Artificial intelligence on its own is not a strategy. Managed service providers need a business strategy that leverages AI to deliver value and business outcomes for their customers and their own business.
That was a theme stressed at last week’s Ingram Micro ONE conference in Washington, D.C., which was attended by over 2,200 people from 52 countries, with another 1,000 attending virtually.
Ingram Micro’s AI Perspective
In his keynote presentation, Ingram Micro CEO Paul Bay encouraged MSPs to look at what is currently driving change in the IT space. “Value is in the mix,” Bay said. “It’s the cloud, it’s the products, it’s the services. As all of you know, business to business are not buying products; they’re not buying point solutions. They’re buying outcomes from all of you. We’ve got to continue to focus on that. That’s the competitive environment that’s going on right now.”
Bay then went on to address Ingram Micro’s perspective on AI, particularly relevant for MSPs, as it is closely integrated with their AI-driven platform, Xvantage. He said, “The way we see it, AI is a fabric for the way we work and live. There is a consumer expectation now, that they can get everything in real-time. We believe AI is going to help drive some of that. [However,] at the end of the day, technology is important, but humanity is the thing that sits squarely in front of our relationships. So together, by bringing the technology and the people together, we’re going to be able to create opportunities to take out those tedious tasks we’re doing every single day. Let’s free up time to go have a more meaningful conversation of what we’re doing. In my opinion, that’s what value creation is all about.”
Rather than worrying about AI replacing jobs, Bay encouraged Ingram Micro’s partners to focus on value creation—what tedious tasks can AI replace in your business? This mindset shift frees up both MSPs owners and their teams to focus on work that grows the business, increasing value and improving employee job satisfaction.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Get the details here on Ingram Micro Ultra, the new loyalty program launched at Ingram Micro ONE, as well as the new Xvantage integrations with hyperscaler marketplaces.
Tips For Embedding AI In Your Business
Sanjib Sahoo, EVP and chief digital officer at Ingram Micro, spoke on how MSPs can make AI actionable, rather than reactionary. But first, he warned MSPs not to make AI itself their strategy. “AI cannot be your strategy,” Sahoo said. “AI can accelerate, optimize, and help your business strategy. But don’t have an AI strategy and try to force it to fit your business. You must start with your business strategy and try to see what benefits of AI you can fit to run your business.”
To this end, Sahoo reminded MSPs not to forget the human element, which he nicknamed “H.I.”, or Human Intelligence. “AI cannot work without HI,” he said. “Humans and machines work together to make AI perfect. The more you use [the algorithm], the better reports it gives.”
As for how to embed AI into their business’ DNA, Sahoo encouraged MSPs to focus on three lanes when it comes to AI: speed, scale, and service.
The 3 S’s
Speed. “Speed is very important to this business. You cannot wait for transformation—you have to perform while you transform. This is because 75% of data loses value in days. 50% of it loses value in hours. We’re collecting all this data, so we have to think fast and move faster. Speed is everything,” Sahoo said. He then used pricing as an example, pointing to leveraged catalogue ingestion, sourcing recommendations, and real-time insights as ways AI can increase MSPs’ speed. “Evaluate where you can increase speed using your business’s data,” he said.
Scale. MSPs can utilize AI to automate their back office, allowing them to scale their business without increasing operational costs, said Sahoo. “Leveraging scale is very important,” he said. “The moment you can keep on increasing that efficiency in your business, you can scale your business from a small MSP and grow into a bigger business; you can grow your share of the wallet and into different markets.”
Service. “AI has a huge role in service,” Sahoo said. “Not only just in improving attack rates, but in creating AI services in cybersecurity or the cloud.” He also advocated for MSPs utilizing generative AI to understand their customers better: “You can scale your customer service using large language models. With even a small data set to optimize your operations, you can drive personalized campaigns to drive higher conversion rates for your customers.”
Above all, Sahoo reminded MSPs to tailor AI to their business, not just do what everyone else is doing. “Think big, but act small,” he said. “That’s the crux of AI. You cannot just go and solve the next big complex problem. Building the groundwork is extremely important. Don’t jump into AI—use AI the right way to drive your business forward.”
