NEWS
Half of mid-market organisations say AI initiatives fail to deliver value
A report by TXP has revealed that 49% of mid-market organisations think that their AI initiatives have failed to deliver value or been underwhelming. Despite organisations spending more than £1 million in pilots and proofs of concept on average over the past three years, the research highlights that just 47% of AI pilots scaled into production. The report surveying 200 business leaders involved in AI strategy at mid- market organisations found that cost (49%), governance and risk concerns (39%), and poor data quality or accessibility (38%) were the main barriers to scaling AI pilots. Many respondents also cited external forces as a challenge, with 67% saying board pressure has caused rushed projects and proofs of concept, while the same proportion also blame industry and societal noise. Consequently 77% of business leaders admit that in hindsight, their organisation should have invested more time and budget into discovery before beginning their AI initiatives. These challenges persist despite many mid-market organisations having solid
foundations in place, with 87% saying their AI strategy covers most or all of the organisation and its business processes, while 81% said they have a fully defined AI operating model. “To be successful, AI needs to know more than the end goal,” said Tim Hurst, chief operations officer at TXP. “Underinvestment in the discovery phase that should underpin AI initiatives means many organisations lack a deep understanding of existing systems, dependencies, internal policies and business goals. Without knowledge of these, AI will never deliver its true value. “The good news is that the barriers preventing AI success are practical and solvable, rather than fundamental limitations of the technology. Overcoming them, however, requires more than technical expertise. Businesses must also capture, centralise and build on their knowledge base. A partner that can bring people and technology together, while developing a deep understanding of internal systems, information, processes and priorities, will be central to the next phase of innovation.” n
Tim Hurst
tpx.co.uk
Opengear signs distribution agreement with Ingram Micro
Opengear, a Digi International company, has signed its first pan-European distribution agreement with Ingram Micro. The agreement gives resellers in participating Ingram Micro countries access to Opengear’s portfolio, supported by Ingram Micro’s regional infrastructure, logistics capabilities and partner network. This expands Opengear’s existing reach in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium and Luxembourg, and brings its network resilience platform to resellers and end users in additional European markets such as Switzerland,
Hungary and Czechia. “This agreement with Ingram Micro marks a significant milestone in Opengear’s EMEA growth strategy,” said Alan Stewart-Brown, VP of sales, EMEA and APAC at Opengear. “Ingram Micro gives us the regional scale to put Opengear products and expertise closer to our partners. That means increased regional availability, local support, and a simpler way to protect critical infrastructure across EMEA.” Opengear supports secure out-of-band access to network infrastructure, helping
Renke Krüger
ingrammicro.com
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