AI
It’s a topic that needs no introduction. Whether it be new capabilities, its impact on the stock market, or one of the tech giants buying a new start- up, artificial intelligence has been dominating headlines in every sector for years now. With Nvidia announcing a financial year in which they made $200 billion in revenue, and the rest of the ‘Big Tech’ companies committing to $660 billion of investment in AI, we might be able to land on 2026 being “the year of AI.” While these numbers are, frankly, ridiculous, they represent a fact that AI is real and something that businesses need to pay attention to. “The AI conversation has clearly moved from experimentation to practical application,” said Oliver Harvey-Jones, Cloud Director UK&I at Arrow ECS. “Businesses are no longer asking whether AI is relevant and are focused on how to apply it in a structured and responsible way.” But with so much noise around the subject, how businesses apply AI is a conversation that needs to be had. Yet with the current commentary, you’d be forgiven for assuming businesses had either already adopted AI or were scared of it. “How AI is often portrayed is either it is fantastic, it’s going to solve world hunger, and it’s extremely powerful, or it doesn’t work, or it’s extremely dangerous,” said Peter van der Putten, Director of the AI lab at Pega. “The truth is more in the middle.” “There are particular pockets where you see a lot of adoption, and there are particular companies that go a bit faster and others that take a more step-by- step approach. “Businesses are still excited about AI, but they’re a lot more grounded about it than they were a year ago,” said Eduardo Mota, Senior Cloud AI Architect. “GenAI isn’t a shiny new toy for businesses anymore. “There’s definitely still a strong appetite to adopt it, but businesses have a different focus now. A lot of the interest is in practical use cases, notably in back-office functions, and running smaller, lower-cost models that are easier to manage and more likely to show a clear return. “Overall, the mood is still positive, albeit more disciplined. Businesses see the potential, but they know it takes the right data, the guardrails and pace to make it worthwhile.” While the mood is positive, Mota added that businesses are also aware of the cost implications of building the right solution for them, rather than adopting a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. As Harvey-Jones points out, organisations are now looking for bespoke solutions, ticking off questions around security, compliance and adaptability before diving into an AI solution. “What we are seeing is that organisations gaining the most traction are approaching AI strategically rather than tactically. “Generative AI, particularly through tools such as Copilot, is beginning to reshape how employees interact with data, automate workflows and improve
Oliver Harvey Jones
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How AI is often portrayed is either it is fantastic, it’s going to solve world hunger, and it’s extremely powerful, or it doesn’t work, or it’s extremely dangerous...
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