https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501 Application
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501 Application
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
 Channel Futures

Sales & Marketing


Artificial Intelligence

No One Wants to Talk to You: Cherwell Exec on How AI Is Changing Service Management

  • Written by Kris Blackmon
  • November 10, 2017
Steve Rodda of Cherwell Software explains why AI and automation aren't going to put service techs out of a job. Instead, they'll increase IT's value proposition and make partners even more indispensable than they are today.

Gartner predicts that 85 percent of all customer interactions will be managed without a human in just four years. When it comes to the day-to-day operations of an IT helpdesk, that’s going to mean a lot of changes in how level 1 service techs spend the majority of their time.

Colorado-based Cherwell Software is hoping to be at the vanguard of using AI to automate the mundane tasks that take up so much of IT technicians’ time. The company recently landed a $50 million round of investment from KKR, and it has big plans to use those funds to modernize the helpdesk. Steve Rodda, Chief Product Officer at Cherwell, says the type of automated solutions his team is developing are going to be key to equipping IT departments and channel partners to assume broader, more business-focused roles.

Unlike sectors such as manufacturing where AI and automation may very well mean the loss of jobs, Rodda says that these technologies will increase the value proposition IT workers provide an organization and fundamentally change the way IT service is delivered.

But we’re still in the nascent stage of these technologies, and there are a lot of business best practice kinks that need to be worked out before mainstream adoption is a reasonable possibility. Rodda compares it to the self-service portal craze that consumed IT a decade ago. In theory, he says, the portals were there to do the exact same thing Cherwell is hoping to accomplish with AI: eliminate the mundane tasks of level 1 IT service techs to free up their time for more business critical functions.

“But we really didn’t get there because it’s hard to automate across other systems and access and security and those kinds of things, but AI will help bridge those gaps. Not only will it be able to look up the knowledge base article that is there, but it will be able to look at what the last 10 technicians tried, and then work through some of those mundane troubleshooting tasks.”

If AI can’t solve the problem, Rodda says it will still end up in a tech’s hands, so the need for IT support isn’t going to go away. There’s just going to be some precursor work that will be done ahead of time by an AI system that will result in higher and faster close rates, but not the elimination of overall jobs.

The kicker is that it can’t just be AI if the business world truly wants to leverage cognitive solutions to improve business processes. Rodda says that AI hasn’t broken through today because it takes of inordinate amount of training to actually get the systems up to speed. Some of Cherwell’s vendors estimate that for some tasks, it can take AI systems up to 80 days before they actually can learn all the different and various ways to solve a task before and actually automate it.

“That barrier of entry or time to value for AI is not there yet, which prevents a lot of adoptions. You need the combination of a good NLP and AI system, then you need a system in place where the AI can actually learn from the normal, everyday tasks the technicians have in place.”

At Cherwell, one of the ways the company is attempting to work around this challenge is by allowing the technician to run commands through their normal interface and having the AI system simply listen and learn from the system of record. Training then becomes not an independent process to make the system smarter, but rather a cognitive computing process that learns from technicians’ normal interactions.

The reluctance to integrate AI into existing support systems Cherwell sees from traditional VARs and MSPs isn’t surprising to Rodda.

“This value proposition as it’s presented to MSPs and channel partners is that it’ll essentially put them out of a job. But reality of the situation is that these things are light years away from being able to replace an MSP or VAR in that type of sense. What it will do, probably in our lifetimes, is make the tools they use better today. In the MSP world, you already have automated tasks that can fire off an event that happens and it gets taken care of if whether it’s in your RMM solution or whatever the case is. In the ITSM world, we have automated tasks driven from the DevOps culture that automate these basic tasks.”

In the short term, Rodda says what partners need to be worried about is finding the tools that aren’t trying to sell them on the hype of AI, but will simply put these technologies in place in the background to make processes more efficient. For example, an MSP that’s already switched from break-fix model to a managed services model will be better enabled to get involved in solving business problems and achieving business solutions.

This is the “heart and soul” of why Rodda doesn’t think these technologies will actually put MSPs or IT departments out of business. “There’s no other place that has visibility across the entire organization except IT—and maybe the CEO, but he doesn’t count,” he laughs. “And no one else is responsible for looking after the entire business question.”

 

Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Best Practices Sales & Marketing Technologies

Related


  • CP-Expo-Logo-1050x618 web
    Channel Partners Virtual Wraps — See You In Person at CP Expo Homecoming
    So long, Channel Partners Virtual. But what a week it was. Now, our live event is on tap.
  • Growth
    Auth0 Acquisition to Power Okta's Growth in Massive Identity Market
    Together, Okta and Auth0 address a broad set of identity use cases.
  • Integration gears
    Microsoft Integrates Dynamics 365 and Teams, Reveals New Features
    CEO Satya Nadella described Teams as the “organizing layer” for all work in an Ignite keynote.
  • Digital handshake
    Clearlake, TA Associates Buy Precisely in $3.5 Billion Deal
    Precisely's partners are crucial to the company and its growth.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Multi-Cloud: Strategy or Inevitable Outcome? (or both?)
  • KnowBe4 to Buy MediaPro, Beef Up Privacy, Compliance Training
  • Pluribus Networks Launches Expanded, Simplified Partner Program
  • Full-Stack ICT Supply Chain Ownership Becoming a Thing of the Past

Galleries

View all

International Women’s Day & Tech: Move Beyond the Conversation

March 8, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

What is FirstNet–and What Are the Benefits for Channel Partners?

March 8, 2021

5 Ways XDR Can Improve Operational Efficiency for MSPs

March 4, 2021

Multi-Cloud: Strategy or Inevitable Outcome? (or both?)

March 3, 2021

Webinars

View all

A Partner’s Perspective on Channel Success in 2021

March 23, 2021

XDR and Why it Matters to MSPs

March 24, 2021

Top Security Trends Impacting Technology Security Providers In 2021

March 25, 2021
  • 1

White Papers

View all

Why Fortinet for my MSSP?

March 2, 2021

Small and Mid-Size Business Security: 4 Steps to Success

March 2, 2021

How SMBs Can Secure Endpoints and Remote Workers for the Long Haul

March 2, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How SOAR Eliminates Security Challenges and Elevates Service Provider Revenues

January 6, 2021

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

FASTCHAT: How Old, Unpatched Technologies Are Creating New Security Threats for MSPs and Their Customers

December 3, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

We celebrate #InternationalWomensDay by highlighting the important conversations and key statistics. @channelsmart… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

A UK-based MSP got a lesson in grace when a post intended as a joke was mistaken for online bullying.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

Learn more about #FirstNet and partnering with @GetWirelessLLC. #LTE #firstresponders #connectivity #IoT… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

Have you heard? @McAfee is selling its enterprise security business. And 75-year-old founder #JohnMcAfee faces deca… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

Today we celebrate the achievements of women worldwide, and we are proud to give the rockstar women in the channel… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

The list of #Accellion FTA breach victims keeps growing. Another bank joined the list over the weekend.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

Happy #InternationalWomensDay! The Channel Futures / @Channel_Online team is proud to support @AllianceofCW and… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

#MSPs can help businesses deal with #cloudcomputing and #cybersecurity pain points, says @Dreamix_Ltd.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021

MSSP Insider

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Channel Partners Online

Want more? Find more channel news and analysis on our sister site, Channel Partners.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Online
  • Channel Partners Events
  • MSP 501
  • MSSP Insider
  • IoT World Today
  • Webhostingtalk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X