How partners can form an AI ‘circle of expertise’

Every company has a different learning curve when it comes to AI.

Perhaps because they are evaluating a range of products from the legacy stack or are looking at fresh alternatives. Or because implementing AI involves so many layers, from integrating into existing processes to updating governance and compliance. Not all companies have the know-how to put the pieces together. 

Experienced partners play a critical role here, says Laura Padilla, senior vice president of channels and alliances at Freshworks. Prior to joining Freshworks, Padilla led partnership strategy at several enterprise technology companies, including Zoom and Box.

The sudden influx of AI-powered business functions shows huge promise, she says, but has also created complexity and confusion, particularly for mid-market companies. To navigate this complexity, she recommends vendors and partners create a “circle of expertise” around customers to help make AI deployment more efficient and drive results faster.

Why are mid-market customers struggling to adopt AI?

Companies know AI is “hot,” but every vendor promises greater efficiencies. It’s hard to know who to trust.

Even when they’re optimistic about the potential productivity gains of AI, they’re reluctant to disrupt their existing tech stacks. Should they use new AI-driven standalone products and integrate them with their existing processes and applications? Or should they adopt the new add-on AI features that vendors are now offering as part of their existing products?

These decisions have a wide array of business implications including workflows, governance, and compliance—so something that seems as simple as using new AI features in an existing product can become a major internal initiative.

How is this different from the ongoing challenges of digital transformation?

We've been talking about digital transformation for a long time but it's further accelerated with AI. CIOs today are having to take a harder look at their legacy suite of products, understanding the breadth of their technologies, the internal goals, budgets, and which ones to adopt first. 

On top of that, you have new products you want to add as part of your productivity suite or workflow, whether it’s the hardware layer, the OS layer, or the application stack. AI impacts each one and companies are having to plan the impact at each and also forecast when they will see the return on investment. 

How do outside partners help to solve some of these problems?

Companies are looking for third-party experts for advice and help. This is where partners come in. Consulting, sales, technical, and implementation partners help to identify the best solutions for businesses and are often really trusted by customers, creating a “circle of expertise” around them.

The best partners understand the customer lifecycle, from pre-sales through deal signing, adoption, and implementation. In pre-sales, they’re talking to a customer, consulting with them, and understanding their business and technical needs. Then there is a need for adoption services training or support if there are product issues. You could have a different, specialist partner for each stage, or managed service providers who can handle it all for you.

Great partners stay ahead of the curve by training their teams on AI, investing in new technologies, and integrating AI into broader digital transformation strategies. This is the ecosystem we are building at Freshworks, so that customers know they can get support not just from us, but also from this whole circle of experts.

This allows them to turn to the right expert for the questions they have, whether it’s figuring out whether to add or replace legacy software, or design an entirely new, AI-driven strategy, or to take advantage of other beneficial technologies.