Public vs Private vs Hybrid AI

The rise of AI is also bringing complex decisions for operations leaders, as they grapple with seizing its advantages while keeping data safe.  

The questions we’re hearing from clients are currently following a similar theme: when should they choose local (private-hosted) AI tools and when are public AI tools the better fit?

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Public vs private or hybrid AI: a quick rule of thumb

·      Public LLMs: Fastest for non-sensitive prompts, ideation, and knowledge gathering.

·      Private/local: For use when data is sensitive or query volume is high.

·      Hybrid(uses both): Public for speed, local for trust and control. For most firms, a hybrid approach gets the job done best.

Choosing whether to adopt public or private AI tools, or a hybrid model, means careful consideration of your governance needs and workflow. Through our AI consultancy work, Synetec undertakes readiness assessments and strategic planning to map out exactly what is right for your business – and to ensure you start seeing positive measurable outcomes from the word go.  

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Governance that won’t keep you up at night

Synetec guides you with your every compliance and protection need, for internal reassurance and continued adherence to external regulation.

To adopt AI with maximum peace of mind, we recommend you lock down the basics:

• No use of your data to train public model.
• Be mindful of sensitive data, included in prompts that can be stored.
• Keep audit logs, entitlements and access controls intact.
• Get all the above right before you scale.

Costs in plain English

With a local AI setup, your private cloud can read sensitive information (emails and so on), and answer with cited sources. Access is controlled, with actions audited, and performance is automatically measured.  Local AI has a more limited offering of available tools, but privacy is assured. Local AI does carry a higher initial setup cost than public tools but becomes more cost-effective when used at scale.

Public AI, which has a pay-per-token structure, works well for occasional or exploratory usage. Unlike private AI, you have your pick of tools - from Chat GPT to Perplexity and everything in between.

How Synetec helps

We map your ‘where to use public vs local’ lines, harden governance, and ensure you reach measurable outcomes quickly, not months from now. Then we track usage and cost so you can prove value while keeping your data safe.

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Way forward  

Want a 30-minute sanity check on your AI approach? We’ll review your use-cases, data sensitivity, and cost profile, and suggest the best way forward. Contact us here: https://www.synetec.co.uk/services/ai-insights

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Read our AI consultancy case studies

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