I am joined now by Anita Swan, the VP of global alliances here at Logicalis. Anita, thank you so much for joining me. >> You're welcome. Good to be here, Victoria. Thank you. >> Yeah, absolutely. So, I know today's conversation dives pretty heavily into the Microsoft ecosystem, but before we can get ahead of ourselves, if you could just introduce yourself to the audience, and then I'll ask you to say a little more about Logicalis. >> Absolutely. So, okay.
So, as you rightly say, I'm Anita Swan. Um I'm the VP of global alliances here at Logicalis. And ultimately, I lead the company's worldwide strategic partner ecosystem and alliance strategy. Um in this role, I'm responsible for strengthening relationships with key technology partners. I shape the global vendor roadmap, and I drive go-to-market initiatives that help customers accelerate digital transformation, realizing ultimately uh greater value from technology investments. >> Perfect.
And then expand if you would just a little bit on who Logicalis is, who you serve, and and what you ultimately provide for them. >> We're a global technology services provider, and we deliver AI-powered technology solutions built for reliability and the scale. And that's across cloud, connectivity, collaboration, and security. >> I know we'll talk pretty heavily about the AI end of of that description as well. In July, you were named a Microsoft Frontier Partner.
Now, I know that's still a relatively new designation for anybody in Microsoft's ecosystem to hold, so I want to pick your brain a little bit um on what this means for for you and the brand, but maybe to start, could you just explain to the audience a little bit what a Microsoft Frontier Partner is and what this designation ultimately signals to you and the team in terms of the work that that you've put in to be recognized. >> Yeah, absolutely. So, well, first and foremost, Victoria, I mean, it's a phenomenal achievement from the team, and we are so excited uh to hold this status.
But, for me, the significance of the Microsoft Frontier Partner status is that it validates something that we've actually been focused on for quite some time. And that's helping customers move from beyond AI experimentation and into secure AI enterprise scale adoption. It's It's not just a another badge, but a deep recognition of the depth of expertise that we've built across the Microsoft ecosystem, from data governance to security, Copilot agents, and cloud transformation.
This designation signals that our approach to AI is both ambitious and responsible. We believe organizations need more than access to AI technology. They actually need a trusted partner that can help them balance innovation with governance, manage their risk, but also help deliver measurable business outcomes. >> We'll dive in maybe to a a little bit more of what all of that means, but I'm curious within that explanation, you're a long-time Microsoft partner, you clearly have deep expertise across the stack, across the suite of solutions.
When you think about the ways in which you've worked with Microsoft as a partner in your alliance over the years, walk me through how you kind of got into this point, and then more importantly, what this Frontier Partner status now means in terms of your working relationship. >> Yeah, so we we have a fantastic relationship with Microsoft, and one of the things that I value most about the relationship is actually it goes beyond a traditional vendor partner model.
We work closely together on strategy and innovation, enablement, and go-to-market execution. And And this really enables us to ensure that we're helping customers realize value from AI at scale. From a business practice perspective, that means investing jointly in skilling, developing repeatable services, sharing insights from customer engagements, and aligning around the customer outcomes that organizations are trying to achieve. The Frontier Partner designation really strengthens that collaboration that we have together.
It gives us access to the expertise, the best practices, and the innovation that is ultimately needed to stay ahead in what is now a rapidly evolving market. Ultimately, our goal is to make AI adoption simpler, faster, and more secure for customers. By combining Microsoft's technology leadership with Logicalis' global delivery capability, services, and industry expertise, we're able to help organizations move from pilots and experimentation to sustainable enterprise-wide transformation. >> On that note of transformation and to kind of summarize what we've just talked about, right?
That breadth of experience and expertise across the stack. AI isn't just an AI conversation, right? It's security, to your point, it's infrastructure, it's kind of all of these things working together. When you think about how you need to support Logicalis' customers, right? How important is that breadth and depth of expertise in multiple technologies and multiple subject areas? And how important is that going to be moving forward as businesses continue to adopt AI? >> Yeah, absolutely.
It is incredibly important. And that is because customers simply don't consume technology in silos. For example, AI doesn't sit separately from cloud, security, data, or infrastructure. It relies on them all working together. That's why our capabilities across Copilot, Azure Security, and the wider wider Microsoft portfolio are so, so valuable. They allow us to take a more holistic approach, helping customers to create the right foundations for AI whilst ensuring they secure, govern and align to the business outcomes.
In today's landscape, organizations need partners who can connect the dots across these technologies, not just implement individual solutions. Our specializations and the frontier partner designation demonstrate ultimately that we can support customers through the entire journey from strategy and readiness right through to the deployment, adoption and long-term optimization. Ultimately, it's about helping the customers unlock the full value of AI and digital transformation with confidence. >> I want to stay on that note, but maybe let's widen out and talk a bit more about your customer base and and what Logicalis sees in the market right now.
When you think about the way that AI demand has exploded, the way that enterprise leaders are are thinking about it now, uh where do you think the kind of market writ large is is headed the rest of '26 into '27 and what is top of mind for Logicalis based on what its customers seem to need? >> Yeah, and this is a hot topic and a constant conversation, but actually my opinion is that I think the market is entering a much more pragmatic phase of AI adoption.
Uh certainly over the last 18 months, we've seen enormous enthusiasm and investment. But the conversation is now shifting from what can AI do to what measurable value is it delivering and how can we scale it responsibly? So, certainly as we move through the rest of the year and into next year, I expect we'll see fewer standalone pilots and far more focus on embedding AI into core business processes. Um organizations are increasingly recognizing that proof of concept is no longer the goal.
Instead, it's proving business value at scale. Um success will ultimately be measured by your productivity gains, your operational efficiency, better decision-making, and tangible business outcomes, not simply the number of AI tools you deploy. At the same time, governance, security, and data readiness layers will move even higher up the agenda. The organizations that achieve the greatest return on AI investment will be those that build trusted data foundations, establish clear governance frameworks, and focus on adoption as much as they do technology.
AI is rapidly becoming part of the operating fabric in a modern business today. But, sustainable value will come from combining that innovation with discipline and execution. Ultimately, Victoria, I believe 2027 will be the year we stop talking about AI as a separate initiative, and start seeing it as a core business capability. One that differentiates organizations, not through experimentation, but through real scalable outcomes. >> When you think about that, right, and what that's going to ultimately mean for Logicalis moving forward then as customers moving that direction alongside you, how do you want to continue to then grow the Microsoft practice, continue to grow as a Microsoft Frontier Partner?
What excites you about any of that growth trajectory now that you're looking at? >> Yeah, and this is a a bigger question because actually there's a few responses here, but but I do genuinely feel that the opportunity ahead is incredibly exciting because AI is changing the technology landscape at a pace that we've never seen before. Microsoft's at the forefront of this transformation, and as a Frontier Partner, our ambition to continue growing alongside Microsoft by investing in our capabilities that help customers move from AI ambition to real business outcomes.
It is really part of the journey. Growth isn't just about technology as we've mentioned, it's about our people. One of our greatest strengths is is the expertise we've built across our global teams. It's with that experience and commitment and innovation that we're able to even bring Microsoft's vision to life for customers every day. But to your second point, as the market evolves we'll continue investing heavily in those skills while deepening our collaboration with Microsoft.
The Frontier designation is a fantastic milestone, but what matters now is how we use it to help our people, help our customers stay at the forefront of what's next. Our success ultimately will come from combining Microsoft's innovation with talent, expertise, and the passion of our Logicalis team. >> Okay, well then Anita, I guess I have one final question for you as we wrap today and thank you so much for joining me for a couple minutes. I appreciate it.
If this has sparked curiosity and interest in our audience, right, they want to learn more about you and about your work with Microsoft, how can people learn more about Logicalis itself? >> Yeah, so we've recently updated some very exciting blogs that are now on our global website and you can read more about us there, but equally leaning through the contact us page and we'll be happy to support any conversations or questions you may have as a team. >> Perfect.
Well, Anita, thank you again so much for joining and if you are watching this and interested in learning more about Microsoft's approach to AI and the ecosystem at large or any of the other analysis that my team produces, you can head to channelinsider.com as always. Anita, thank you for the time. >> Thanks, Victoria. It's been a pleasure.
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