News in the Channel - issue #23

AI PCs

How can AI PCs benefit the technology channel? AI PCs are providing a revolution in the sector, giving users with many benefits and this provides the technology channel with opportunities to transform their value proposition, says Brandon Lieberthal, VP, PC Systems & Print Solutions – Europe at TD SYNNEX.

There have been many exciting evolutions for the PC, but there has not been one as revolutionary as the arrival of the AI-enabled PC. It is one of those rare events that has the potential to transform the industry. AI demand is projected to grow globally, and with the flow of AI PCs into the market this will only increase. There are strong predictions for a steady rise in demand for AI PCs with a compound annual growth rate in the range of 15-20% over the next five years, in markets such as the UK, France, Germany and the Nordics. This, therefore, opens up new opportunities for the technology channel to transform their core value proposition for end users and vendors. So, what makes these AI PCs so ground- breaking and what is the role of the channel? Technology driving AI PCs For the higher level of computing power, these AI PCs are built differently to traditional PCs. In addition to the central processing unit and graphics processing unit found in PCs, AI PCs have a new class of integrated AI processors, neural processing units (NPU), which can run at trillions of operations per second (TOPS). Indeed, the NPUs in the first batch of AI PCs run at 40 TOPS. This performance enables AI PCs to run current and new types of AI apps that have been restricted to the cloud on the PC itself. This edge computing capability opens up momentous improvements in tasks including predictive typing, language translation, advanced graphics rendering and enables users to have a much more personalised experience. The early adopters of this technology can mainly be seen in software development, data analytics and the creative industries, where users can benefit from much faster processing speeds and efficient and smarter functionalities.

Brandon Lieberthal VP, PC Systems & Print Solutions – Europe

uk.tdsynnex.com

AI PCs have a new class of integrated AI processors, neural processing units (NPU), which can run at trillions of operations per second (TOPS).

How does the channel fit in? There is very much an exciting opportunity for partners to grasp. Not least how the PC market is going to be boosted by these new machines. With Canalys forecasting that 60% of all PCs sold will have AI processing capabilities by 2027, this creates opportunities for the technology channel. The ways that the potential of AI is recognised in an organisation requires a channel business to use a consultative mindset and help customers onboard the technology correctly. As such, the channel must develop the right skills and be educated about the ins and outs of AI PCs and the benefits this technology brings to their customers. The channel can act as a partner and advisor to their customers from day one. Further, for the channel, AI PCs can

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