01732 759725 12 DISTRIBUTION TD Synnex launches industry ecosystem for AI to accelerate development and delivery of AI-driven solutions There is clearly a lot of interest in AI, but equally the technology is still in its early days and partners recognise there are many building blocks they need to put in place before they are in a position to deploy AI solutions, such as data collection policies, integration with back end data sources, analytics, secure storage, the right cloud and edge posture etc.. Speaking to Technology Reseller at the Vendor Summit, Watts said that an AI Industry Ecosystem (along with other TD SYNNEX initiatives such as training, certifications, workshops, forums and Microsoft Copilot POCs) had a vital role to play in helping partners find their feet in AI. “The absolute central proposition of our industry ecosystems is to address something that everyone is trying to work out at the same time. In the case of AI, you may have a vendor that has part of the answer as to how AI can be deployed – they may not have an AI solution per se but be providing the network and it’s security and can advise on policies. You might have resellers that don't have the right skill sets and perhaps don't even know what to say when a customer inevitably says to them ‘Should I be looking at AI or not?’. The idea is to start bringing these forums together so everyone's thinking about the problem at the same time.” Use cases Watts adds that one of the purposes of the ecosystem will be to generate more AI uses cases for small and mid-sized business. “Microsoft's ambition is to get case studies out there, real use cases of businesses that people can relate to that aren't about the Central Bank of wherever taking on Copilot, because most people can't relate to that opportunity. It's about an operational department in a small business. And I think that's why these forums are so important.” To begin with he expects channel partners serving SMEs to focus mainly on Copilot. “I've been to a few vendor conference where I've said to CTOs ‘Where would you start with AI, bearing in mind our customer base is mostly small customers? Where would you start if you were them?’ And a couple of them said the same thing, which is a useful starting point. They said they've probably got AI deployed on products that they've taken into their customers, but may not fully understand. A lot of Microsoft products, a lot of products from Cisco, Salesforce and HPE have AI on board. Talking to your customers about the role it's playing in their business already is a nice entry point. “Where do you go from there? Today, it’s Microsoft Copilot. After that, it's very unclear. You've got big consultancies, like BCG, Bain, Accenture, who are saying we can utilise AI to make your customer-facing people super-efficient, but not many people can access that. I think time will bring more SKU-able, pre-packaged products that are easily understandable, but at the moment, you've only really got Microsoft.” Sales boost In the meantime, he expects AI to provide a further boost to the high growth technologies that were doing well before Covid and which continued to be in demand even in 2023 when endpoint sales through the channel (PCs, notebooks, printers, accessories, supplies) took a hammering – down 15%, according to Context figures. “COVID changed a lot of things, but it didn't change the high growth technologies. Partly in response to AI, cloud, hybrid cloud, as-a-service offerings coming from HPE, Lenovo and Dell are continuing to grow really well. Security we expect to grow, and again that market is going to be stimulated by AI. Then, anything to do with managing big amounts of data creatively, bringing as much of it to the edge as possible to give people the functions they require, will continue to do really well. Those have been our key bets for three or four years and that won’t change. “End users are trying to set up more and more data practices for all sorts of really smart reasons and they need a lot of help in doing that. How do you do it smartly? How do you bring it to the edge fast? How do you secure it? That’s the bread and butter of a lot of VARs these days, or MSPs if they're managing the whole thing, and they will continue to thrive.” TD SYNNEX is helping partners develop capabilities in AI with the launch of a new Industry Ecosystem where ISVs, channel partners, vendors and interested parties can share ideas, create partnerships and develop new solutions using artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs). The distributor already runs Industry Ecosystems for healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and retail and distribution, as well as Technology Ecosystems for cybersecurity and sustainability, and the addition of an AI ecosystem is nothing if not timely. At the TD SYNNEX Vendor Summit in March, David Watts, Managing Director TD SYNNEX UK&I, quoted figures from the company’s Direction of Technology report showing that in 2023 29% of channel partners were working with AI solutions (six times more than the year before) and that 34% of those partners were investing to enable them to have solution offerings by 2025 (two and a half times more than in 2022). Communal Intelligence David Watts
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