With the coming of ChatGPT in November 2022, the world was awestruck with the speed and possibilities it brought with it. Slowly, a fear emerged amongst professionals of losing their jobs at the hands of it. Amongst all the studies, a recent study by OpenAI, Open Research, and the University of Pennsylvania is notable. It revealed the jobs that are most at risk of being lost due to the technological revolution exacerbated by ChatGPT. Titled “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models,” the study took a deep dive into the jobs that could potentially be lost due to artificial intelligence.
The report detailed that the higher the exposure a job has, the higher its chances of getting automated (exposure refers to whether using a GPT or GPT-powered system can reduce the time it takes humans to do their jobs by at least 50 percent). But channel360MEA spoke to some of the technology industry people to understand its impact on the distribution business (IT specifically). If there is some learning or unlearning required by the members of IT channel ecosystem, let us find out…
Advent of ChatGPT
The rapidly changing world of cybersecurity requires constant vigilance in understanding how new technologies impact the day to day, and specifically the threat landscape. While these technologies provide many benefits in making variety of routines activities much more efficient, they can also lead to dis and misinformation. The industry feels that the advent of AI language models such as ChatGPT is undeniably a boon for businesses. This represents a significant advancement in language processing and can revolutionize customer interactions and support systems.
In the words of Sergey Shykevich, Threat Intelligence Group Manager, Check Point Research, “The ongoing development of ChatGPT introduces both opportunities and challenges in cybersecurity while it makes it easier for less skilled threat actors to engage in phishing campaigns and develop malware. Check Point Research (CPR) conducted an initial analysis of ChatGPT4 and identified scenarios that empower threat actors to enhance their malicious activities with precision. Both technical and non-technical actors can exploit ChatGPT4 to create harmful tools, despite existing safeguards. Certain restrictions within ChatGPT4 can be easily bypassed, allowing threat actors to pursue their objectives unhindered. CPR outlined five potential malicious scenarios involving ChatGPT4, including C++ malware for gathering and transmitting PDF files, bank phishing attempts, PHP reverse shell usage, and covert downloading and execution of PuTTY through PowerShell.”
While at Freshworks the latest advancements in the field of AI are seen as a boon. “Of course, our support for AI predates the launch of ChatGPT by many years as we have long been offering our customers the ability to leverage AI-powered chatbots to enhance service for customers and employees. We have also been quick to see how we can integrate ChatGPT into our own offering and in March this year, we unveiled new GPT-based conversational enhancements to our natively-built AI powered assistant, Freddy,” informed Varun Vig, Regional Director – Strategic Partnerships & Alliances, APJMEA, Freshworks.
Benefits of ChatGPT on IT channel
So far we have always talked about the selling strategy for any new technology that hits the market. However, ChatGPT is not a product but is a technology. If it is used in the distribution (supply chain) industry, can it be a boon?
Sharing his views on the same Biju Unni, Vice President, Cloud Box Technologies said, “With the help of AI language models, businesses can now enhance their support systems for customers, create targeted mail campaigns and informative decks, create compelling content, and automate certain tasks within the scope of ChatGPT. By leveraging the power of AI language models, businesses can streamline their operations, optimize productivity, and gain a competitive edge in the market.”
Since it is too early, it is difficult to say where the advancement of AI will take the society. But speculations can be made. Reiterating similar thoughts Selmane B. Slama, Director Partner Sales for Emerging Markets, Juniper Networks said, “AI is advancing at a quick pace, and it is safe to say that it is still in the fairly early stages of development. Despite this, so far, the benefits outweigh the risks when we look at what businesses and the wider society have achieved with AI and how we are incorporating it into technology to bring a more seamless experience for users and driving overall business performance.”
ChatGPT is so important in the conversation because, for the first time, regular consumers are realizing the vast power and benefits of using AI. Of course, it may not always get recommendations or answers that are completely right, but because of ChatGPT’s Machine Learning capabilities, it is constantly evolving and getting smarter. “Technology providers are beginning to incorporate ChatGPT, or elements of it into other technologies. Juniper has recently enhanced its Marvis Virtual Network Assistant with ChatGPT integration to enable customers and partners to easily access public-facing knowledgebase information. By applying different use cases to this ChatGPT, businesses will be able to see its true value and the vast ways it can aid in both personal and working live,” further added Selmane B. Slama.
As with AI in general, ChatGPT will likely be increasingly integrated with technology solutions that deal with network management, provisioning, design, and deployment as it becomes more and more widely used. AI is the latest cutting-edge technology that businesses are becoming more familiar with and understanding its value.
Selmane B. Slama, opines that all this will ultimately help the channel community in their growth and profitability if the channel is able to understand the real importance and value of AI in this landscape, as well as develop the skills and knowledge to be able to offer the latest solutions that incorporate this technology. The biggest selling point for AI and ChatGPT in tech is that they enable greater efficiency through providing intelligence that a human may not have the expertise on or picking up monotonous tasks to save time and focus energy elsewhere. Because the AI will be able to provide more efficient recommendations that will help resellers and MSPs reduce time wasting and save money, it has huge potential for driving growth and profitability for channel partners.
Taking this opinion to the next step, Uday Shankar Kizhepat, Vice President and GM – MEA, WSO2 said, “The channel will have a large role to play with the roll-out of AI-powered solutions. Channel players will have to look at how they can bundle AI into their solution offerings, so that clients are presented with turn-key solutions.”
While the immediate effects may not be immediately apparent, ChatGPT has the potential to bring about substantial improvements in routine daily activities and offer significant advancements in the future. As per Sergey Shykevich, “This generative AI technology can enable automation across various domains. Presently, one vital application of AI, such as ChatGPT, involves efficiently managing customer queries and assisting humans in the crucial task of prioritizing them for optimal support and service.”
Moreover, channel organisations will be well served to leverage AI themselves. A high-impact use case could be for the debugging and checking of code. We’re all too familiar with the talk of skills shortage in the channel so tremendous value could be found in having a tool that can effectively check code without drawing on resources.
Varun Vig shared that for most vendors, the channel serves five major functions – demand/lead generation, sales/pre-sales, localised content creation, training and onboarding, and customer support. “ChatGPT can help channel organisations in enhancing their abilities in all these areas. For example, consider customer support – ChatGPT can serve as a virtual customer support agent, assisting customers with queries and technical issues. It can provide real-time responses, troubleshooting guidance, and general information about products and services – this can support the current channel partners. Or consider demand/lead generation. Here ChatGPT can engage with website visitors and collect relevant information to generate leads,” he added.
AI or ChatGPT can help the distribution ecosystem by interacting with potential customers, it can qualify leads and capture essential details. It should come as no surprise that the AI-solution can help with content creation as there have been so many examples of this in the media. ChatGPT can generate blog posts, articles, and tutorials related to IT topics, which can be shared on your website or used for content marketing purposes. It can help generate informative and engaging content to attract and educate your target audience. It can assist in cross-selling or upselling by suggesting related products or upgrades. And finally, the AI bot can assist in partner training and onboarding processes.
Arturo E. Torres, FortiGuard Labs, Threat Intelligence Strategist, Fortinet, added, “I can certainly see it having a role in the IT channel. For example, today, many IT enthusiasts use ChatGPT to understand, improve, and document code (a task that is often overlooked or not properly done). Additionally, it can be used to find best practices and recommendations, as well as to search for information in a more convenient and effortless manner.”
AI- led efficiency could mean layoffs
There is naturally a lot of worry and concern around how AI and ChatGPT will impact jobs. Every major advancement in human history has been accompanied by such fears – the most relevant one being the advent of the computer era . People raised concerns around the potential for jobs being lost and while some were indeed made redundant, today we have a thriving IT industry, and so many offshoot businesses that are entirely dependent on computers and the internet to operate.
“I see AI being the same – there will be new job roles and professions made possible by the advent of AI. Moreover, as with computers and automation, this technology will effectively not only take care of many mundane and repetitive activities, but will also allow employees to focus their efforts on more high value tasks where the human brain intervention is needed,” added Uday Shankar Kizhepat.
The AI-led efficiency does not automatically result in widespread layoffs. Instead, they empower employees to focus on higher-value tasks that require human expertise. For instance, ChatGPT can handle routine customer queries, allowing customer service agents to address complex or specialized issues. This redistribution of responsibilities enhances job satisfaction and overall productivity within an organization.
Sujoy Banerjee, Associate Director, Sales and Business Development for UAE, ManageEngine added, “While we still have a long way to go before we can consider replacing humans with it, generative AI will make some aspects of channel management more efficient. Businesses can sift through large volumes of data quickly, gain insights into the performance of their partners worldwide, and analyse sales data. ChatGPT can also be used to improve customer service by automating tasks such as gathering feedback and grievance redressal, in addition to helping businesses come up with better content for engagement with their stakeholders. All this can lead to more profit and growth for the channel community.”
To fully leverage the benefits of AI-led efficiency, organizations must adopt a transformative mindset. This involves maximizing the potential of AI, while simultaneously retraining employees for new roles and fostering a collaborative partnership between humans and AI technologies. By embracing this approach, businesses can optimize their operations, improve customer experiences, and unlock new avenues for growth.
“Proactive measures, such as providing training and upskilling opportunities, can empower employees to adapt to the changing landscape and acquire new skills that align with emerging roles in the AI-driven ecosystem. This not only ensures job security, but also cultivates a culture of continuous learning and growth within the organization,” further added Unni.
To balance out the speculations, Slama said, “As AI is in its infancy, there is a lot of speculation on the topic; however, there is an argument either way for whether AI will replace jobs or create more, as more roles will be needed to manage and regulate AI within businesses. The World Economic Forum’s report for 2020 predicts that AI will replace 85 million jobs globally while also creating 97 million new roles. Therefore, it is plausible that the overall impact on job losses and creation could even out as we see AI taking over less skilled roles and paving the way for more innovative roles around the management and regulation of AI, and even perhaps creative roles around how AI can be used further.”
As AI is designed to work alongside humans, not to take over their work completely – humans should adopt it and see how it can assist them. AI can do repetitive tasks, which gives humans more time to do important and creative work that needs thinking and problem-solving skills. Things like building relationships with customers, making important decisions, and solving difficult problems still need human abilities like understanding feelings and being flexible. It’s important to know that AI can’t do everything humans can. Human skills are still very important in many jobs. Also, AI systems often need humans to watch over them and make sure they’re accurate and fair.
“Instead of worrying about losing jobs, companies should see AI as a chance to train and improve their employees. By learning new things, workers can adapt to the changing work world and work together with AI systems. So, AI is meant to make humans better at what they do, not replace them. It’s important to plan carefully, give training, and create a good environment where people and AI can work well together,” informed Shykevich of Check Point.
Adding to this, Arturo E. Torres said, “By doing what they do best: optimizing and automating tasks and resources. The role of software engineers will evolve to guiding and supervising the work of AI, providing inputs and feedback, and ensuring that the generated code meets project requirements. There will always be a need of people with the ability to verify the information obtained. It’s not just about the tool itself, but about how we interpret the information that it gives us. It’s also worth noting that ChatGPT is opening up the possibility of new jobs, such as Prompt Engineering.”
Overall impact
Although concerns about misuse and misinformation exist, responsible implementation and diligent monitoring can effectively mitigate these risks. Companies must prioritize the ethical use of AI language models to ensure transparency and accountability in their applications.
Overall, the transformative potential of AI language models makes them powerful tools for businesses, enabling them to deliver exceptional customer experiences, enhance productivity, and drive growth. Embracing these advancements will undoubtedly propel businesses forward in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
At Cloud Box it is believed that the potential of ChatGPT and other AI language models is immense in the IT Channel Business. The industry in the region is still in the nascent stages of adopting this technology, and it is certain that, slowly but surely, the IT Channel Business space in the UAE and GCC region must adopt AI language models.
Unni added, “This technology can redefine the existing business process by improving efficiency and enhancing the quality of output by streamlining communication, improving support systems, and enabling more efficient resolution of customer issues.” IT channel partners can leverage ChatGPT to provide instant technical assistance, troubleshoot common problems, and guide customers through product configuration. This enhanced support not only improves customer satisfaction, but also reduces the burden on support teams, allowing them to focus on more complex projects.
Believing in the scope of AI or ChatGPT, Juniper is already offering AI-driven solutions to partners in the IT channel to offer intelligent solutions to customers. Not only that, but it is making a vast difference in how IT teams and MSPs are managing networks. AI is way more efficient, cutting down energy costs and saving teams overall by taking the monotonous work out of network management and automating it so that IT teams do not have to waste their time on it.
As mentioned, Juniper recently announced that the Marvis Virtual Network Assistant has integrated ChatGPT to give users access to its wide base of knowledge using Large Language Models, alongside Marvis’ knowledge of the network. Marvis is the first of its kind in the network management landscape, and ChatGPT integration enables Marvis to expand its conversational interface (CI) capabilities to deliver even more human-like conversations. This enhances the overall user experience for network operators and is a game-changer for resellers who want to offer the latest solutions incorporating the most cutting-edge AI. For MSPs, it enhances ease-of-use. This is just one example more uses can be seen going forward.
While it is believed that AI and ChatGPT can assist the IT channel community in making informed business decisions and refining their specific offerings, still the entire ecosystem has to be ready to embrace the change. Uday Shankar Kizhepat mentioned, “The channel will need to focus on creating an expertise in bundling AI with their solutions. They will need to package use cases for AI that best address their customers’ pain points. Customer service is a classic use case where AI can very effectively be leveraged wherein AI can assist call center agents in their roles and minimize the skill levels to do them, while also making powerful and intuitive self-service available 24×7.”
In the end…
While ChatGPT can be prone to factual error, it can serve as a tremendous starting point, which after validation provides a significant boost in research and understanding. For some, consideration is being given to the potential benefits that could be realized by incorporating ChatGPT into existing supply chain automated tools or as a standalone product.
It increases transparency.
Fortinet views ChatGPT as a tool that brings with it many possibilities, including more accessible information and greater time savings when it comes to tasks like research. Of course, like any tool, it can be used for good or for bad. In a way, we can liken it to fire. It brought great advantages and development to humanity, but it also represents a significant risk if precautions are not taken or if it’s not used properly.
Next, Check Point foresees, that as AI technology continues to shape cyberattacks and defence, platforms like ChatGPT are expected to be exploited by threat actors for malicious purposes. CPR remains dedicated to analysing ChatGPT to gain a deeper understanding of its implications in the evolving cybersecurity landscape.
It is, of course, important that AI continues to be regulated as it increasingly becomes a part of daily and working life. AI is still in its infancy, so it is the responsibility of technology providers and governments to regulate the technology to reduce potential risks. In a recent research conducted by Juniper Networks, 43% of ITDMs surveyed across EMEA have a clear plan for adopting AI tools in the next 2-5 years. It is clearly on the radar for many businesses, and once AI becomes more established, only then will we see how much we can reap the benefits of easier management of processes within businesses and seamless experiences.
AI is here to stay, and organisations need to understand how they can leverage this technology to strengthen their competitive edge. Interestingly, the reason so many organisations are able to effortlessly integrate ChatGPT into their applications, services and workflows is because of the ChatGPT API. This is what WSO2 has been advocating for a long time now – if you want to operate faster, cheaper and better, you need to transform your enterprise into an API-driven business. Representing the business as a set of APIs, facilitates your developers to create new business value quicker, allowing your business to be more agile, adaptive, and evolvable.
To conclude, one can say that ‘Together ChatGPT & IT Channel can walk miles hand in hand!’
