform, Paint Cocreator will conjure up images in Windows Paint based on your descriptions.

Those of you who’ve ever struggled to draw your own artwork in Microsoft Paint will soon be able to turn to AI to automatically generate your desired images.

In a Windows Insider blog post published Wednesday, Microsoft announced a new AI-powered tool for the Paint app in Windows 11 that will create images for you. Known as Paint Cocreator and based on OpenAI’s DALL-E text-to-image platform, the feature is currently on its way to Windows Insiders.

Like other AI-based image generators, Paint Cocreator will cook up images based on your descriptions. You can submit anything from a few general words to a couple of sentences. But you’ll want to be as descriptive as possible to improve your odds of getting just the right image.

You can also select a particular style of art. When you’re ready, the tool will create and display three different images from which to choose. Select the one you like and you can then fine-tune it in the Paint canvas if you wish.

To let you use Cocreator, however, Microsoft is imposing a credits system as virtual currency, according to its support page for the tool.

By Joining Cocreator, you start you off with 50 credits. Each time you create an image, one credit is used. You can always see how many credits you have left by checking the bottom right area of the Cocreator pane.

Microsoft didn’t explain what would happen if you run out of credits and need more. But hopefully that will get ironed out before the tool hits the release version of Windows 11, assuming this credits system sticks around.

To ensure that Cocreator is being used responsibly, Microsoft will also employ content filtering. The aim here is to prevent people from creating images that are considered harmful, offensive, or inappropriate. The content filter is based on certain standards, such as human dignity, diversity, and inclusion, according to Microsoft.

With all the buzz and interest surrounding AI, image generators have taken off among people who need to generate drawings, paintings, artwork, and other types of graphics. OpenAI offers its DALL-E image creator on which other tools are based. The company is currently testing a new version known as DALL-E 3.

Microsoft’s DALL-E-powered Bing Image Creator works as a standalone tool and as part of its Bing AI chatbot. Other popular tools include Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DreamStudio, and Craiyon.

To try Cocreator at this point, you’ll need to be registered with the Windows Insider program for Windows 11. You’ll also need to be running the Dev or Canary build of Windows 11. And for now, the tool is available only in the US, UK, France, Australia, Canada, Italy, and Germany.

Make sure you’ve downloaded and installed the latest updates for your Windows 11 build. Once Cocreator is accessible, you’ll still need to join a waitlist to use the tool as Microsoft is rolling it out slowly at first. To do this, click the Waitlist button in the Cocreator pane when the tool shows up in your build. You’ll receive an email notice when you’ve been approved to use it.

Source: Microsoft is testing an AI-powered image creator for Windows 11 Paint | ZDNET

The IT Support Dilemma: Your Ultimate Guide to Business Survival

September 28, 2023/in 4TC, Blogs/by Wingman

Are you feeling overwhelmed with all the technical problems in your business? Trying to manage IT issues on top of everything else can be extremely stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. This guide covers actionable advice on how to handle typical IT support dilemmas so that you can focus your time and energy on what matters most: growing your business.

You’ll learn tips and tricks for budgeting resources, finding reliable help, preventing network security threats, and much more – allowing you to build a strong foundation for success. So fasten your seatbelt as we dive deeper into the world of successful IT strategies!

Understanding the IT Support Dilemma

As technology continues to advance, businesses are increasingly reliant on IT support to ensure their operations run smoothly. However, with the IT support dilemma, businesses must navigate the challenge of providing adequate tech support to employees while managing costs.

Lackluster IT support can lead to lost productivity and a potential loss of customers, making it essential for businesses to confront this challenge head-on. Investing in effective IT support can help businesses stay ahead of the curve and ensure their technology stays up-to-date, reliable, and secure. Whether it’s through an in-house IT team or outsourcing to a third-party provider, confronting the IT support dilemma is essential for any business that wants to remain competitive in today’s tech-driven landscape. Plus, with the right IT support, your employees can focus on their core responsibilities without getting bogged down by technical issues, a win-win situation for everyone involved.

How To Set Up Your IT Support System

Setting up an IT support system can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not familiar with the process. However, it’s undeniable that a well-planned support system can make all the difference when it comes to efficiency and issue resolution. The first step in the process is evaluating your current setup. Take a look at what’s currently in place and determine what’s working and what’s not. Once you have an understanding of your current situation, it’s time to explore the different options available.

From hiring in-house support to outsourcing to a third-party vendor, there are pros and cons to each approach. Furthermore, when it comes to outsourcing, you can always find a guide to outsourcing IT support online. That way, you can make an informed decision that is best for your business. When making your decision, consider your budget, business needs, and long-term goals. With the right IT support system in place, you’ll be able to focus on what really matters – growing your business.

Secure Your Network

Cybersecurity is a growing concern for individuals and businesses alike. With the increased use of technology and the internet, it’s more important than ever to secure your network and protect your data from malicious attacks.

Best practices for strengthening cybersecurity include regularly updating your software and operating systems, using strong and unique passwords, implementing antivirus and anti-malware software, and limiting access to sensitive data. Taking these steps and remaining vigilant can only help you with keeping your information safe from cyber threats. Don’t wait until it’s too late to take action – start securing your network today.

Manage Your IT Budget Wisely

Now, this can be a daunting task, especially when you need to cut costs without compromising on the quality of your operations. However, with the right strategies, you can identify areas where you can reduce costs and optimize your budget without compromising the efficiency of your business.

One such strategy is to analyze your IT assets and determine which ones are underutilized or obsolete. You can then eliminate or replace them with more cost-effective alternatives. Another useful approach is to leverage cloud computing instead of investing in expensive hardware and software, as it allows you to pay only for the resources you use. Implementing these and other cost-cutting strategies can not only help you manage your IT budget more wisely but also boost your organization’s overall performance and profitability.

Make Use of Automation Tools & Services

Companies that seek to streamline their operations and save time and money are turning to technology to help them achieve those goals. Automation tools can be used in a variety of ways, from automating repetitive tasks to providing data analysis that can help businesses make better decisions. Making use of these tools and services can enable companies to reduce human error, improve efficiency, and ultimately increase their bottom line.

Furthermore, automation technology is constantly evolving, giving businesses access to even more advanced solutions that can make them more competitive in their markets. Regardless if it’s through automating manufacturing processes or improving customer service through chatbots, there are endless options available to those willing to embrace automation.

Monitor Performance Reliably

Ensuring reliable performance is crucial for any business, which is why tracking performance trends and addressing any issues quickly is essential. By monitoring performance trends, you can identify areas that require improvement and take proactive steps to maintain productivity and efficiency.

However, it’s not always easy to stay on top of performance metrics, especially if you lack technical expertise. This is where expert support comes in. With the right support, you can have peace of mind knowing that any performance issues will be addressed quickly and efficiently. In turn, this will help you focus on optimizing your business operations and achieving your goals. Therefore, whether you’re dealing with technical issues or simply need some guidance, don’t hesitate to rely on expert support for all your performance monitoring needs.

To sum it up, it is evident that having an effective IT support system in place for your business is a must and one that should not be taken lightly. Taking the time to evaluate your current setup, review different options, secure your network with best-in-class practices, manage your IT budget wisely, make use of automation tools and services, and monitor performance reliably will help take your company from good to great. Don’t forget to enlist the help of expert professionals when you need advanced insight or further assistance addressing matters related to any of these areas. After all, preventing unforeseen problems is much easier than cleaning up a mess once it’s already been made.

Source: The IT Support Dilemma: Your Ultimate Guide to Business Survival (swindonlink.com)

Data-driven cyber: empowering government security with focused insights from data

September 27, 2023/in 4TC, Blogs/by Wingman

In recent months, the NCSC has been accelerating its approach to data-driven cyber (DDC). Our goal is to encourage the adoption of an evidence-based approach to cyber security decisions, not only in how we advise external organisations, but also in how we address our own security.

We acknowledge that enterprise cyber security is becoming increasingly complex, and many teams are reluctant to introduce an additional ‘data layer’ due to concerns of becoming overwhelmed. In this blog post, we aim to demonstrate how concentrating on manageable, actionable insights can help teams embrace data-driven cyber security.

Our example showcases a collaboration between two teams within the NCSC:

the Vulnerability Reporting Service (VRS)
the Data Campaigns and Mission Analytics (DCMA) team

The Vulnerability Management Team leads the NCSC’s response to vulnerabilities, while DCMA use their expertise in data science and analysis to provide the NCSC Government Team with evidence based security insights.

Small actionable insights drive action

Many government teams, including the VRS, gather and manage vast amounts of valuable data. The challenge they face is how to best analyse this, given the misconception that developing any useful insights requires a complete overhaul of existing workflows.

This misconception stems from the idea that implementing DDC involves plugging all data into a complex ‘master formula’ to unveil hidden insights and narratives. However, it’s essential to recognise that, especially in the beginning, DDC should be viewed as a tool for generating ‘small yet actionable insights’ that can enhance decision-making. This simpler and more focused approach can yield significant benefits.

Vulnerability Avoidability Assessment

In the case of the VRS we did exactly that, starting with the data sets that were available to the team and then focusing on a single insight that could be used to have a meaningful evidence-based security conversation.

To this end we created the Vulnerability Avoidability Assessment (VAA), an analytic that uses two internal data sources and one public source to determine what proportion of vulnerability reports were a result of out-of-date software. The data sources comprised of:

number of vulnerability reports received by VRS
number of reports where out-of-date software was listed as a reason
public vulnerability disclosure database

We created this analytic knowing that patch management is one category of vulnerability that could be influenced, and that diving deeper into the link between patch management and the vulnerabilities reported through the VRS would provide us with a security discussion point about how vulnerabilities can potentially be avoided or reduced.

Our analysis

We gained a deeper insight into the impact of unpatched software on government systems by comparing the number of vulnerability reports resulting from outdated software with information from an open source database. This database provided estimates of how long these vulnerabilities had been publicly known, and when patches had become available.

Using the above approach we were able to define an ‘avoidable vulnerability’ as one that has been publicly known for a considerable time, to the extent that a responsible organisation would reasonably be expected to have taken the necessary actions to apply the required updates and patches.

Our analysis of data from 2022 (refer to Table 1, below) revealed that each month the VRS receives a considerable number of vulnerability reports directly linked to software that was no longer up to date. Ranging from 1.6% to a peak of 30.7% of vulnerabilities in a single month, over the course of the year.

TABLE 1. TOTAL NUMBER OF OUT-OF-DATE SOFTWARE REPORTS COMPARED TO THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VULNERABILITY (VULN) REPORTS RECEIVED FOR 2022.

We also investigated how long the software vulnerabilities went unpatched before they were exploited. Referring to NCSC guidance, which recommends applying all released updates for critical or high risk vulnerabilities within 14 days (NCSC Cyber Essentials guidance on ‘Security Update Management’, Page 13), we chose a 30-day buffer as a consistent timeframe for applying patches, regardless of their severity. Separating the timelines into these increments, we found that 70% of outdated software vulnerabilities reported to the VRS were due to software remaining unpatched for more than 30 days (refer to Chart 1, below).

CHART 1. SHOWCASES THE LENGTH OF TIME A VULNERABILITY HAD BEEN IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

This newfound understanding provided the VRS team with sufficient data to have an evidenced based discussion with stakeholders regarding their approach to patch management. Providing the data insights to support a case for meaningfully reducing the number of vulnerability reports received by the VRS against government systems.

Conclusions

The journey towards DDC has highlighted the immense value of leveraging data to make evidence-based security decisions. The collaboration between the VRS and the DCMA team serves as a concrete example of how data can inform decision making. It is essential for organisations to recognise that adopting DDC does not require a complete overhaul of existing systems, but rather the ability to focus on extracting small but actionable insights that can drive behaviours and decisions.

Source: Data-driven cyber: empowering government security with… – NCSC.GOV.UK

Meta announces AI chatbots with ‘personality’

September 26, 2023/in 4TC, Blogs/by Wingman

Meta has announced a series of new chatbots to be used in its Messenger service.

The chatbots will have “personality” and specialise in certain subjects, like holidays or cooking advice.

It is the latest salvo in a chatbot arms race between tech companies desperate to produce more accurate and personalised artificial intelligence.

The chatbots are still a work in progress with “limitations”, said boss Mark Zuckerberg.

In California, during Meta’s first in-person event since before the pandemic, Mr Zuckerberg said that it had been an “amazing year for AI”.

The company is calling its main chatbot “Meta AI” and can be used in messaging. For example, users can ask Meta AI questions in chat “to settle arguments” or ask other questions.

The BBC has not yet tested the chatbot which is based on Llama 2, the large language model that the company released for public commercial use in July.

Several celebrities have also signed up to lend their personalities to different types of chatbots, including Snoop Dogg and Kendall Jenner.

The idea is to create chatbots that are not just designed to answer questions.

“This isn’t just going to be about answering queries,” Zuckerberg said. “This is about entertainment”.

According to Meta, NFL star Tom Brady will play an AI character called ‘Bru’, “a wisecracking sports debater” and YouTube star MrBeast will play ‘Zach’, a big brother “who will roast you”.

Mr Zuckerberg said there were still “a lot of limitations” around what the bots could answer.

The chatbots will be rolled out in the coming days and only in the US initially.

Mr Zuckerberg also discussed the metaverse – a virtual world – which is a concept that Mr Zuckerberg has so far spent tens of billions of dollars on.

Although Meta had already announced its new virtual reality headset, Quest 3, the company gave further details at the event.

Meta’s boss described the headset as the first “mainstream” mixed reality headset. Cameras facing forward will mean the headset will allow for augmented reality. It will be available from 10 October.

The firm’s big, long-term bet on the metaverse still appears yet to pay off, with Meta’s VR division suffering $21bn (£17bn) in losses since the start of 2022.

The Quest 3 came after Apple entered the higher-priced mixed reality hardware market with the Vision Pro earlier this year.

Mat Day, global gaming strategy director for EssenceMediacom, said Mark Zuckerberg had “reinvigorated” the VR sector.

“Meta’s VR roadmap is now firmly positioned around hardware priced for the mass market. This is a stark contrast to Apple’s approach which is aimed at the high end tech enthusiast,” he said.

Meta’s announcement came on the same day as rival OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed creator of ChatGPT, confirmed its chatbot can now browse the internet to provide users with current information. The artificial intelligence-powered system was previously trained only using data up to September 2021.

Source: Meta announces AI chatbots with ‘personality’ – BBC News

How AI Can Benefit Small Businesses: How to Get Started with Applying AI

September 6, 2023/in 4TC/by Wingman

In our last piece we outlined the two generation of AI that are empowering businesses to achieve more, using less time and resources, as well as some of the many possible benefits that your business can enjoy from using it. For small businesses, getting started with applying AI does not have to be overly complicated. It all starts with mapping technological territories and workflows, identifying the potential for AI-driven solutions to address challenges and add value, and creating a roadmap for implementing these solutions into the business.

How Many Small Businesses Are Adopting AI?

A 2022 government report exploring the adoption of the latest generation of AI technologies such as data analytics and machine learning, provides some interesting insights.

Around 68% of large companies, 34% of medium sized companies, and 15% of small companies have adopted at least one next-gen AI technology. The majority of businesses have adopted or plan to adopt next-gen AI technology in the coming years, and even though adoptions of it are correlated to size, many innovative firms of all sizes are adopting AI today.

The good news is that in the next few years, it’s unlikely that most small businesses are going to be swept away by competitors using this form of AI, and this is also a great opportunity to start getting ahead and laying out a roadmap, including for simpler business process automations. On the other hand, further down the line, adopting the next generation of AI will become increasingly necessary to maintain a competitive edge.

So, how can your business get started with adopting AI to automate its defined business processes and to access more advanced features such as data analytics? Here are the three key steps:

Map Your Technological Territory and Workflows

Start by mapping out the technology that you use to undertake your workflows and list what automations could be possible within them. Some items on this list may be more viable for your business than others, but that’s okay, the next step will examine if they can be realised or not. There are other more certain opportunities within the technology that you might already be using. For example, many businesses are missing on some low-hanging fruit in their Microsoft 365 environment, which offers automation capabilities via its Power Automate tool.

By mapping your workflows and the tools involved in them, you can start to create a list of ideas for either enhancing or automating aspects of your workflows to empower your business.

Find and Assess AI-Driven Solutions

This step involves doing your homework and looking around for tools such as software, that can be used to automate or empower aspects of your workflows. You may be surprised by what you find! This research can pay off by helping you to find solutions, understand how they work and how compatible they are with your business, and with these insights, a better understanding of how they can be integrated into your business.

Assessment will also be crucial, as it is not always easy to quantify the benefit of a new technology solution without careful consideration. By comparing what new solutions can offer, and how they can benefit your business, you will be able to prioritise the solutions that stand to contribute the most value.

Create A Roadmap

You may already have a technology roadmap that AI-driven solutions can be integrated into, or perhaps you may want to make a roadmap from scratch. Either way, the roadmap lays out the timelines, steps, and considerations for implementing AI-driven solutions in your business in a way that will minimise disruption. The roadmap should be segmented into projects for each implementation, that will allow you to work with stakeholders, budget appropriately, prepare your business, and ensure a smooth series of implementations as your roadmap unfolds.

The roadmap will help you to prioritise the solutions to implement and provide a realistic timeline for preparing your business to integrate it fully. In all, it’s your practical plan for realising the benefits of AI in your business.

We hope that this piece has been a useful guide for getting started on your journey with AI. Remember, there is plenty of time to undertake careful planning to prepare your business for the transition, and many other businesses will likely be in a similar position. That said, the sooner you can get started, the more your business will be able to get ahead of the competition and use AI as a lever for achieving more profitable growth.

We Are 4TC Managed IT Services

4TC can support you with all the services you need to run your business effectively, from email and domain hosting to fully managing your whole IT infrastructure. Setting up a great IT infrastructure is just the first step. Keeping it up-to-date, safe and performing at its peak requires consistent attention.

We can act as either your IT department or to supplement an existing IT department. We pride ourselves in developing long-term relationships that add value to your business with high quality managed support, expert strategic advice, and professional project management. Get assistance with your IT challenges today by getting in touch, we’ll be glad to assist you!

How AI Can Benefit Small Businesses: What it is and What it can Do

September 5, 2023/in Uncategorized/by Wingman

The adoption of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in business is gathering pace across the world, standing to offer tremendous benefits to businesses that get ahead of the curve of adoption. The accessibility of AI has also exploded in research years, with small and medium businesses able to access and deploy it like never before.

The benefits on offer are vast. Fundamentally, AI enables businesses to achieve more, using less time and resources. With the next generation of AI available today, it also offers data-driven insights that can empower business strategies, marketing outreach efforts and operations, among many other areas. In this piece we will introduce you to AI, break it down into two generations, and outline what it can do in businesses. In our next piece, we will give you a handy guide for getting started with applying it in your business.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

As the name implies, AI describes technology that mimics human intelligence. AI is able to work with information based on categories and rules. Let’s take an example of a business that has a contact form on its website to take enquiries. When a key detail such as a phone number is missing, AI can recognise this, and prompt the user to enter the missing number. Now this is a simple example in today’s world! AI is also capable of far more complex tasks, as is commonly seen now with ChatGPT’s ability to answer highly specific and abstract questions alike.

To understand the scope of benefits that AI can bring to a business, we can simplify it into two generations. The first of these is based on explicit and specific instructions, while the newer generation is able to work with vast datasets and operate under uncertain conditions.

The Two Generations of AI and How They Work

The first generation of AI has been around for decades and is sometimes termed ‘narrow’ AI. This kind of AI could take and carry out explicit instructions and follow a concrete process. This technology is still very useful today and underpins a variety of businesses processes; taking a somewhat more sophisticated example, a program can be designed to flag invoices of a certain amount by sending an automated email address to a designated email address in a finance department.

While valuable, a new generation of ‘broad’ AI is emerging that can solve more complicated problems and use past data to make even better decisions and suggestions. The new generation uses large datasets, cloud technology, and machine learning algorithms to derive correlations and predictions in real time for users. Let’s outline a few key examples.

The next generation of AI is already present in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem and will be extended with the release of Microsoft’s CoPilot. For example, when you’re designing a PowerPoint presentation, broad AI is what enables it to offer design suggestions that reflect the wording and structure of the content you’re writing; while ChatGPT can take a set of meeting notes and a prompt of criteria and then structure it into an action plan. This generation of AI is being used in a range of other areas too, for business intelligence, marketing design, planning and much more.

Where and How AI Can Benefit Your Small Business

For a small business, using AI is most practically possible through Software as a Solution (SaaS) providers that have inbuilt AI functionalities. This includes the Microsoft 365 platform, but a business can also take advantage of AI-driven features through accounting, marketing and project management solutions. There are some solutions that are a step further, such as using Microsoft 365’s Power BI (Business Intelligence) platform, which can create data-driven insights after it is fed a structured set of data inputs.

The benefits of applying AI are wide-ranging but include:

Saved Time: less time and resources will be needed to do the same tasks, as AI will be able to work around the clock and at a faster speed.
Saved Money: The capital costs involved in workflows or employing human capital to conduct manual processes is reduced.
Focus on higher-value tasks: You can free up your team’s time to develop new skills as well as to focus on more value-adding tasks.
Empower Productivity: AI can work with prompts and inputs to offer helpful decisions that provide value to your team’s everyday tasks, such as creating documents and emails.
Data-Driven Insights: AI is able to derive insights from data that might otherwise be missed. This might include detecting subtle correlations within in a spreadsheet of data, or identifying new customer segments through analysis of a company’s CRM data for example.
Personalisation at Scale: From responsive chatbots that use chat prompts and customer detail to give personalised responses and recommendations, to personalised email messaging for different customer segments, AI is able to deliver personalisation at scale.
Advanced Cyber Security: Using its ability to analyse patterns, AI is being used in modern cyber security tools to detect anomalies and prevent threats, as well as sourcing helpful cyber intelligence online.

We hope that this guide has been useful for understanding AI and the scope of what is possible for your small business. Of course, applying AI to its full potential will take time, but by understanding what can be achieved you can start to chart a course to adopting it, which will sharpen your competitive edge and empower your business in a range of areas. In our next piece, we will give you a three-step guide for getting started with applying AI in your business.

We Are 4TC Managed IT Services

4TC can support you with all the services you need to run your business effectively, from email and domain hosting to fully managing your whole IT infrastructure. Setting up a great IT infrastructure is just the first step. Keeping it up-to-date, safe and performing at its peak requires consistent attention.

Tel: 020 7250 3840

Latest News for 4TC

Microsoft is testing an AI-powered image creator for Windows 11 Paint

The IT Support Dilemma: Your Ultimate Guide to Business Survival

Understanding the IT Support Dilemma

How To Set Up Your IT Support System

Secure Your Network

Manage Your IT Budget Wisely

Make Use of Automation Tools & Services

Monitor Performance Reliably

Data-driven cyber: empowering government security with focused insights from data

Small actionable insights drive action

Vulnerability Avoidability Assessment

Our analysis

TABLE 1. TOTAL NUMBER OF OUT-OF-DATE SOFTWARE REPORTS COMPARED TO THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VULNERABILITY (VULN) REPORTS RECEIVED FOR 2022.

CHART 1. SHOWCASES THE LENGTH OF TIME A VULNERABILITY HAD BEEN IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

Conclusions

Meta announces AI chatbots with ‘personality’

Meta has announced a series of new chatbots to be used in its Messenger service.

How AI Can Benefit Small Businesses: How to Get Started with Applying AI

How Many Small Businesses Are Adopting AI?

Map Your Technological Territory and Workflows

Find and Assess AI-Driven Solutions

Create A Roadmap

We Are 4TC Managed IT Services

How AI Can Benefit Small Businesses: What it is and What it can Do

What is Artificial Intelligence?

The Two Generations of AI and How They Work

Where and How AI Can Benefit Your Small Business

We Are 4TC Managed IT Services

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