“Imagine a workplace where mundane tasks are a thing of the past.” This vision, shared by Ruben Dedman, TD SYNNEX Net DevOps Consultant – Cisco DevNet, captures the transformative power of AI in business operations. In a recent EDGE webinar, “Empowering Partners Through Easy AI Implementation,” Dedman emphasized how AI can drive innovation, improve productivity, and get rid of repetitive tasks – reducing mistakes, frustration and dissatisfaction. By freeing up employees, AI can provide them time to focus on creativity and growth. Indeed, AI is making that vision a reality by turning those mundane tasks into history.
AI: More Than Just a Buzzword
Dedman started the webinar strong by debunking the idea that AI is just a passing trend. He pointed out, “90 percent of leading businesses are already investing in AI technologies.” These investments are crucial for any partner who wants to grow and survive in the competitive market. As he emphasized, “AI is involved in transforming businesses around the globe…this is an important time to hop in there.” Dedman even went ahead to caution partners that businesses that don’t want to use AI or adopt it run the risk of being left behind.
The Advantage of AI in the Workplace
AI can relieve employees from those regular, repetitive tasks so that they can concentrate on more creative and strategic work. Time-consuming network management tasks like deploying switches or troubleshooting can all be handled by AI-powered automations. By reducing frustration and errors made by manual processes, this improves both operational efficiency and employee satisfaction.
Known as the next stage in networking, AI-driven networks combine machine learning and AI with traditional software-defined, and intent based networking. Better customer satisfaction and more efficient operations can result from these networks’ ability to predict problems and address them before they become more serious.
Real-World AI Use Cases
There are several practical use cases of AI, such as intelligent network diagnostics and AI-enhanced customer service. For example, network engineers can minimize human error and downtime by using AI to troubleshoot VLANs or other network components more efficiently. Dedman shared a personal story of unintentionally taking down a network because of a simple command error, a problem that could have been prevented with AI support.
AI-powered chatbots in customer service can perform basic troubleshooting, like helping customers reset their Wi-Fi or resolve connectivity issues. This allows technicians to focus on more complex problems by relieving them of simple tasks. Dedman also mentioned a 20 percent increase in customer satisfaction because of AI-driven personalization.
AI-Driven Knowledge Management
Knowledge management is another area in which AI is being used. Organization and retrieval of information from many documents and databases are common challenges for businesses. By allowing partners to ask questions in natural language to get precise answers – even from multiple data sources – AI can streamline this process. AI can also be used to generate presentations, documents, and even code, which will save employees even more time and effort.
Streamlining API and AI Integration with No-Code
Make.com, a no-code platform, was introduced as a solution for partners to interact with APIs to automate processes without requiring coding knowledge. This will help partners with data manipulation, system integration, and customized workflow creation, allowing for effective task management. He also showed how to use Cisco’s APIs to manage devices like Meraki, showing off how these APIs allow for direct interaction without the need for manual dashboard logins. The simplicity of using APIs to collect essential data – like device data in JSON format – was highlighted, while Make.com allows partners to filter and customize the data to streamline processes.
Addressing Security and Risk
While emphasizing the efficiency and automation benefits, the risks associated with automation, particularly around data security and API key management were acknowledged. To avoid unauthorized access, sensitive data must be stored securely. It is crucial to adhere to best practices to guarantee AI applications are safe, especially when it comes to managing sensitive data.
Embracing AI for Future Growth With the help of no-code platforms like Make.com, AI is revolutionizing business operations and simplifying implementation. Partners can increase productivity and efficiency by automating workflows and integrating APIs, freeing up employees to work on strategic initiatives rather than tedious duties. Dedman’s “crawl, walk, run” approach ensures that implementing AI doesn’t have to be difficult or overwhelming, allowing partners to start with simple applications and expand as they become more familiar with the technology. Ultimately, businesses that adopt these tools and strategies will position themselves to succeed competitively and innovate in the ever-changing digital world.
