ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY

Lenovo Group is a Chinese multinational technology company headquartered in Beijing . The IT company designs , develops , manufactures and sells personal computers , tablet computers , smartphones , workstations , servers , supercomputers , electronic storage devices and IT management software . Dr Chris Cooper , Director and General Manager , Lenovo ISG MEA , outlines how the company is driving Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) adoption and AI ready solutions in the regional channel and enterprise IT segment .

Dr Chris Cooper , Director and General Manager , Lenovo ISG MEA

Talk us through the Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group ( ISG ) and how the group is making Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) easier to access for channel partners and end-user customers ?

At Lenovo we believe that AI is essential for businesses to be able to realise Digital Transformation . AI is changing how we live , work and the world around us .

AI , working in combination with human intelligence will create augmented intelligence , that will enable us to work smarter , with greater efficiency , and fewer mistakes .

That said , there are huge advantages to data projects supported by AI and companies that use AI effectively will realise far more value than those that don ’ t .

However , we also recognise that AI projects can be complex and have a high cost of deployment , so we are taking a practical approach , that includes our channel partners , that will help our customers to go step-by-step through the entire process of utilising AI . That approach includes :

• Helping customers discover the potential of AI in our AI Innovation Centres , where they have access to our expertise and AI-optimised infrastructure

• Developing applications with our AIoptimised portfolio of infrastructure solutions , including ready-to-deploy AI solutions developed with leading ISV partners in the AI Solutions Accelerator Programme

• Deploying AI in their organisations with guidance , reference architecture and expertise from our professional services team

Our mission is to make AI easy to consume and by leveraging our AI innovation centres , AI architecture and hardware expertise , Lenovo is helping move AI from concept to reality .

What is the state of the infrastructure solutions market in MEA given the ‘ new normal ’ under which enterprises and channel partners are operating ?

In light of the ‘ new normal ’ the marketplace has seen the increased shift to cloud infrastructure offerings across the MEA region . In turn this has enabled more clients to adapt to the needs of mobility and remote access and has assisted in the acceleration of most client ’ s Digital Transformations . In turn , cloud providers are now expanding out their offerings to deliver

INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 43 19