COMMENT
Intelligent design Artificial intelligence has been arguably the story of 2023 and its rapid advancement – and increasing number of commercial applications – means that it needs to be embraced by resellers as part of their offering to customers.
November 30 marks a year since OpenAI released ChatGPT on a largely unsuspecting world. The artificial intelligence (AI) based large language model chatbot was an instant hit, garnering more than one million downloads within its first week. Since then, AI technology has developed rapidly, and the number of businesses offering products or services that use AI in some form has mushroomed. While there was talk about it being the start of the demise of humankind from some, that simply isn’t true and, more and more, it is becoming clear that AI can help businesses to become more efficient. AI won’t take everyone’s jobs either – more freeing them up from some of their mundane, repetitive tasks to focus on more rewarding work.
having an impact. For instance, it now allows automatic tracking and framing of multiple subjects and real-time translation of video calls, as well as helping to automate many of the tasks involved in setting up and managing hybrid meeting rooms. Read more on p20 Likewise in retail, AI is helping businesses to become more efficient – something managers are searching for in a tough market. Now, AI-enabled chatbots make it possible for retail brands to be available 24/7, ensuring that customers can place orders and seek assistance at any time of the day. This can be a game-changer in terms of accessibility and handling large volumes of inquiries simultaneously. Read more on p26. AI can also help with disaster recovery. While AI presents threats to businesses as it can be used by bad actors to create ever- more sophisticated ransomware and the like, it can also be used to repel it. As such, it will be an integral part of disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) offerings in the future. Read more on DRaaS on p38. With the development of AI, it makes it one of the most exciting times in the channel for some time and it will be interesting to see how the technology develops in the next couple of years to help businesses. For resellers, now is the time to get involved with AI-based products to ensure that, as it becomes a much bigger factor for businesses, they are ideally placed to provide the expert advice and products that customers are demanding. I hope you enjoy the issue. As ever, if there are any topics you wish to see covered by News in the Channel , or you want to get involved in editorial – I’m always on the lookout for op-eds – please drop me a line at dan@newsinthechannel.com.
Dan Parton
Working on features for News in the Channel recently, it seems that AI crops up in almost every conversation. The technology is impacting on every aspect of the channel. For instance, in our feature on videoconferencing and how many businesses are looking to upgrade their tech for this, as well as the meeting spaces they use for them to ensure that everyone, be they online or in person, has the optimal experience, AI is
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