https://alainvezina.com/en/blog Automation, AI, governance, data security and operations — posts by Alain Vézina. en-CA Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:49:39 GMT https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/devops-on-demand https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/devops-on-demand Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina CI/CD pipelines, per-engagement isolation, and automatic teardown — professional DevOps work I care about delivering well. Professional work https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/vibe-coding-community-lab https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/vibe-coding-community-lab Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Vibe coding with AI: three community apps (carpooling, festival ticketing, cultural portal) built faster for less — what SMBs can learn about affordable custom software. Vibe coding https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/drone-fpv-exploration https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/drone-fpv-exploration Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Aerial capture and editing around the territory — exploration, not a billable service. Passion https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/home-assistant-lab https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/home-assistant-lab Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Sensors, automations, and Lovelace dashboards — the same integration mindset I bring to SMB pilots, applied locally. Passion https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/craft-beer-learning https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/craft-beer-learning Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Mashing, boiling, fermentation with a master brewer — another way to think about flow, quality, and iteration. Passion https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/video-sbdl-automne-2025 https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/video-sbdl-automne-2025 Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina A short landscape edit — personal capture and montage published on YouTube. Passion https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/video-winter-winter-winter https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/video-winter-winter-winter Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Winter mood in images — a short edit on my YouTube channel. Passion https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/six-prompting-techniques-for-daily-work https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/six-prompting-techniques-for-daily-work Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Six AI prompting techniques for business: direct ask, few-shot examples, step-by-step reasoning, decomposition, self-review, and role framing — with practical SMB examples. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/why-ai-adoption-fails-five-pitfalls https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/why-ai-adoption-fails-five-pitfalls Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Why AI adoption fails in business: five common pitfalls — unclear use case, poor prompts, no integration, missing governance, cost-only ROI — and practical fixes. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/construction-ai-field-assistant-site-reports https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/construction-ai-field-assistant-site-reports Wed, 24 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Construction AI field assistant for site visit reports: capture audio, structure decisions and tasks, validate before send. Three maturity levels and a realistic schedule-delay example. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/why-prompt-context-matters https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/why-prompt-context-matters Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Why prompt context matters for business AI: weak vs strong prompts with practical examples for client emails, internal announcements, and meeting summaries. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/autonomous-ai-agents-workflows https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/autonomous-ai-agents-workflows Mon, 22 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Autonomous AI agents for business: digital coworkers, workflow automation, tool use, guardrails, and a practical SMB pilot approach. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/multimodal-ai-for-business https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/multimodal-ai-for-business Sun, 21 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Multimodal AI for business: text, audio, image, and video together. Practical use cases, risks, and pilot ideas for SMBs and professional firms. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/prompting-tips-for-leaders https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/prompting-tips-for-leaders Sat, 20 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Practical AI prompting for executives and teams: role, context, examples, iteration, and governance — not hype or jargon. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/ia-au-quebec https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/ia-au-quebec Fri, 19 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina AI in Quebec: Law 25, French language, local ecosystem, funding, and practical guidance for SMB leaders adopting AI responsibly. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/context-is-everything-ai https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/context-is-everything-ai Thu, 18 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina AI context windows, RAG, and business data: why context matters, how retrieval works, and what SMBs need before scaling AI. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/ai-governance-for-smbs https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/ai-governance-for-smbs Wed, 17 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina AI governance for small and mid-size businesses: approved tools, data classification, human review, and escalation — minimal but effective. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/human-in-the-loop-ai https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/human-in-the-loop-ai Tue, 16 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Human-in-the-loop AI for business: approval gates, accountability, quality control, and where full automation is the wrong goal. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/measuring-ai-roi https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/measuring-ai-roi Mon, 15 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina How to measure AI ROI in SMBs: time saved, error rates, cycle time, adoption metrics, and building the business case beyond hype. Operations https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/building-company-knowledge-bases-rag https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/building-company-knowledge-bases-rag Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina RAG knowledge bases for SMBs: what to index, how to structure documents, freshness, permissions, and a practical first build. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/change-management-ai-adoption https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/change-management-ai-adoption Sat, 13 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Change management for AI adoption in SMBs: communication, training, pilot teams, skeptics, and signals you're moving too fast. Leadership https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/will-ai-replace-our-employees https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/will-ai-replace-our-employees Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Will AI replace jobs in your SMB? What tasks change, what stays human, and how a low-risk pilot builds trust instead of fear. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/is-our-data-safe-with-ai https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/is-our-data-safe-with-ai Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina AI data privacy for SMBs: where risk comes from, five questions before a pilot, Law 25 basics, and a minimal governance framework. Security https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/too-small-for-automation https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/too-small-for-automation Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Are you too small for automation? Why SMBs often gain more, what a right-sized pilot looks like, and when to wait. Automation https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/automation-budget-what-it-really-costs https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/automation-budget-what-it-really-costs Tue, 09 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Automation and AI budget for SMBs: discovery vs pilot costs, what moves the price, ROI metrics, and questions to ask vendors. Operations https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/start-automation-without-disrupting-everything https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/start-automation-without-disrupting-everything Mon, 08 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina How to start automation or AI without upending your organization: pilot scope, change management, and signals you're moving too fast. Operations https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/meeting-notes-first-ai-win https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/meeting-notes-first-ai-win Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Automate meeting minutes with AI: low risk, human validation, measurable time savings. A practical pilot guide for professional firms in Quebec. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/progressive-ai-for-smb https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/progressive-ai-for-smb Wed, 20 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Adopt AI in SMBs step by step: low-risk use cases, clear metrics, and human-in-the-loop. A consultant's framework for Quebec businesses. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/spot-automation-opportunities-without-big-project https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/spot-automation-opportunities-without-big-project Fri, 08 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Find automation quick wins without a big IT program. Three signals, a prioritization grid, and practical examples for operations teams. Automation https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/map-friction-before-buying-tools https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/map-friction-before-buying-tools Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Stop buying tools before mapping operational friction. A half-day exercise to clarify processes and choose the right fix. Operations https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/when-automation-fails-its-rarely-the-tool https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/when-automation-fails-its-rarely-the-tool Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Why automation projects fail: process, ownership, and trust — not tools. How to restart with a smaller, human-centred pilot. Automation https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/hidden-cost-technical-debt https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/hidden-cost-technical-debt Tue, 24 Jun 2025 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Technical debt costs 50–75% of total solution cost. How to talk to stakeholders about maintenance, DORA metrics, and sustainable delivery. Technology https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/25-years-tech-people-purpose https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/25-years-tech-people-purpose Fri, 04 Apr 2025 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Ten lessons from 25 years in tech: customer value, baby steps, people over process, and measuring what truly matters. Leadership https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/security-first-culture https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/security-first-culture Sat, 25 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Build a security-first culture: leadership buy-in, onboarding, shift-left DevOps, and practical habits for every employee. Security https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/security-journey-not-destination https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/security-journey-not-destination Sat, 25 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Security as a continuous journey, not a one-time project. How ongoing investment builds trust and competitive advantage. Security https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/cybersecurity-everyones-responsibility https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/cybersecurity-everyones-responsibility Thu, 23 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Practical cybersecurity habits for every employee: passwords, phishing, MFA, and reporting — reduce organizational risk. Security https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/technical-debt-unplanned-work https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/technical-debt-unplanned-work Tue, 09 Oct 2018 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Technical debt drives unplanned work and firefighting. How to measure, prioritize, and reduce reactive workload on your team. DevOps https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/firefighting https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/firefighting Fri, 08 Jun 2018 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Reduce firefighting and unplanned work: list, triage, delegate, automate, and document. Six practical steps from HBR-inspired practice. Operations https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/sql-azure-compatibility-level https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/sql-azure-compatibility-level Wed, 28 Feb 2018 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Azure SQL Database: server version vs compatibility level. How to check and change compatibility for newer T-SQL syntax. Azure https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/state-of-the-ai https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/state-of-the-ai Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina Reflections from a 2018 Azure Montréal talk on AI investment and democratization — and what changed since for business adoption. AI https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/microsoft-ai-research-bbc https://alainvezina.com/en/blog/microsoft-ai-research-bbc Sat, 21 Oct 2017 12:00:00 GMT Alain Vézina BBC Newsnight inside Microsoft AI research labs (2017). Historical context and what practical AI adoption looks like for businesses today. AI