Demand for AI visibility presents channel opportunity

As research mounts up, it is becoming increasingly clear that if a channel partner is in a position to speak with authority on artificial intelligence (AI), then they should find a sizeable audience seeking their assistance.

Customer appetite for AI tools and services has been growing at a rate that outpaces their ability to deploy the technology.

Research from Logicalis, which surveyed more than 1,000 CIOs globally, exposed concerns that AI is being rolled out quicker than compliance and risk controls can be implemented.

As a result, the overwhelming majority (96%) of CIOs expressed concerns about sensitive data being leaked, with similar numbers worried that customer trust could be undermined by AI-fuelled errors and breaches.

Many organisations are operationalising AI faster than they can realistically govern it, and that is creating a major opportunity for the channel

Those CIO fears translate into a channel opportunity. Neil Eke, CEO of Logicalis UKI, shared his thoughts about the research findings and the state of the market.

“What this research shows is that many organisations are operationalising AI faster than they can realistically govern it, and that is creating a major opportunity for the channel,” he said.

“Businesses are moving beyond AI pilots and starting to embed AI into core operations, workflows and decision-making, but in many cases, the governance, visibility and security controls are still immature. The risk is that organisations end up scaling AI before they fully understand where it is being used, what data it is accessing, or how accountability is being managed,” he added.

The research indicated that there was a clear role for the channel in providing greater visibility to arm CIOs with the information they needed to reduce risk and maintain compliance.

“The fact that three-quarters of CIOs are only moderately confident they have full visibility of AI tools being used across their organisation should be a significant warning sign for the industry. Shadow AI is already becoming a serious operational challenge, as employees are adopting AI tools independently through AI agents, plug-ins and third-party services, often outside formal IT governance. That creates growing concerns around data leakage, compliance exposure and operational resilience,” said Eke.

“For MSPs and channel partners, this is where the market is now shifting. Customers are no longer just looking for help deploying AI; they increasingly need partners that can help them govern, secure and operationalise AI safely at scale,” he added.

Logicalis is signalling an expectation of increased demand for those in the channel that can provide the tools that deliver the insights customers are looking for.

“We expect to see growing demand for services around AI monitoring, governance frameworks, identity and access management, compliance support and ongoing operational oversight. AI governance is quickly becoming a long-term managed services opportunity rather than a one-off consulting exercise,” said Eke.

“AI may be moving fast, but the real winners will be the partners that help customers scale it without losing control,” he concluded.