Laurent - stock.adobe.com
Canalys: Despite lack of reward, the channel must embrace AI
The revenues might not be flowing in the direction of partners, but choosing to delay embracing artificial intelligence is an unwise move
The numbers bandied around the artificial intelligence (AI) market are staggering, but so far, the channel has not seen the benefit of the technology in terms of increased revenues.
The impact of AI took centre stage in the keynote session at the Canalys Channels Forum in Barcelona, with Steve Brazier, Informa fellow and co-founder of Canapii, acknowledging that there was a certain amount of AI fatigue in the channel as a result of the noise and the lack of positive impact for many across the industry.
He pointed to the billions that were being generated by the likes of OpenAI, Nvidia and AMD, and the millions of consumers that were overacting with tools including ChatGPT, as evidence of the growth in the market – but added that the ecosystem that had emerged around AI infrastructure had initially been driven by hyperscalers, and now increasingly by cloud players, and a lot of that revenue has not filtered down to the channel.
But Brazier warned that ignoring AI was not a viable option, and despite the cautious attitude, there was a need to have a response to the technology. “If you don’t move, it’s very unlikely you become relevant in five to 10 years,” he said.
“I think it’s absolutely imperative that you focus on AI,” said Brazier, adding that there were ways the channel could become more involved with the technology.
He urged the channel to take control of their destiny around AI and develop the skills required to support customers and differentiate their proposition.
“You have to become an AI company, and you need to learn how to become a software company yourself,” said Brazier.
Technical abilities
Brazier challenged senior channel leaders on their technical abilities, highlighting the coding prowess of many of those leading large tech firms in Silicon Valley.
“Can you code?” he said. “And if not, why have you not learned? Are you still relevant to lead the organisation? And if you can’t code yourself, who’s the person in your company you have to put next to you at the top of the company who knows how to code, knows how to develop small modules and practice active customer service launches?
“Measure the uptake,” said Brazier. “If the uptake is good, you invest more. If the uptake is not good, you change projects. That is how software is developed. It’s not starting big and forcing it through an organisation.
His keynote was more upbeat than last year, which had been set against a backdrop of continuing decline in the traditional hardware channel model.
Brazier said that many across the channel were continuing to deliver solid results, despite the ongoing geopolitical challenges that were causing economic uncertainty.
“The tech industry continues to be the best performing industry in the world and continues to thrive,” he said. “Most of the channel partners – and, again, you could do better – but most of the channel partners in the room are reporting decent results, and a few of them are reporting stellar results.
“Inside the political uncertainty, your job is then to ignore the politics, plot your business, plan your business and move forward,” said Brazier.
