How TD Synnex Cultivates An AI And Tech-Ready Culture With IBM's watsonx

From watsonx AI solutions to Partner Ecosystem, Wendy Díaz Gálvez, Chris Garvey, and Pete Smith discuss the synergy between TD Synnex and IBM with Dinis Guarda at the TechXchange Summit EMEA 2024. 

The IBM TechXchange Summit EMEA 2024, held at the Barcelona International Convention Centre, welcomed all technology users that are driving innovation in the age of AI. The event offered tailored sessions and learning experiences for various technical users such as developers, data scientists, IT architects, operations professionals, cyber security experts, infrastructure architects, and more to ensure they stay ahead of the curve in their field.

Operating as one of IBM's global value-added distributors and one of the largest in Europe, TD SYNNEX is a key player in the IT ecosystem. With a team of 22,000 professionals, TD SYNNEX consistently demonstrates innovation and a steadfast dedication to helping clients maximise IT investments, achieve business outcomes, and unlock growth opportunities. 

“We empower our global partners to achieve great results with technology”, says Wendy Díaz Gálvez, Sales Manager at TD Synnex for IBM Software Europe, and Ecosystem & Channel Alliances.

“Through our partner ecosystem, we connect vendors with retailers and with each other. We have a global system of integrators, services, providers, specialized retailers worldwide. We basically connect the global IT ecosystem and unlock its potential”, she tells Dinis Guarda. 

Chris Garvey, Senior Pre Sales Solution Architect for Data & Analytics Solutions at TD Synnex for EMEA, explained that the synergy between TD SYNNEX and IBM offers clients the advantage of leveraging the combined expertise of two market leaders, facilitating the realisation of the full potential of IBM technology for business growth.

“TD Synnex has a large ecosystem of complimentary vendors like IBM. We work alongside these vendors to help define and create best to breed multi-vendor solutions that our partners can take to the market”, says Chris. 

watsonx at TechXchange Summit 2024: The AI revolution by IBM

Watsonx is an AI and data platform with three core components and a set of AI assistants designed to help enterprises scale and accelerate the impact of AI with trusted data across their businesses. The three product sets in the Watsonx platform are:

watsonx.ai puts state-of-the-art, proprietary foundation models in the hands of businesses. It is a next generation enterprise studio for AI builders to train, validate, tune, and deploy both traditional machine learning and new generative AI capabilities powered by foundation models through an open and intuitive user interface. The watsonx.ai library includes open-source models from Hugging Face, delivering on IBM’s open ecosystem approach.

watsonx.data, a fit-for-purpose data store that is built on an open data lakehouse architecture to scale AI workloads while governing it simultaneously.

watsonx.governance, an end-to-end toolkit that helps businesses and enterprises manage and monitor their AI activities, including generative AI and machine learning models. It employs software automation to strengthen businesses to mitigate risks, manage regulatory requirements and address ethical concerns for both generative AI and machine learning (ML) models.

Speaking about watsonx.governance, Chris says:

“Governance is really important when it comes to AI. This effectively means ensuring that you know where the data comes from and data can be trusted and so we can use this with many different platforms.

watsonx.governance ensures that data is governed currently and you know where the data is coming from. Once the model is put into production, to make sure that it is yielding the results, you expect it to large term and you can use watsonx open scale to deliver this.”

Organisations leveraging watsonx gain the capability to enhance foundation models using their specific domain data, providing a competitive edge and ensuring accuracy by aligning with external knowledge sources. These features, coupled with a diverse array of traditional machine learning and AI functions, are now accessible to independent software vendors (ISVs) and managed service providers (MSPs) as integral components of IBM’s embeddable software portfolio.

Are businesses prepared for the AI revolution?

Pete Smith, Senior Business Development Manager for Data, AI, and IoT (EMEA) says:

“Some of them are, some of them are getting there, and a lot of them are unprepared. But I see that this is changing significantly over the next 12 to 24 months.”

As artificial intelligence continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, reshaping industries and revolutionising traditional workflows, the readiness of businesses to embrace and leverage this transformative technology becomes paramount. 

Companies must not only invest in advanced AI solutions but also cultivate a culture that fosters understanding and adaptation to AI-driven changes. Ensuring a skilled workforce, addressing ethical considerations, and navigating potential disruptions are integral components of preparation. 

Through its subsidiary, ExitCertified, TD SYNNEX delivers education solutions, showcasing its commitment to providing unparalleled support and understanding of IBM technology. TD SYNNEX has been a recognised IBM Global Training Provider since 2013. It has forged a robust and enduring partnership with IBM for over 30 years. As a recipient of the IBM Global Training Excellence Award twice, TD SYNNEX extends certified IT training across more than 60 countries globally. 

The ability to harness the power of AI for innovation, efficiency, and competitiveness will be a defining factor in the success of businesses in the ever-evolving landscape of the AI revolution.