Playing with Artificial Intelligence

Streamlining Business Operations with Comprehensive ERP Software
July 13, 2023 by
Playing with Artificial Intelligence
Stride Retail, Nate Elwood

Here at Stride we love using technology to make our lives easier.  That's really the reason we launched Stride.  We wanted to provide people with a cost-effective way to use technology to make their lives better.   You could say that's one of our guiding principles.

As enthusiasts of all things innovative, we of course have been playing around with Chat GPT and other artificial intelligence chatbots.  It's fascinating to see what they can do and the ideas that they can help generate.  For me, playing with Chat GPT has become something of a way to quickly brainstorm with someone that is eager to share their thoughts and opinions and never gets tired.  It's quite fun actually. 

Today, however, I started exploring with a new chatbot named Bard.  Bard is a product of Google.  Unlike Chat GPT, Bard as access to the internet.  (You Chat GPT might bring back access to the internet for its' AI, but for now Chat GPT's knowledge ends in 2021.  Anything after that time Chat GPT can't tell us much about.)  The disparity between the two chatbots is quite astounding.  Chat GPT is fun and conversational.  It excels at coming up with ideas, but sometimes can't help due to its limited knowledge.  Bard on the other hand is like talking to an encyclopedia.  Bard knows EVERYTHING.  And it's pretty good at understanding what you're asking for.  But, don't expect it to be very helpful or playful.

As I played with Bard this morning I thought to myself I wonder what Bard would say about Stride Retail.  So, here's the results:

Company overview: Stride Retail is a software company that provides business management software for retail businesses. Their software is designed to help businesses streamline their operations, improve efficiency, and increase profitability.
Products and services: Stride Retail offers a suite of integrated software solutions that cover all aspects of retail business operations, including inventory management, point of sale, customer relationship management, and e-commerce.
Pricing: Stride Retail's pricing is based on a monthly subscription model. The price of each subscription plan depends on the number of users and the features that are included.
Customers: Stride Retail's customers include a wide range of retail businesses, from small independent stores to large national chains.
Location: Stride Retail is headquartered in Logan, Utah. They also have offices in Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California. (On this note, we only have the office in Logan right now.  Bard was not quite right here.)


Here are some of the pros and cons of Stride Retail:

Pros:

Affordable: Stride Retail's pricing is very competitive, especially for small businesses.
Feature-rich: Stride Retail's software offers a wide range of features that can help businesses streamline their operations.
Easy to use: Stride Retail's software is easy to use and navigate.
Scalable: Stride Retail's software can be scaled to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.


Cons:

Not as well-known as some other ERP solutions: Stride Retail is not as well-known as some other ERP solutions, such as SAP and Oracle.
Limited integration with other software: Stride Retail's software does not integrate with as many other software programs as some other ERP solutions.


Overall, Stride Retail is a good option for small and medium-sized retail businesses that are looking for an affordable and feature-rich ERP solution. However, businesses that need a more comprehensive solution or that need to integrate their ERP with other software programs may want to consider other options.

I hope this helps!

So, that's what Bard has to say about Stride.  Not bad for being relatively new in the AI world.  This was a fun exercise, but I will note that I think the "con" that Bard mentioned about limited integration is a little mis-leading.  We may not have a lot of integrations, but what we lack in integrations we more than make up for in additional modules.  Our belief is that Stride is so comprehensive that it eliminates the need to integrate with other software.  This saves you time and money by keeping everything in one place.

With that said I think that AI has a bright future ahead and can be a very valuable tooll in organizing your business and being a "virtual personal assistant".  The capabilities and usefulness will only continue to grow.

Have you been using AI in your business?  Where do you think this technology will take us next?​

Playing with Artificial Intelligence
Stride Retail, Nate Elwood July 13, 2023
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