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Tech consultancy and Microsoft partner Rapid Circle has announced a new Copilot AI Centre of Excellence (CoE) to advance AI innovation and business transformation across Australia and New Zealand.

The CoE will serve as a hub for developing and optimising AI-driven solutions.

“Rapid Circle’s CoE represents our investment and continued expansion down under, bolstering our presence and capability across the Microsoft portfolio. Our CoE is dedicated to developing, adopting, and optimising AI-driven solutions, and that puts us in a strong position as the go-to technology partner for enabling business outcomes for our customers,” Rodney Hobbs, CTO of Rapid Circle, said in an interview with Channel Insider.

The CoE will target customers across industries, including government, healthcare, and education, by tailoring solutions to specific challenges. “Our investment in the Copilot AI CoE is a strategic move to support our competitive differentiation in an increasingly crowded AI solutions space. By serving as an innovation hub, the CoE enables us to experiment with and develop leading-edge AI solutions and offerings, showcasing our expertise and demonstrating the transformative potential of AI,” Hobbs said.

The CoE also focuses on training programs, workshops, and certifications. “We go well beyond just training as all data shows that many AI programmes lack traction if you are not appropriately approaching change and adoption,” Hobbs said. Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive, with many appreciating the opportunity to upskill.

Rapid Circle plans to expand its offerings and formally open the CoE in January 2025. “The most important part of the CoE is partnering with our customer wherever they may be on their journey and being able to drive the velocity of value that these new technologies can enable in their businesses and for their customers,” Hobbs said.

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