What role will partners play in realizing our collective AI dreams?

The artificial intelligence (AI) business is booming and there's good reason why. Advancements in transformer technology that powers the explosion of AI tools we've seen across the workforce — from coding assistants to content generation — have excited many to the prospects of not just what is possible now, but what may be possible in the next few years. It's an incredibly powerful technology for increasing productivity and unlocking new levels of efficiency — if wielded and implemented correctly, of course. 

Like adopting many new technologies, tapping into AI cannot be done with the flick of a switch, buying tokens, or signing up for a company-wide trial. It's crucial to support any new technology implementation with the critical functions that will mean it can get up and running as quickly as possible and actually realize the collective dreams laid out in front of us all. 

That means examining your own organization's shortcomings and looking out for partners to help ease the transitory burden. Businesses that go it alone may end up succeeding if they are configured in the right way, or just benefit from sheer dumb luck, but relying on existing and new relationships as the AI industry expands and more use cases become available is the only way to make sure your organization has the best chance.

Priming your business for the AI revolution

With time, AI can enhance productivity, improve interactions with customers, and automate laborious tasks which free up time for staff to pursue more enriching tasks, according to Ryan Martin, head of indirect digital transformation at ANS Group, a UK-based web hosting company, writing in Channel Pro. 

However, organizations must first assess whether they are configured to adopt AI in the most optimal way possible. There are several key areas that decision-makers must pay attention to, Martin added. These include ensuring they have quality data, that AI adoption aligns with business goals, that teams have the resources they need, and that the organization as a whole is capable of handling any adaptation. 

There are, indeed, several challenges that cannot be resolved in a short frame of time. Businesses, however, may not be so patient. Some 95% have either established – or are in the process of establishing – an AI strategy, findings from Polish software consultancy Future Processing reveal. 

The appetite is there, but are businesses ready? Not entirely, recent Benoit Global research found. Nearly one in five (19%) of employees are either skeptical or resistant to AI adoption, hinting at the critical need to manage a cultural shift. But the overwhelming barrier is a lack of understanding of AI technologies — according to 58% of the business leaders surveyed (who all completed MIT's “Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy” certification). This, the survey suggests, indicates the need for extensive education and training initiatives. Other concerns include cost (45% seeing it as a barrier) and a lack of sustainable AI solutions (28%). 

Worryingly, in general, 89% of respondents suggested their organizations were either only "somewhat" or "not at all prepared" for AI integration — meaning there is a significant barrier between appetite and capacity. But for Bernard Marr, futurist and author, it's simply the lack of skills available. "In my experience, topping the list of reasons that a business is having difficulty realizing its AI ambitions is simply a lack of skills. Much has been written about the shortage of AI professionals, such as machine learning engineers, data scientists, and project managers with experience in the field," he wrote on LinkedIn. He explained there would be a knock-on difficulty in cleaning or preparing data and understanding the complex regulations around privacy and security.  

Leaning on support to realize your dreams

Martin advocates for finding "partners who can help bear the burden". "This means other businesses and organizations with the skills you're missing or that specializes in the support infrastructure you need, be it in engineering, logistics, marketing or sales," he added. "​It’s certainly getting easier for companies to start exploring and benefiting from AI. But fully integrating it in a business across every viable use case is still expensive, time-consuming, and often dependent on the availability of highly skilled specialists."

Strategic partnerships are essential for accelerating the adoption and development of AI systems, reducing overall costs and risks, and accessing specialized talent, according to Dezzai, a data management company. For such a partnership to thrive, the relationship must also be built on key foundations. These include the alignment of vision and objectives, complementary strengths – where there are few overlaps and the overall capacity to tackle challenges increases – and commitment to innovation, where both partners are keen to explore new approaches to existing problems. The final pillar is communication and trust, which is essential when venturing into uncharted territory.  

"Partnering provides organizations the opportunity to develop their collaborative processes," Martin added. "This creates opportunities for businesses to share best practices and learn from each other. It also exposes each partner’s services to the other’s audience, acting as an endorsement and creating opportunities for shared publicity and marketing outreach from both companies. When executed effectively, this lets both partners leverage the reputation and credibility of each other to communicate trustworthiness to audiences and potential future clients."

One key model that may emerge in the coming years is the "center of excellence" with various major tech companies recently deciding to establish groups that can help organizations connect to deliver mutually beneficial projects. IBM, AWS, and Google all launched their own last year — and there are plenty more out there. An entry point to thousands of experts, organizations can use this new and exciting model to tap into resources they never had before. As we chart our path to realizing our AI dreams, these frameworks signal a bright future for the capacity to build reliable and fruitful partnerships.