Microsoft Wants More Partners to Focus on AI

Microsoft wants partners to put more focus into delivering the artificial-intelligence (AI) capabilities offered in its data platform and cloud portfolios. The company doesn't feel enough of its partners currently offer AI holistically to enable customers to transform their businesses. Setting the stage for how Microsoft might help enable partners to do that, the company recently announced a partnership with Accenture and its Avanade subsidiary. Collectively, they are creating preconfigured solutions geared toward helping clients in specific industries such as consumer-packaged goods, retail and telecommunications using AI to automate their business processes. Avanade's latest research found that 88 percent of global business and IT decision-makers say they don't know how to use AI -- and 79 percent encounter resistance.