Video: Ingram Micro CDO on How To Approach Solving Problems with AI

Ingram Micro’s Sanjib Sahoo tells channel partners to focus on customer experience before deploying AI.

Written By
Katie Bavoso
Katie Bavoso
Mar 20, 2024
1 minute read

Transcription

hi I'm sanjib sahu EVP global technology and T digital officer of Ingram Micro AI is not new the term AI was coined in 1956 what is new is AI has evolved with much more capabilities right now ai is nothing but human intelligence at scale so if you can have every employee come up with a cognitive idea or intelligent you're also an AI company now take those human ideas and thoughts use machines and algorithms to scale that is AI my advice is don't start with AI story and fit your business start with your business strategy business story and use capabilities of AI don't sell AI but Sell Solutions to problems ask the customers give me the problem statement that you're trying to solve don't think about AI think about the problem statements that you have in organization is it a performance Gap opportunity Gap you want to differentiate have that list then have your AI Playbook create your AI Playbook about all the opportunities you can create with AI with Essentials hyperscalers algorithms and then try to figure out a use case for your customers and bring a solution using from the AI Playbook and then take those use cases one after another and show value once you show tangible value it will come don't try to just go said go and use llms or go and use this hyperskill embed capabilities put security because each such use case will navigate across data security storage Computing AI algorithms start with that have a list of customers problems have a list of opportunities or Solutions with AI be the Matchmaker and take one by one and each them think big and start small everybody thinks about automation efficiency productivity I think it will pivot to AI moving more towards experience today your employee experience is your customer experience we have to start with experience first and automation second for example you're a channel partner you're looking at bringing a hardware can an AI algorithm figure out oh we have an warranty that really fits that Hardware at the point of sale Boom the foundation of EX Vantage is AI and data so if you want to get insights you want to get demand signals you want to get recommendations Solutions you do not have to invest in your own AI as a channel partner AI for Essentials hyperscalers you know AI for data centers we have all these solutions that you can actually leverage our platform I would say explore advantage

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Sanjib Sahoo, executive vice president of Global Technology and chief digital officer at Ingram Micro, offers IT channel solution providers advice on how to approach incorporating AI to solve customer challenges.

Speaking with Channel Insider’s Katie Bavoso at Channel Partners Conference & Expo 2024, Sanjib Sahoo reviewed takeaways from his keynote on AI. Sahoo tells channel partners to focus on the customer experience and learn what challenges and problems their customers face before deploying an AI solution. The Ingram Micro executive also invited solution providers to explore how the distributor’s Xvantage platform can help channel partners begin their AI journeys.

Katie Bavoso

Katie Bavoso is a 2017 Regional New England Emmy-nominated broadcaster with over a decade of professional content creation, production, hosting, and interviewing experience. Starting her career off in TV news, she pivoted to the IT channel to help connect vendors, solutions and services providers, and IT buyers through exciting video content and storytelling. Katie is now the host of Channel Insider: Partner POV, a video and podcast series shining a light on the most innovative solution providers of the IT channel.

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