IBM CEO Arvind Krishna On GenAI's 'Big New Wave' | CRN

Summary

The transcript discusses the rise of generative AI, with 2023 serving as a foundational year for deployment and adaptation. The focus for 2024 and 2025 will be on scaling use cases and generating business value for clients, thus building confidence. The company has revamped its partner strategy, committing to sell exclusively through partners, providing technical support, and simplifying incentive structures. The goal is to increase partner-driven product business from the current 30% to 50%, with steady progress being made towards this target.

Takeaways

• 🌊 Generative AI is expected to make significant strides in 2024 and 2025, with a focus on deployment and scaling use cases to generate business value.
• 🔄 The company has revamped its strategy for working with partners, emphasizing a shift towards selling exclusively through partners.
• 🤝 Technical support for partners has been enhanced, including access to client engineering and customer success managers to improve client satisfaction.
• 💰 The company has streamlined its incentive structure for partners, making it easier to receive direct rebates or commissions.
• 📈 The goal is to increase the percentage of product business done with partners, with a target of reaching 50%.
• 📊 Currently, about 30% of the product business involves partners, with half of that being driven solely by the partners.
• 🔝 The company is actively recruiting more partners to demonstrate the new strategy and achieve the 50% goal.
• 🔄 There's a clear progression from the low 20s to 30% in partner-driven business, and the aim is to continue this growth towards 50%.
• 🚀 The speaker is hopeful that 2024 will be a pivotal year in making significant progress towards the 50% partner-driven business goal.

Q & A

What is the significance of generative AI in the context of the transcript?

Generative AI is highlighted as a significant trend with a lot of activity and deployment in 2023, indicating its importance in the industry and the focus on scaling its use cases for business value.

What are the years predicted to be pivotal for generative AI adoption?

The transcript suggests that 2024 and 2025 will be crucial years for generative AI, where it will make significant impacts and clients will learn to trust and scale its use.

How has the company's strategy for working with partners changed?

The company has made a fundamental shift to only sell to clients through partners, providing more technical assistance, and simplifying the incentive structure for partners.

What is the company's new approach to selling its products?

The company has decided to sell its products exclusively through partners, which is a significant change from previous practices.

What kind of technical support will the partners receive?

Partners will receive substantial technical support, including access to client engineering and customer success managers to enhance client satisfaction.

How has the incentive model for partners been improved?

The incentive model has been made easier with direct rebates or commissions, aiming to motivate partners and simplify their engagement.

What is the company's goal regarding the percentage of business done with partners?

The company aims to increase the percentage of business done with partners to 50%, showing a commitment to a partner-centric sales strategy.

What is the current status of the company's goal in terms of partner involvement?

Currently, about 30% of the company's product business involves partners, with half of that being driven solely by the partners.

What is the company's expectation for the progress towards its goal in 2024?

The company is hopeful that 2024 will see a significant advancement towards its goal of having 50% of its business done with partners.

How does the company plan to recruit more partners?

The company is actively recruiting more partners and demonstrating the benefits of the new partner-centric approach to attract and onboard them.

What is the current mix of direct and partner-driven sales?

Currently, the sales are a mix of both direct and partner-driven, with the latter being credited for half of the business involving partners.