At the Crossroads of AI: ChatGPT OpenAI or Azure OpenAI?

Information technology (IT) is undergoing a significant paradigm shift with OpenAI’s large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 and ChatGPT.

This revolution is reminiscent of the early days of the Internet in the mid-90s. While many enterprise businesses currently restrict access to OpenAI’s public ChatGPT endpoint due to valid concerns, adopting Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service can be a sensible choice for your business.

Azure OpenAI on Microsoft Azure ensures secure data and custom AI apps

Azure OpenAI Service, hosted on Microsoft Azure, offers private instances of OpenAI LLMs. This service allows you to leverage generative AI on your proprietary data and within your custom applications. It provides private access through the integration of Private Link, enabling you to access your models within your virtual network infrastructure using private IP addresses. This ensures the security and compliance of your data.

Azure OpenAI refines GPT models using private data, tailored for needs

One of the advantages of Azure OpenAI Service is the ability to fine-tune your private GPT models using your own data. This empowers you to customize the models according to your specific needs. The service integrates natively with Azure Resource Manager (ARM), providing benefits such as high availability, security, and organizational governance.

Azure OpenAI shields data, capitalizing on Microsoft Azure’s strength

While OpenAI’s public endpoints pose risks to private data, Azure OpenAI Service mitigates these risks by offering private access and the ability to train models on your own data. It also leverages the features and capabilities of Microsoft Azure, a trusted and established cloud platform.

Here are some reasons to consider when deciding not to use ChatGPT from OpenAI with your corporate data

1. Data Security: When using ChatGPT from OpenAI, there may be concerns about the security and privacy of your corporate data. OpenAI’s data usage policy states that they may use content such as prompts, responses, uploaded images, and generated images to improve their services. This could potentially expose your sensitive corporate information to third parties.
2. Compliance and Regulatory Requirements: Depending on your industry and location, you may have specific compliance and regulatory requirements that govern the handling and storage of corporate data. Using ChatGPT from OpenAI may not provide the necessary controls and safeguards to meet these requirements, potentially leading to compliance issues.
3. Lack of Control: With ChatGPT from OpenAI, you have limited control over the underlying models and algorithms. This means you may be unable to fine-tune the models specifically for your corporate data or customize them to meet your unique business needs. This lack of control can limit the accuracy and relevance of the generated responses.
4. Risk of Intellectual Property (IP) Exposure: Sharing your corporate data with a third-party service like ChatGPT from OpenAI increases the risk of exposing your intellectual property. If your data contains proprietary information or trade secrets, it is essential to carefully consider the potential risks associated with sharing it externally.
5. Limited Customization: ChatGPT from OpenAI may not provide the customization required to align with your corporate branding, tone, or specific industry terminology. This can result in responses that do not accurately represent your organization or meet your communication standards.
6. Dependency on External Service: Relying on an external service like ChatGPT from OpenAI for critical business operations introduces dependency. If the service experiences downtime or disruptions, it could impact your ability to access and utilize the models, potentially causing disruptions to your operations.

Azure OpenAI Service is a better choice compared to using the public ChatGPT from OpenAI

1. Private Access: Azure OpenAI Service offers private access to OpenAI’s large language models (LLMs). This means you can securely access and utilize the models within your virtual network infrastructure, using private IP addresses. This ensures the confidentiality and privacy of your data.
2. Data Security: Using Azure OpenAI Service gives you more control over your data security. You can establish a virtual private network (VPN) or an ExpressRoute circuit between your corporate network and your Azure VNet infrastructure, ensuring that your data remains within your own network and is not exposed to the public internet.
3. Compliance and Governance: Azure OpenAI Service allows you to meet compliance requirements, such as customer-managed data encryption keys. This is crucial for many enterprises that must adhere to specific regulations and ensure data governance. Azure also provides robust governance features, such as role-based access control, Azure Policy, and AI-based security recommendations via Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
4. Fine-tuning on Proprietary Data: With Azure OpenAI Service, you can fine-tune the LLMs using your own proprietary data. This empowers you to customize the models to suit your business needs better and improve their performance on your unique datasets.
5. Integration with Azure Services: Azure OpenAI Service seamlessly integrates with other Azure services, such as Azure Resource Manager (ARM). This integration brings benefits like high availability, security, and organizational governance. If your business already utilizes Microsoft Azure, you can leverage existing features and capabilities, making managing and deploying your AI models easier.
6. Futureproofing: By adopting Azure OpenAI Service, you align yourself with Microsoft’s investments in OpenAI and its commitment to advancing AI technologies. This ensures that you have access to the latest advancements and updates in AI, helping you future-proof your business and stay ahead of the competition.

It’s important to note that these points highlight the advantages of Azure OpenAI Service over using the public ChatGPT endpoint from OpenAI. Both options have their merits, and the choice ultimately depends on your requirements and considerations.

In conclusion, I highly recommend exploring Azure OpenAI Service as it provides cutting-edge intelligence for your company and future-proofs your career. It offers the security, customization, and integration capabilities necessary for businesses to leverage the potential of OpenAI’s LLMs while ensuring data privacy and compliance.

In Intwo we are ready to help you to start the journey to define the strategy to use artificial intelligence in your business process, please get in touch with our representative in your region.