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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece on AI as an adjunct to your work, one that MSPs should definitely be embracing as a way to help your clients work more efficiently. This week, Microsoft came out with a survey suggesting that higher growth companies are more likely to embrace AI.

The survey looked at 800 companies in the EU and the US and defined high growth companies as those that “expect relative organic revenue growth in the double digits.” Lower growth companies were expecting single digit growth.

For starters, the survey found that it’s still early days for AI. More companies are in the stage of thinking about it, rather than actually doing anything. The important take-away is that the higher growth companies were embracing the idea of AI much more than the lower growth ones.

Graphs: Microsoft

Specifically, the survey found that 93 percent of high-growth respondents reported that they intend to invest in AI to help with better decision making some time in the next 1-3 years. Even more telling was that over half (53 percent) expected to make that investment in the next year. That compares with just 33 percent of lower growth companies in the one year time frame. Instead, the vast majority of lower growth companies have a much longer time frame for adoption of 3-5 years.

It would suggest that growing companies see where the puck is going and want to get there first (in order to continue to be a high growth company).

Pros and cons of AI

As for what they could gain from moving to AI-driven processes, more than half of the higher growth companies (53 percent) reported better decision making as the top reason, followed by process optimization at 43 percent, with new product and service development coming in third at 28 percent.

Even the higher growth companies see challenges with their move to AI, with 43 percent citing the rapidly changing AI technology landscape as the top challenge, followed by promoting a culture where humans can thrive along side AI at 41 percent and developing ideas for using AI to improve customer solutions at 40 percent.

Those are all factors that MSPs have to deal with as well, when you are trying to help your customers implement AI-fueled solutions. While AI has the potential to make you and your customers much more efficient operationally, you have to worry about the shifting technology landscape, the impact on your employees and clients, and how you can use AI to better understand your clients and deliver what they need more quickly.

None of this is going to be easy with an ever-changing tableau. It’s complicated even more by the fact that the Financial Times of London reported this week that some startups which claim to have AI, don’t actually have it at all. That means buyer beware.

There is a clear take-away from this survey: growth companies are embracing AI in spite of the uncertainties. That means, as MSPs you need be leading your own companies and clients on the path to the future to help them deal with this huge technology leap.

Photo:  Syda Productions / Shutterstock


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Ron Miller

Posted by Ron Miller

Ron Miller is a freelance technology reporter and blogger. He is contributing editor at EContent Magazine and enterprise reporter at TechCrunch.

2 Comments

  1. Offcourse they will all move towards AI for customer solution. After all it provides much more ROI.

    Reply

  2. Yes I totally agree with anubhab

    Reply

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