Sherweb Promises Partners 90 Days to AI Readiness for Clients

Channel distributor Sherweb today announced a new program for its MSPs designed to further enable AI adoption through the channel. Senior Manager of AI Readiness Jermaine Clark spoke with Channel Insider about how the offering was developed and why Sherweb believes it enables its MSPs in the market.

New pathway to AI success built for partners with their needs in mind

Sherweb describes this new offering as a blueprint for its thousands of MSPs seeking a tangible way to enable their end clients to efficiently adopt AI in their businesses. Its own statement announcing this news says that Sherweb’s MSPs report that “approximately 70% of their customers are looking to bring AI into their systems and processes as soon as possible.”

According to the company, the new offering will enable MSPs to provide the following to customers:

• Connect disparate data sources, so AI can get to work quickly: The program details how MSPs can introduce temporary connectors to tie together external and on-premises data sources, jumpstarting AI programs while buying time to create a single, holistic space where all data will reside in the long term.
• Establish early guardrails to keep data secure: Sherweb’s plan enables MSPs to limit AI’s access to only the data necessary for the specific programs. This includes placing restrictions on searching higher-risk data sources and datasets while MSPs work to secure the system in its entirety.
• Develop everyday and custom AI use cases: The program equips MSPs with the tools they need to determine where in their clients’ businesses AI will have the most impact and then create an implementation strategy around those key areas. 
• Centralize all data to fuel a completely AI-driven organization: While short-term data solutions enable companies to implement one-off AI solutions immediately, Sherweb also empowers MSPs to centralize and secure all company data sources, facilitating a comprehensive AI transformation. 

Clark says this announcement is the culmination of several months of development, feedback gathering, and careful consideration of what would be tangibly valuable for MSPs in the AI space. 

“One of the things we wanted to do was collect feedback from our MSPs on what exactly we could give them that would help them,” Clark said. “It took close to six months to really hone down what would be included in this, including the focus areas and the formatting.”

“We also wanted this to be flexible for MSPs to use today and in the future,” Clark added. “These tools are changing rapidly, so we created a foundational approach that can be applied to any AI tool or program for customers.”

Clark, who worked at an MSP before joining Sherweb to help from the other side, says even though AI continues to dominate headlines, many providers and their clients are still in the early stages of adoption solutions.

“What’s currently the trend isn’t necessarily where everyone is at,” Clark said. “Plus, this technology is evolving so rapidly that the things you needed six months ago might not be what you need for the models right now.”

“Ultimately, the first step is to ask the right questions around access, security, and data governance. It doesn’t matter how many tools you have or which AI products you use once the guardrails are in place,” said Clark.

Sherweb continues to focus on AI and security needs as partners leverage opportunities for growth

Sherweb also hosts monthly training sessions, Copilot masterclasses, webinars, and events for its MSP partners to ensure they have everything they need to prepare businesses for an AI future. 

Sherweb’s Head of Sales for Microsoft and Security, Michael Slater, told Channel Insider last month that the distributor has seen partners leverage conversations around AI to grow demand for security offerings within their client bases.

“What this does is it gives MSPs an opportunity to sell security and data protection services,” Slater said. “At the end of the day, I think it’s really the readiness for the AI that is the big opportunity right now. We’ve seen our partners tap into new revenue streams before the customer even has the AI tool itself.”

AI demand remains one of the top tech priorities worldwide. IBM and Microsoft recently partnered to combine IBM’s expertise with tools like Copilot.