Ecosystem access, rather than size or internal capabilities, will determine which partners win on AI, TD Synnex’s UK&I’s MD asserted as he laid out the distributor’s post-AI role.
Talking at this morning’s Explore event in London, Dave Watts previewed TD Synnex’s fifth Direction of Technology report, which quizzed 1,600 channel partners from 45 countries.
Its findings show “the conversation around AI has changed”, Watts asserted.
Although 66% of partners questioned expect to increase their investment in AI, only 21% said AI is a meaningful share of their revenue.
“The market has always had to invest to some extent ahead of incoming profit, but what the report shows us is that there is a real insecurity about how long that takes with AI,” he said.
“There are so many headlines every day around AI, and we see really impressive enterprise deployments…. the kind of deployments most of us aren’t involved in. Below that level, the picture is much more varied.
“If today you’re sitting here in this room thinking you should be further ahead, I’m sure you’re not alone.
“I want to reassure you from everything I see and hear that, yes, AI is in most of our customer conversations, but it’s not in the outcomes. And that’s exactly why bringing this room together matters.”
“They will be the winners here”
Partners must increasingly link arms to deliver solutions in the AI era, Watts said, citing research from Omdia’s Jay McBain saying up to seven partners are now involved in each deal.
“That’s what’s designed into our event today for you, because this market is opening up really, really fast,” he said.
Delivering an AI outcome can require expertise across many fields including security, cloud, services, governance, change management and technical delivery, Watts said.
Very few organisations possess all of these within their own teams, he claimed, however.
“The best bit of advice I can give you on a day like today, and I say this with all humility because I don’t do your jobs – but it’s based on our research and the conversations I have – is that the winners in this new world will not necessarily be the largest [partners] who just have a load of capability within their organisations,” Watts said.
“The people who know how to use the ecosystem around them, they will be the winners here.”
“Look around the room”
Turning to TD Synnex’s own role, Watts said the world’s largest distributor can help through its vendor relationships, ecosystem and technical expertise.
“Our aim is to continue to earn the right to be your AI partner, which brings me to today,” he said.
“Look around this room; you’re surrounded by loads of potential partners.”
AI projects are rarely derailed by the technology itself, but, rather, an inability to make the right case, or a lack of internal skills, Watts claimed.
“Why is the technology not the issue?,” he asked.
“It’s understanding how AI affects lots of different things: data management, data protection, what skills the end user needs to develop as the solution is being introduced; there are questions about governance, accountability, and trust.
“A lot of this stuff is very familiar to us because we went through it with cloud, but it’s on steroids this time.
“The technology can be deployed, but the capability has to be built around it. Our role is to help partners build those capabilities faster, with less risk, and with the right expertise.”
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
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