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Total IT Management Button Total IT Management | AI Strategy

AI is Moving Fast

Here's How We're Keeping You Ahead of It

Introducing Hatz AI and Managed AI Data Protection — Safe, Secure, and Strategic AI Adoption, Powered by the SBT Partnership.

Stop chasing AI. Start using it with confidence.

SBT has done the research, vetted the platforms, and built the framework — so you don't have to figure out AI alone.

Education & Support Hatz AI Platform AI Policy & Governance Managed AI Data Protection Total IT Management

THE LANDSCAPE

The pace of change is the story

AI isn’t arriving gradually. It’s accelerating. Every month brings new platforms, new capabilities, and new pressure to figure out what actually matters for your business. It’s a lot to keep up with, and the temptation to wait until things stabilize is real. But here’s the problem: there is no stable. The businesses gaining ground right now aren’t the ones with all the answers — they’re the ones who stopped waiting for them.

Here’s where things actually stand for small and medium businesses right now:

58%
of small businesses now use generative AI
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2025
59%
of employees use AI tools without telling their manager
SQ Magazine Shadow AI Report, 2026
only 32%
of employees have received formal AI training at work
SQ Magazine, 2026
$4.2M
average cost of a shadow AI data breach
SQ Magazine, 2026

The truth is…

  • AI is only getting better. The tools available today are a fraction of what’s coming.
  • Your competitors are going to use it. Many already are.
  • Your employees are already experimenting with it, whether you know about it or not.
  • Your data is at risk without a policy in place to govern how AI is used.

The answer isn’t to panic, and it isn’t to ignore it. The answer is education, structure, and a partner who has already done the homework — one who can properly deploy and standardize AI across your business so it works the way it should from day one. That’s the role SBT plays in your AI journey.

AI INTEGRATION STRATEGY

Why AI keeps coming up in IT Strategy Committee meetings

AI has moved from experimentation to expectation. Partners aren’t just curious about it anymore — they’re bringing it to the table in strategic conversations, asking what they should be doing and what the risks actually are. The IT Strategy Committee is exactly the right forum for those conversations.

Rather than chasing every new tool reactively, the Committee creates a structured space to evaluate options properly: what’s proven, what’s ready for SMBs, what’s genuinely useful versus what’s hype. It’s where SBT’s role as your Total IT partner becomes most visible — we’re not just managing your infrastructure, we’re helping you make forward-looking decisions that keep you ahead of the curve.

Education is not a one-time event. It's built into how SBT works with you. From policy guidance to platform training to regular strategy check-ins, our job is to make sure AI never feels like something happening to your business — but something working for it.
Curiosity
"Can I AI that?" is your new mantra
The right mindset for AI adoption isn't mastery — it's curiosity. You're already here. That's the first step.
Humanity
AI only works with humans in the loop
The tools augment what your team does. Judgment, context, and relationships still belong to you.
Agility
AI moves faster than you can master it
You don't need to master every tool. You need a partner who's already staying ahead so you don't have to.
Related reading
Proactive IT Isn't Luck — The IT Strategy Committee
→

BEFORE YOU PICK A PLATFORM

Safe AI adoption starts before you switch anything on

Most SMBs don’t have an AI policy. Many don’t fully understand how their data flows through the AI tools their employees are already using. Before any platform conversation happens, that’s where SBT starts.

The most important question isn’t which AI platform to use — it’s how do we adopt AI safely, strategically, and in a way that actually fits how our business operates? Getting that answer right requires visibility, governance, and a clear policy foundation.

AI policy creation
Formalize how AI can and cannot be used across your organization. Define boundaries before they become problems.
AI adoption guidance
Help your team understand what to use, when to use it, and how to get value from AI without creating risk.
Shadow AI visibility
Identify what AI tools are already in use across your organization — many businesses are surprised by what they find.
Governance framework
Put the right controls in place from the start, so you can scale AI usage confidently as your needs grow.
56% of workers say they lack clear guidance on AI usage policies at their organization — and companies with formal AI policies report 25% higher compliance rates. The gap between having AI and using it safely is a policy document.
— SQ Magazine Shadow AI Report, 2026

PROACTIVE IT STRATEGY

Not every AI tool makes the cut — here’s how we decide

There is no shortage of AI platforms making big promises right now. The market is loud, fast-moving, and full of tools that aren’t actually ready for business use. Part of SBT’s job is to cut through that noise — doing the evaluation work so you don’t have to spend your time on tools that aren’t a fit.

When we assess a new platform, we’re asking specific questions: Is it purpose-built for SMBs, or is it an enterprise product that’s been scaled down and made to look accessible? Does it handle data in a way that meets our clients’ security and compliance needs? Can it integrate into a managed services model, or does it require in-house technical expertise to maintain? Does it deliver actual business outcomes, or just impressive demos?

78% of organizations that successfully deployed AI worked with an external partner for at least part of the implementation — and IT consulting engagements focused on AI strategy grew 89% year-over-year in 2025. You don’t have to figure this out alone.

Hatz AI is one of the platforms that earned its place in that process. Here’s why.

PLATFORM SPOTLIGHT

Introducing Hatz AI: built for businesses like yours

Hatz AI is a secure AI platform designed from the ground up for small and medium businesses. Not a scaled-down enterprise tool, not a consumer app with a business-sounding name — a platform built specifically for how SMBs actually operate, with the features that matter and the controls that make deployment manageable.

Key differentiator
70+ models
Access any AI model — not just one
Most businesses using ChatGPT are locked into a single model. Hatz AI gives your team access to 70+ models from one secure platform — so you always have the right tool for the job.
ChatGPT Claude Gemini Grok DeepSeek Mistral Amazon Nova + 63 more
Key differentiator
Pay for usage
Roll out AI to your whole team without waste
Forget $20/month per user whether they use it or not. Hatz AI uses consumption-based pricing — everyone gets secure access, you only pay for actual usage.
Whole team gets safe, governed AI access from day one
No wasted budget on users who barely touch it
Heavy users still get the credits they need
AI chat assistants
Custom assistants built around your business context, boosting productivity across support, operations, and admin.
AI App Builder
Build custom AI applications without technical expertise, deployable across multiple tenants in your organization.
Custom LLMs
Deploy your own language models trained on your business data, within a secure and governed environment.
AI agents & vector storage
Automate multi-step workflows with AI agents, backed by vector storage that makes data retrieval smarter.
Workshop & custom workflows
A library of community templates for apps, workflows, and agents — or build your own to jumpstart team productivity.
Learning Portal
Built-in training that helps your team build confidence with AI — so adoption actually sticks and the platform gets fully used.
Everything is managed through a multi-tenant admin dashboard — which means SBT can configure, monitor, and manage your Hatz AI environment as part of your existing managed services relationship. No separate relationship to manage, no black box you can't see into.

WHY HATZ AI?

What makes Hatz AI different from everything else out there

Most AI tools available to SMBs fall into one of two camps: consumer-grade tools that weren’t built with business data security in mind, or enterprise-grade platforms that come with the complexity, cost, and implementation overhead that make them impractical for smaller organizations. Hatz AI sits in a different lane entirely.

Capability Consumer AI tools Enterprise platforms Hatz AI
Built for SMBs No No Yes
Access to 70+ AI models Single model Limited Yes
Consumption-based pricing No No Yes
Data privacy controls Minimal Complex Built-in
Custom LLMs & agents No High cost Yes
Practical for SMB budgets Sometimes Rarely Yes

For SMBs, the distinction between “security is built in” and “security is bolted on” matters enormously. Hatz AI was designed with governance and data privacy as core architecture — not features added after the fact to check a compliance box. And because it’s built for multi-tenant management, SBT can deploy and maintain it as part of the same relationship we already have with you.

Related reading
You Have Security Tools. But Do You Have a Security Plan? — Cybersecurity
→

THE IMPORTANCE OF MANAGED AI SERVICES

The full picture: this is what Total IT Management looks like

Getting AI right inside your business takes more than choosing a platform. It requires clear policy, strong data protection, and a partner who understands how everything connects.

Most organizations jump straight to the technology. The ones that get it right start with policy—understanding what tools are already in use, where data is flowing, and what guardrails need to be in place before anything is deployed.

That’s how SBT approaches AI. Hatz AI, AI policy creation, and Managed AI Data Protection come together in a single framework that covers evaluation, configuration, governance, and ongoing management.

And because AI is treated as a strategic initiative—governed through the IT Strategy Committee—it doesn’t exist as a disconnected project. It becomes aligned with your broader IT strategy and integrated into how your environment is managed, ensuring adoption, control, and real business value.

That’s the SBT Partnership—AI implemented, governed, and managed the right way from day one.

1
SBT Partnership & Total IT Management
The strategic relationship that ties everything together. We evaluate, recommend, implement, and manage.
2
IT Strategy Committee
The structured forum where AI decisions get made properly — with context, data, and expert guidance.
3
Managed AI Data Protection & AI Policy SBT Managed
The governance and security layer. Visibility, control, and policy — fully managed by SBT before and after any deployment happens.
4
Hatz AI Platform SBT Guided Adoption
The AI capability layer — secure and customisable. SBT guides your team through onboarding and adoption so the platform actually gets used the right way.

The IT Strategy Committee drives the conversation — ensuring AI decisions are made with context, structure, and clear business alignment.  Managed AI Data Protection and AI policy creation lay the foundation for governance and control.  Hatz AI delivers the capability.  And SBT’s Total IT Management ensures everything is implemented, managed, and continuously aligned — so you’re never left connecting the dots on your own.

Related reading
Why Total IT Management Is the Secret Weapon for Hybrid Success in 2026
→

MODERN WORKPLACE SERVICES

Not just features — actual outcomes

It’s easy for any technology conversation to get stuck in feature lists. What matters to an SMB owner isn’t capabilities — it’s outcomes. What does this actually change about how we work?

"It feels like gaining an extra team member — or an extra day in the week."
Hatz AI user, reporting a 20% efficiency improvement across day-to-day functions
  • Support teams handle higher ticket volumes with consistent quality, freeing staff for more complex issues
  • Custom AI assistants that know your business context — not generic tools your team has to work around
  • Visibility over how AI is being used across your organization — no more blind spots
  • Data stays protected, governed, and compliant — as AI usage scales alongside your business
Related reading
Beyond IT: How MSPs Accelerate Business Growth — Managed IT
→

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Hatz AI is one example — the commitment is ongoing

We’re not bringing you Hatz AI because it’s trending.  We’re bringing it to you because we evaluated it properly, it passed, and it belongs in a real SMB AI strategy.

That’s what the SBT Partnership does — we continuously evaluate, filter, and identify what’s actually ready for business use.  You won’t hear about every tool we test and pass on. You’ll hear about the ones that matter.

That’s proactive partnership — keeping you ahead without you having to chase what’s next.

SBT Partners

Ready to put AI to work for your business?

The first step is a free IT health check that identifies security gaps, AI risks, and quick wins — no commitment required.

Claim Your Free IT Health Check →

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