INSIGHTS

How channel partners can ride the wave of AI

Camille Mendler from analyst house Omdia and Gavin Murphy, BT Wholesale’s Propositions Principal, team up to explore how AI is changing the channel landscape and what partners can do to capitalise on the opportunity.

Globally, businesses are ramping up artificial intelligence (AI) activity, with investment and adoption increasing at pace. For example, the UK Government kicked off 2025 by announcing its plan to 'unleash AI' to boost growth. The channel market will be critical to help deliver and capitalise on this opportunity – so, where to start?

According to Omdia, 55% of enterprises and 24% of small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) are already using AI tools, with significant focus on security and privacy. By 2028, GenAI alone is projected to create over £125 billion in global value, a monumental leap from approximately £12 billion in 2023.

With 61% of IT decision-makers planning AI investments and 59% of employees actively asking for them, the demand is clear, and channel partners need to ride the wave to maximise success in 2025 and beyond.

Boosting your business now

The opportunities AI offers are huge, however as with all technology, channel partners should not adopt AI for AI’s sake. From improving decision-making and driving efficiency to creating new revenue streams, you need to work back from the problem and think about how AI can solve it. For example, many businesses are already using AI to automate chatbots to enhance customer service and the feedback loop. At the same time, it could enhance network management through predictive maintenance to help mitigate downtime.

That said, we’re only at the dawn of AI. Today, most businesses are using it to speed up admin and routine tasks, meaning they can concentrate on developing other parts of the business. Omdia (2023) found that the top ways that channel partners are using generative AI today are:

Sales and marketing (38%)
Email (35%)
Education/research (31%)
Social media posts (29%)
Training/onboarding (26%)
Contract/agreements (24%)
Image creation (17%)

Looking at sales and marketing alone, GenAI could be used to identify ideal customer segments, generate targeted outreach emails, analyse customer data and provide real-time sales coaching. The possibilities across the whole business landscape are endless.

Unlocking GenAI’s potential

While AI is an overarching term, generative AI has certainly been the most talked about area following the release of tools like ChatGPT. It is a type of artificial intelligence which can create new content, like text or images, by learning patterns from existing data. It learns from existing examples and then uses that knowledge to create something new.

According to Omdia’s research, there are four key opportunities for partners:

AI services (highest revenue opportunity): Services that help companies adopt, implement and get the best out of AI. For example, strategic advisory and consulting, design and build, architecture and implementation.
AI software development (high revenue opportunity): Developing AI software solutions and applications, embedded AI tools and plug-ins and custom AI solutions.
Advanced data services (medium revenue opportunity): Advanced data and analytics services that use gen-AI or enable gen-AI use cases. For example, data collection, integration management and optimisation and data warehousing services.
AI products (modest revenue opportunity): Reselling, co-selling and upselling AI products. For example, an AI-powered CRM service.

Preparing for the AI tsunami

AI is challenging organisations to rethink their strategies and priorities. This will lead many business leaders to recognise that a reassessment of skills, resources, and long-term goals is needed.

Businesses that identify gaps must act swiftly - evaluating their roadmaps, updating their strategies, and partnering with the right specialists to accelerate their transformation. By doing this, organisations can thrive in an increasingly competitive market.

For example, over a quarter of IT decision-makers and 20% of employees admit they do not fully understand AI. They also have concerns over data privacy, ethical implications, and the complexity of integrating AI into existing systems. So, while the appetite is there, businesses need to find a way to navigate the landscape.

Businesses should initially focus on blending AI with their current platforms and services. At the core of this transformation lies connectivity - a secure, stable, and scalable network foundation is essential for AI adoption to thrive.

Leaning on specialist partners or even vendors is a must. Partnering means you don’t have to build the skill sets yourself and can rely on the people who are already experts.

Ensuring a rock-solid network

AI is driving an explosion in network traffic, set to quadruple by 2028 (Omdia 2024). Real-time applications require ultra-low latency (under 10 milliseconds) for seamless operation, and AI sovereignty is becoming a top concern for SMEs and enterprises alike.

For comms-centric channel partners, the rise of this AI unlocks significant revenue opportunities, with the telco share of the global AI market worth at least £40 billion. However, capturing this potential hinges on robust infrastructure.

From data centres to wide-area networks, businesses must prioritise quality, scalability, and security. AI workloads will also drive demand for GPU-as-a-Service, further underscoring the need for future-ready networks.

That’s where BT Wholesale comes in. Our investment in network reliability, security and sustainability means we have already built the digital infrastructure you need to thrive in an AI-driven world. We ensure your network is as forward-looking as your ambitions.

Get in touch with your Account Manager to find out more.

What does AI think?

We asked Co-pilot to summarise this blog in less than 100-words and here’s what it said:

Channel partners can capitalise on the AI boom, with the UK Government's push to 'unleash AI' highlighting the growing opportunity. Businesses, large and small, are already using AI tools, especially in security and privacy, with Generative AI projected to create £125 billion in global value by 2028. AI investments are planned by 61% of IT decision-makers, while 59% of employees are requesting them. The key is using AI effectively: automating tasks, enhancing customer service, and improving network management. Successful AI adoption requires a solid network foundation and partnerships to bridge knowledge gaps and integrate AI seamlessly into business operations.

At BT Wholesale, we are not just using AI to summarise our blogs, but constantly exploring how to make the most out of the tech opportunity to improve the partner experience. That said, you will always be able to guarantee our people-first approach and expert advice. Reach out to us if you have any questions.