The emergence of AI in productivity suites and other consumer software products is well underway. But some IT service providers see an opportunity for integration beyond the latest vendor offerings.
The indoor AI trend continued last week with Google brings its renamed Gemini large language models to Gmail, Docs and other Workspace apps. Google’s decision follows Copilot for Microsoft 365, which entered the enterprise market last November. This offering integrates Microsoft’s Copilot generative AI platform into Word, Excel and other office applications.
Partners are hardly unaware of these developments, because companies train thousands of consultants on Generative AI technology from Google, Microsoft and AWS, among other providers. But they see another opportunity in AI integration: integrating AI into customers’ client-server and even mainframe applications. Such systems operate out of the spotlight, but they often manage essential business functions. This status makes them targets for investments in AI. companies are looking for reinvention projects with high return potential.
AI integration within reach for 2024
David McCurdy, CTO at Insight Enterprises, a Chandler, Ariz.-based solutions integrator, foresees the merging of generative AI with more traditional technologies. client server systems.
“I call 2024 the year of integration,” he said. “I think a lot of companies, especially those that have a development arm, are trying to integrate AI into different applications.”
Insight is one of these companies. McCurdy said the integrator plans to integrate AI into its own back-office applications this year. For example, the company’s AI-powered Knowledge Hub, set to roll out this month, will bring information to employees in the apps they use, rather than requiring them to search for it in a separate system .
McCurdy said he believes Insight’s clients will also rethink their internal systems and embrace AI integration in the back office.
“It will be a huge market for us in the future,” he said. “Every business has its own type of application or service. And that’s where you’ll really see the ROI – when you get down to the basics.”
IT services partners see an opportunity to bring the benefits of generative AI to client-server systems and mainframes.
Mainframes are ready for AI integration
Mainframes, with their high processing power and memory capacity, are also candidates for AI integration, according to Gordon McKenna, cloud evangelist and vice president of alliances at Downers-based technology advisor and MSP Ensono Grove, Illinois.
“The mainframe is an obvious platform for running AI,” he said.
Ensono customers already do this. McKenna said customers run IBM’s Watsonx generative AI cloud services on their mainframes. These services include Watsonx Code Wizard for Zwhich aims to accelerate the translation of COBOL code into Java and generally increase developer productivity on the IBM Z mainframe range.
McKenna said Watsonx gives IBM’s “old Watson.” which dates from 2007, a new breath in technological life. “I see IBM leaning heavily on this,” he added.
But while some customers are integrating AI into the mainframe, others are moving in the opposite direction.
“We see that users want to extend the mainframe into the cloud and take advantage of OpenAI, (Amazon) Bedrock and Gemini,” he said, noting that Ensono helps customers leverage such AI cloud services .
A survey from Advanced, a company that offers mainframe modernization services, reflects the same contrast. Fifty-two percent of 400 IT leaders surveyed said AI innovation has accelerated their migration away from mainframes, while 29% of respondents said they are exploring AI integration on mainframes. Atlanta-based Advanced released its annual Mainframe Modernization Business Barometer Report last week.
IBM agreed in January to acquire Advanced’s application modernization assets.
Application and data stack modernization
The current interest in AI integration is the latest phase of a broader and longer application modernization initiative, according to Erik Duffield, CEO of Hakkoda, a Snowflake services partner that offers data modernization and managed services.
I think many companies, especially those with a development arm, are trying to integrate AI into different applications.
David McCurdyTechnical Director at Insight Enterprises
“We’ve been working on application modernization (for at least 10 years) because organizations needed to solve this problem,” he said. “But now generative AI, and AI in general, has taken a different look at application modernization, a broader horizon and greater capability that you can apply to it. There are a lot of conversations around the question: “What are we doing? with our application stack and how is AI part of it? »
Duffield said these customer discussions involve front-office and back-office systems.
A Hakkoda study released today finds that two-thirds of 500 data leaders surveyed believe generative AI will be “very” or “crucial” important to their success by 2027. Additionally, 85% of organizations are expected to use a certain type of generative AI. AI tool this year, according to Hakkoda’s “State of Data” report.
But another form of modernization will determine whether AI adopters will take full advantage of the technology: update business data stacks. Ninety-four percent of organizations surveyed by Hakkoda said they need to modernize their data stack in 2024, a move the report said would help them “harness the power of GenAI.”
Regarding specific modernization tactics, the Hakkoda survey indicates that 45% of respondents plan to centralize on a primary cloud platform this year, while 23% plan to do so in 2025. cloud data management platforms are considered a key component of IT infrastructure to gather the data needed to power AI models.
John Moore is a writer for TechTarget Editorial covering the role of the CIO, economic trends and the IT services industry.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
