“We should not jump to AI because it’s cool. It should be part of your business and your DNA. AI is an outcome of great data, a curious mindset, and how you approach problem solving. If an organization doesn’t have these right, jumping on AI doesn’t make any sense,” said Ingram Micro EVP and CDO Sanjib Sahoo today as part of a panel discussion at the Ingram Micro ONE global innovation summit.
The panel, which was made up of a diverse cross-section of AI experts, presented to press and industry analysts for close to an hour. It was moderated by Ingram Micro’s Executive Director of Advanced Solutions, Cherl Rang, and was hosted by Marie Rourke of White Fox PR.
Featured guests included:
- Madison Gooch, director, Watson Applications and Solutions at IBM
- Hans Mize, president of Data41
- Sam Barhoumeh, founder and CEO of ReadyNetworks
- Sanjib Sahoo, EVP and CDO at Ingram Micro
- Philip DeSouza, president of Aurora
Much of the conversation revolved around how IT services companies can leverage AI as they serve the complex needs of modern businesses. Madison Gooch spoke to the importance of data cleanliness, or in her words, a “trusted data foundation.” Refining data sources and determining a “single source of truth” was identified as one such opportunity for MSPs.
She pointed out that organizations can take advantage of open source Large Language Models immediately and with limited technical know-how, but if it is trained with biased, hateful, or sensitive data, that opens the organization up to many potential dangers. The answer to that is expert consulting from early adopters of AI technology.
“My job is to look at the art of the possible and then take the possibilities and apply them to the business. AI is a better tool to do that,” said Hans Mize. He gave an example of a Fortune 500 client that asked his team to help them improve their forecasting by 1%. By selecting the right AI tooling, Data41 did just that. According to Mize, the more precise numbers created billions in market capitalization for the client.
Philip DeSouza talked about the security risks related to irresponsible AI usage and the resulting opportunities for consultants. He pointed out that there’s a training opportunity for IT partners, as they coach users to harness tools like ChatGPT responsibly by stripping out names, dates, and other pieces of Personally Identifiable Information
Sam Barhoumeh talked about the importance of an MSP understanding each client and their data. He encouraged the audience to build an operational plan around AI. That sentiment was echoed several times by the other panel members.
The consensus was that Artificial Intelligence possesses limitless potential for small and mid-sized organizations, which in turn results in massive sales for Managed Services Providers. MSPs can capitalize on the multi-trillion dollar opportunity if they think strategically, select tools wisely, and hone in on specific use cases where AI can make a dramatic impact.
