AI assistants draft quotes, summarise long documents and sort the inbox. Still, many SMEs hesitate – rightly so. Copying customer data, contracts or HR questions into a cloud service passes confidential information to third parties, often abroad.
The alternative: AI on your own servers
There are now powerful open-source language models that can run on your own hardware. Tools like Ollama make operating them comparatively easy. The data never leaves your network or our data centre in Switzerland.
For many everyday tasks these models are more than enough:
- Pre-sort emails and draft replies.
- Summarise documents such as minutes, contracts or quotes.
- Retrieve internal knowledge: the AI answers questions based on your own manuals and templates.
- Extract data from receipts and pass it on in a structured way.
Automation as the backbone
AI only reaches its full potential when it is built into your processes. With an automation platform such as n8n, we connect AI with email, ERP, file storage and calendar. For example: an enquiry arrives by email, the AI identifies the request, creates an entry in the CRM and suggests a reply – a person checks and sends it.
What hardware is needed?
For smaller models, a server with a current graphics card is often enough. For several simultaneous users or larger models, more power is needed. Alternatively, we run the AI for you in our infrastructure in Switzerland.
What to watch out for
- Start with a clear use case, not with the technology.
- Check the results: AI can be wrong. For important decisions, a person remains responsible.
- Document data protection: which data goes where? With local AI, the answer is simple.
Conclusion
AI doesn’t have to be a data protection risk. Run locally and automated sensibly, it saves time without your data leaving the company. We are happy to show you what is possible in your business – more under automation & AI.
Frequently asked questions
Are local AI models as good as ChatGPT?
For many everyday tasks such as summarising, sorting and drafting, they are more than sufficient. For very complex tasks, the largest cloud models are sometimes still ahead.
What does your own AI server cost?
It depends on model size and number of users. To get started, a server with a current graphics card is often enough. Alternatively, we run the AI for you.
Is n8n safe for company data?
n8n can be self-hosted. The data stays on your servers and credentials are stored encrypted.
