Agent Cloud vs Qdrant
Tags: opensource, productivity, programming, ai
Published: 2024-05-20 13:55:37

Over the past year, generative AI tools have exploded on the internet, captivating us with their ability to craft human-quality text, translate languages with remarkable accuracy, and even generate breathtakingly realistic images. 

This rapid advancement in artificial intelligence is fueled by a crucial element that often goes unnoticed: data. Just as a powerful engine requires high-grade fuel, generative AI tools rely on vast repositories of high-quality data to deliver reliable and informative responses.

These Large Language Models (LLMs)  draw their inferences almost exclusively from this pre-trained data. However, imagine if these tools could not only leverage data they have been pre-trained on but also be able to tap into your data for enhanced context.  This is the revolutionary concept behind the Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). LLMs can now reach beyond their internal training data thanks to RAG, which acts as a bridge to external information sources. This access allows them to generate more comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date results.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/bib8lnocvlglof1sl9p4.png)

> [AgentCloud](https://www.agentcloud.dev) is an open-source generative AI platform offering a built-in RAG service. The RAG, as a service offering from AgentCloud, includes a built-in pipeline that allows you to talk to your data by abstracting away all the complexities of setting up the underlying infrastructure yourself. 

With AgentCloud, you can ingest data from over 300 sources and build a private LLM chat application with an interface similar to ChatGPT. Some common enterprise platforms where you can integrate your data include [Google BigQuery](https://www.agentcloud.dev/blog/a-rag-chat-app-with-agent-cloud-and-bigquery), Salesforce, Atlassian Confluence, Zendesk, Airbyte, [PostgreSQL](https://www.agentcloud.dev/blog/build-chat-app-postgresql-agentcloud), [MongoDB](https://www.agentcloud.dev/blog/build-rag-chatbot-agentcloud-mongodb), and OneDrive.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/rxx3d31dsx91ya8m3u9h.png)

Now, let's shift our focus to Qdrant, AgentCloud's perfect partner. At its core, Qdrant shines as a high-performance vector database and vector similarity search engine that allows you to store and retrieve dense vector representations of data. Qdrant excels at facilitating similarity search operations, allowing LLMs to quickly retrieve the most relevant data points based on their queries. 

This search capability makes Qdrant perfect for handling large volumes of data embeddings, which are multidimensional representations of data commonly used in AI generative applications such as AgentCloud and ChatGPT.

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### Before we get started

If you are an open Source lover and then please consider supporting Agent Cloud, by giving us a Star on GitHub ⭐️ 

Just click on the cat 🙏

[![](https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExZ2h6NTVuaTlwajhtM2w0MHNiMmRsZHkxbG9qYWRrb3ZwZWE1YXo4byZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/ndSat6hAmqXnO/giphy.gif)](https://github.com/rnadigital/agentcloud)

Thanks. You're cool.

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## Understanding AgentCloud - Securely talk to your data.

> [AgentCloud](https://www.agentcloud.dev) is an open-source AI application platform whose main focus is enabling companies to securely talk to their data through an internal GPT builder that can use any LLM and access hundreds of data sources. 

AgentCloud offers a seamless end-to-end solution for building powerful [RAG](https://docs.agentcloud.dev/documentation/guides/demo-chat-rag-bigquery) applications using a powerful, scalable open stack of tools under the hood. 

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/33m15rznfinkxu9gpvs4.png)

The stack includes a powerful, built-in ELT pipeline built on AirByte that can seamlessly ingest data from over 300 sources, including popular options like databases, documents, collaboration platforms, and cloud storage. Other supported data formats include pdf, txt, xlsx, and CSV files.  

AgentCloud also incorporates a robust message bus (RabbitMQ), ensuring smooth communication between components within your RAG application, and an open-source vector database(Qdrant) for efficient data storage and retrieval. 

Using its end-to-end pipeline, AgentCloud also offers features for tasks like splitting, chunking, and embedding data, as well as all crucial steps for efficient information retrieval.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/mzhmaqbuo4r2wxwj5tqy.png)

For complex data sources like [BigQuery](https://docs.agentcloud.dev/documentation/guides/demo-chat-rag-bigquery), AgentCloud offers advanced chunking strategies like semantic chunking. This ensures efficient processing of large datasets without overwhelming the system or losing information.  Looking ahead, AgentCloud will empower users with even greater control over their data. You'll soon be able to selectively choose which fields to embed for retrieval by your AI agents and which fields to store as metadata for additional context.  

AgentCloud stores the prepared data securely in a vector database([Qdrant](https://qdrant.tech)) and keeps it fresh through manual, scheduled, or automated updates. You can now create apps using a no-code builder interface built for anyone and share them with Users, Teams, or the entire Organisation.


![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/7t9uismwd012jc2nliqe.png)

Away from building chatbots for data interaction, AgentCloud also offers process automation capabilities with multi-agent workflows powered by Autogen. 

> Autogen is a platform that provides a multi-agent conversation framework as a high-level abstraction, allowing you to build LLM workflows conveniently.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/9v2hg7hoczlxlek745z0.png)

Using this feature, you can build powerful teams of AI agents, each powered by your choice of Large Language Models (LLMs) from providers like OpenAI or Hugging Face. These agents can work together, share information, and leverage various data sources to automate complex processes.


One of the most exciting aspects of AgentCloud is its flexibility regarding Large Language Models (LLMs). Unlike some platforms that lock you into their ecosystem, AgentCloud empowers you to choose the LLM that best suits your needs.

- Do you have a specific open-source LLM in mind, like LLAMA2 or a model from Hugging Face? 

> No problem! AgentCloud allows you to connect your LLM. 

- Do you need the processing muscle of a cloud-based LLM?

> AgentCloud seamlessly integrates with popular providers like OpenAI, Cohere, and Anthropic Claude. 

For organizations prioritizing maximum security, AgentCloud lets you connect the platform to your private LLM endpoints. This ensures your data remains completely isolated, with no access to the internet and no risk of exposure to external LLM providers.

Agent Cloud caters to self-hosting and [cloud-based deployment options](https://docs.agentcloud.dev/documentation/Installation/local).  For companies seeking complete control and data isolation, self-hosting allows them to deploy the platform on their infrastructure using Kubernetes Helm files. This approach requires managing the infrastructure yourself. 

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/7gq5ozm1rfphqikp18hz.png)

Alternatively, the cloud option is ideal for businesses prioritizing a quicker setup and avoiding infrastructure management. This cloud-based deployment allows you to get up and running with AgentCloud functionality without the burden of maintaining infrastructure.

AgentCloud prioritizes your data security. You can self-host everything or leverage self-hosted AI models to prevent unauthorized access. Additionally, you can control and limit what your AI agents can access and do.

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## AgentCloud Usecases

AgentCloud product offerings cater to the needs of businesses in different ways. Let’s highlight some use cases for Agent Cloud:

- **Customer support**: AgentCloud empowers businesses to deploy chatbots that can handle customer inquiries, troubleshoot issues, and even resolve support tickets. This frees up human agents for more complex tasks, improving overall customer service efficiency.

-  **Internal knowledge management**: Go beyond simple FAQs. AgentCloud allows you to create process apps that automate internal workflows. For instance, you can create an onboarding chatbot that guides new employees through company policies or a document approval chatbot that streamlines internal processes.

-  **Data-Driven decision-making**: Break down data silos! AgentCloud facilitates the building of conversational interfaces for data analysis, facilitating data-driven decision-making.

- **Security and Control**: AgentCloud offers a unique advantage for organizations with strict data privacy regulations - complete on-premise or private cloud deployment. This ensures maximum control over sensitive data and compliance with data sovereignty requirements.

- **Financial services**: Build chatbots for banking inquiries, fraud detection powered by AgentCloud, and even personalized financial advisory services delivered through chat interfaces. 

- **Healthcare solutions**: AgentCloud can be the foundation for virtual healthcare assistants, medical chatbots for appointment scheduling or symptom evaluation, and even remote patient monitoring systems.

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## Understanding Qdrant

[Qdrant](https://qdrant.tech/) is a high-performance vector database designed for efficiently storing, searching, and managing vector embeddings. Unlike traditional OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) and OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) databases that rely on tables and keywords, Qdrant excels at handling high-dimensional data represented as dense vector embeddings.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/b39vbys0ryxe5bnn6ii9.png)

This capability makes Qdrant particularly useful for applications dealing with complex data types like text, images, audio, and more, which are often used in generative AI platforms like AgentCloud. Vector embeddings allow for a compressed representation of these complex data types that is optimized for machine learning algorithms.

Before we highlight the key features of Qdrant, consider these vectors as a unique, multi-dimensional representation of data where each dimension represents a characteristic of your data.

> For example, text data might be transformed into an embedding that captures its semantic meaning, while image data might be converted into an embedding that reflects its color composition, shapes, and textures.  

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/dscxbl9hv5s6r54bb161.png)

Ditch the keyword struggle. 

> Qdrant leverages semantic embeddings to understand the true meaning of your text data, even for short texts. 

This allows you to build and deploy powerful semantic neural search functionalities on your data in minutes.

Traditional search engines tend to struggle with data containing thousands of dimensions. Qdrant tackles this challenge head-on with advanced indexing techniques. It utilizes a graph-based indexing algorithm called Hierarchical Navigable Small World (HNSW) graphs to create a network of interconnected data points. 

Qdrant allows you to measure the quality of your search using the built-in exact search mode, which can measure the quality of the search results. In this mode, Qdrant performs a full kNN search for each query without approximation. 

This vector database integrates effortlessly with your existing projects, regardless of programming language. 

It offers a user-friendly RESTful API as the primary method for interaction, including official client libraries for popular languages to simplify the process.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/7a5ojk769cox4k32hpp0.png)

> If your programming language isn't on the list, you can still interact with Qdrant directly using the REST API or generate a custom client using OpenAPI.

Generative AI tools are constantly working with ever-growing data needs. Quadrant is built to efficiently store and retrieve vast amounts of data embeddings, making it ideal for Generative AI applications working with ever-growing data repositories. 

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## Qdrant Usecases

Qdrant vector search engine transcends traditional keyword search, unlocking a wide range of applications across various industries. 

Here's a glimpse into how what you can do with Qdrant vector database:

- **Matching engines for semantically complex objects**: In HR processes and Job search platforms, Qdrant's vector search engine can match candidates and jobs based on skills and experience described in natural language, even if they don't use the exact same keywords. This eliminates the need for rigid categorization and allows for a better understanding of qualifications.

- **Similar image search**: This can apply to the fashion industry. Qdrant's visual search functionality empowers shoppers to search for clothing based on appearance, removing the limitations of keyword searches. Large companies like Zalando are already using in this technology.

- **E-Commerce search**: Qdrant's AI-powered search goes beyond traditional keyword-based search, allowing users to identify relevant products even when users don't use the exact terminology.

- **Recommendations engines**: As seen in the previous examples, Qdrant can recommend food options or media content (music, movies, games) based on visual or user preference similarity. 

- **Customer support and sales optimization**: Chatbots powered by AgentCloud and Qdrant can automate answering frequently asked questions (FAQs), freeing up human customer service representatives for more complex issues.

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## What to Choose- AgentCloud or Qdrant?

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/zu67na59j75qn2vlzwza.png)


> **In essence, AgentCloud and Qdrant are not competing tools; they complement each other.** 
 
By understanding their distinct functionalities, you can choose the best option or leverage them together for a powerful combination.

AgentCloud is an open-source platform that enables companies to build LLM-powered conversational chat apps that allow them to talk with their data. You can also conveniently build a group of agents to solve more complex tasks by providing these agents access to functions and data sources.

> AgentCloud utilizes various open-source tools and services, and one of its core components is a vector database, Qdrant itself. 

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/gyo4ve4f05vth97ahpdd.png)

AgentCloud provides a comprehensive suite of data ingestion, transformation, model training, and application deployment functionalities. It also leverages the power of Qdrant for vector search within its workflows.

If your primary focus is efficient vector search and retrieval, Qdrant is the ideal choice.

On the other hand, if you need a comprehensive platform for building and deploying intelligent applications that leverage vector search, then AgentCloud is the way to go. 

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## Conclusion

You won't be facing a situation where you must choose between Agent Cloud and Qdrant. However, by using the two platforms, you can create powerful generative AI applications that allow you to talk to your data securely through a simple chat interface. 

[AgentCloud](https://github.com/rnadigital/agentcloud) abstracts away the complexities of setting up Qdrant yourself, allowing you to focus on building conversational and process automation apps.  

AgentCloud offers a compelling solution for technical and non-technical users when building generative AI applications. With its built-in RAG pipeline, anyone within your company can find the data they need, when needed, without the hassle of searching through disparate systems or requesting access from colleagues through endless email exchanges. 

---
### 🔍 Want to learn more about AgentCloud?

1. [Agent Cloud vs. CrewAI](https://www.agentcloud.dev/blog/agent-cloud-vs-crewai-a-comparison)
2. [Agent Cloud vs. OpenAI](https://www.agentcloud.dev/blog/agent-cloud-vs-openai)
3. [Agent Cloud vs. Vertex AI Agents](https://www.agentcloud.dev/blog/agentcloud-vs-google-cloud-agents)
4. [How to Build a RAG Chatbot using Agent Cloud and BigQuery](https://www.agentcloud.dev/blog/a-rag-chat-app-with-agent-cloud-and-bigquery)
5. [How to Build a RAG Chatbot Using Agent Cloud And MongoDB](https://www.agentcloud.dev/blog/build-rag-chatbot-agentcloud-mongodb)
6. [How to Build a RAG Chatbot Using Agent Cloud And PostgreSQL](https://www.agentcloud.dev/blog/build-chat-app-postgresql-agentcloud)