FINDING VALUE IN AI
CONTINUED
“That environment can encourage organisations to focus on the capabilities of a particular tool before they have established how it will support existing business objectives,” he says. “A chatbot that answers questions efficiently may attract attention, although the more important consideration is the role it will play once it becomes part of day-to-day operations. “Organisations are likely to see stronger results when they define the outcome they are trying to achieve at an early stage and use that objective to guide decisions throughout the project.” Ensuring the right solutions Resellers play a vital role in helping customers to ensure that customers get the right solutions for their business. Andy says that AI is raising the bar for what customers think is possible. “They want smarter solutions, personalised interactions and faster responses,” he says. “Partners need to continually adjust their offerings and approach, moving beyond traditional products to AI-driven outcomes that truly solve business problems. “In addition, AI is becoming more embedded into all kinds of solutions, and partners need to understand the positive impacts that this is having for their customers. They need to comprehend how AI works in tandem with other emerging technologies like cloud, security and networking, to support a more connected, end-to-end approach to digital transformation. This is important as it aligns with how customers buy and deploy technology today.” Anthony says the most useful conversations are often about readiness. “Data quality, governance, internal processes and end user adoption all influence whether AI will deliver the expected results,” he says. “Channel partners should be helping end customers understand what foundations are already in place, where there may be
gaps and how success will be measured. This is important because it moves AI away from being an experiment and towards becoming a business investment. “Turning that intent into action is where the right support really matters. At Arrow, we help our channel partners achieve this through initiatives such as our AI accelerator program, giving them the knowledge and confidence to identify opportunities and develop AI services that are grounded in real end-customer needs and the wider business strategy.”
Contributors
Andy Brown
uk.tdsynnex.com
Barb Huelskamp
Nathan adds that questions around ownership, employee adoption and operational processes are often just as important as the choice of AI platform. “Even a well-designed solution can struggle if employees don’t understand how to use it or if it doesn’t fit naturally into existing workflows,” he says. “The most successful projects tend to be those where organisations have a clear plan for implementation and ongoing management from the outset.” Andrew Graham, business development manager at PFU (EMEA) Ltd, says resellers create the most value when they start with the customer’s information and workflows rather than the AI solution itself. “Before discussing models, prompts or applications, they should be asking where information comes from, how it’s captured, how accurate it is and how much manual intervention is currently required,” he says. “Those factors often determine whether an AI project succeeds or struggles. The reality is that you can upload a handful of documents into an AI platform and
solarwinds.com
David Campbell
wavenet.co.uk
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