COMMENT
One of the nice things about launching a magazine is that you get a clean break, a fresh start, a second go at ‘new year, new me’. It’ll be no surprise that my alcohol, ice cream, and Maccies intake still hasn’t changed, just like the topic that dominates our industry. While nerds like myself will argue that Artificial Intelligence has been around for a long time, it is undeniable that it has now broken through public consciousness and is having an impact on businesses around the world. Mass selling of stocks in the last month or so may have calmed, but my feeds are full of articles and videos assessing which stocks are AI-proof, if there is such an opportunity out there. To my mind, investors looking to protect their money may not be the best way to assess or measure the future of a business, but that doesn’t mean the shockwaves aren’t felt. In my own profession, AI has been seen as a reason for layoffs as newsrooms attempt to feed the unquenchable thirst for news, and there is a similar story from friends and family who are hearing about redundancies in their respective industries, whether voluntarily or not. My own feeling is that AI is still a tool not an excuse to cut jobs. Whilst gathering views for our piece on page 20, it became apparent whilst AI is great for handling data, knowing what to do with that data, how the look at it, and what actions to take is still a human endevour. It strikes me that the best was to embrace this change is with employees at the centre. Is there anything else to talk about?
Elliot Mulley-Goodbarne Editor
...My feeds are full of articles and videos assessing which stocks are AI-proof, if there is such an opportunity out there.
In this issue we’ve also looked into Microsoft Cloud and the effect of the changes they made to their partner programme last year on page 30. As Oliver Harvey Jones, Cloud Director UK&I at Arrow ECS said, partners want as much access as possible to Microsoft but it does seem a sensible move to place more emphasis on the relationship with the distributors, rather than insisting on a direct arrangement.
Oliver is our profile for the issue, he’s just over a year into his new job which was a great opportunity to catch up and reflect on the industry. That interview can be found on page 12 where we dive into Oliver’s own experience, Microsoft, and of course, AI! X
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