Canalys Forum: Balancing AI and human services in partner ecosystem

At Canalys Forum Americas 2025, "The augmented partner: Crafting the optimal human-agentic AI service equilibrium" Expert Hub explored how partners should balance agentic AI implementation with human-led services. Hosted by Peter Bryant, Practice Leader at Omdia, the discussion united experts Raj Datta (Global GM & VP for ISV and AI Partnerships, IBM) and Jason Norred (CISO, Solutions II), with insights from Omdia Senior Analyst Sebastian Wilke. Together, they examined the changing points of emphasis for partners as Agentic AI transforms the services landscape. Key themes emerged throughout the session: 🔹 Raj Datta (Global GM & VP for ISV and AI Partnerships, IBM) noted that while "everyone has to have AI agents now," the flood of agents raises key questions about security, false positives, and the need for "cleaned, validated and useful" data. 🔹 Jason Norred, CISSP, CCSP, CCZT (CISO, Solutions-II, Inc (Hybrid Data Center, Cyber Security, Managed Services)) acknowledged the "broader attack surface" AI creates but stressed that the fundamental need for governance doesn't change. He said it becomes a question of "knowing what agents are allowed to do, and whether they do so within guard rails." 🔹 Sebastian Wilke (Senior Analyst, Omdia) added that defining "ownership and guardrails is critical" and falls to executives. He raised crucial questions: "Who owns the risk? Are you de-risking by outsourcing... to AI, and who is accountable... if something goes wrong?" #CanalysForums2025 #Omdia #AI #AgenticAI #PartnerEcosystem #ManagedServices #FutureOfWork