Dicker Data partners with Microsoft on AI readiness assessment tool

Dicker Data has partnered with Microsoft to offer its AI Compass tool to ANZ partners and their customers so they can assess their readiness for AI.

The tool is available exclusively to Dicker Data’s partners and allows them to guage AI readiness within five minutes, according to the company.  

It quizzes participants about digital maturity, security, privacy, compliance and governance, technology investment priorities and business growth, among other topics.

Its ANZ availability coincides with Dicker Data’s publication of the results of a survey looking at AI adoption by SMBs and IT partners in ANZ.  

The Dicker Data and Microsoft report, 'Understanding the AI opportunity with Australian and New Zealand SMBs', details the results of a survey of more than 500 SMBs in ANZ by Tech Research Asia.

According to the survey, Australian SMBs rated their understanding of generative AI (GenAI) as 7.4 out of 10, while NZ SMBs rated their understanding 7.2 out of 10.

Meanwhile, ANZ IT partners rated their own understanding of GenAI as 5.4 out of ten.

Only 18 per cent of surveyed partners indicated having AI projects currently underway with a customer.

“There is a big gap between readiness of the end users and [their] willingness to go ahead and put budgets together and driving their AI journey, and our channel partners [where] one in every five are talking to their customers [about AI],” Dicker Data’s COO Vlad Mitnovetski told CRN Australia.

So…how [are] customers going through this journey? It means they’re sourcing this AI expertise elsewhere, and this is where it's a question, it’s a gap, but also it's a huge opportunity for Microsoft and Dicker Data - Vlad Mitnovetski, Dicker Data

“…it's our role as a value-added distributor…to actually drive that knowledge through…[our] partners who can actually drive this AI adoption.” 

“Don't wait and get left behind”

According to the survey, only three per cent of ANZ partners said they use GenAI extensively, compared to 37 per cent of Australian SMBs and 31 per cent of NZ SMBs.

10 percent of surveyed partners said they have started using AI as part of an overall strategy, compared to 66 per cent of Australian SMBs and 62 per cent of NZ SMBs.

Microsoft’s global partner solutions director for ANZ Vanessa Sorenson told CRN Australia the “call to action” for ANZ partners is “don't wait and get left behind” when it comes to AI adoption.

“These are new market opportunities, this is next level and I think if ever there's a time to reimagine your business and surface up with customers that you're already dealing with; they're demanding this,” she said.

If ever there's going to be that pivotal wake up call to create new services and new opportunities, it is now - Vanessa Sorenson, Microsoft

According to Sorenson, AI is not only a selling opportunity for partners but also an “opportunity for them to cut down their own costs.”

“The whole process of anyone in call centres or those traditional pieces of business, why wouldn't you implement tools to get greater visibility of that information and cut out your own costs?”

Enabling traditional MSPs

Mitnovetski said his message to partners at Dicker Data's bi-annual TechX conference later this year will be that “it's all about the AI opportunity.”

“At any given time our industry is going through a wave of opportunity [and] change, but for MSPs that represents a huge deal of threat and challenge,” he said.

“Some of them are incredibly traditional; they can't afford to have AI experts come to their business because they are extremely expensive…and those AI consultants they form startups, so you either have to acquire one of those startups or the best thing of all is to come to Dicker Data.”

“That’s the message I’m going to drive through at TechX; come to talk to my team…we will then make sure that we pair you up with some Microsoft skillset, Dicker Data skillset, we’ll [use] this [AI readiness] tool and we’ll start this journey with your customers."

“As soon as you start it with your customer, all of a sudden your value to your customer increases so much.”