As part of our ongoing research, TSL Tech Research has been tracking trends in AI adoption. Some of our research has focused on small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), examining their level of AI maturity, planned AI initiatives, and key use cases.
By researching how SMBs are using AI and the barriers to adoption, TSL Tech Research helps generate insights into how IT service firms can best support SMBs. Using our findings, IT service providers can refine their messaging to reach the right companies and convert them into customers.
In a recent survey, we asked 741 IT professionals at SMBs how they wanted IT service firms to support their AI adoption efforts. We found that SMBs need help with data security, AI integrations, and customizing AI solutions. Research into barriers to AI adoption and AI foundational priorities give further insights into the AI-related services SMBs need from IT service providers.
When we asked IT professionals at companies with 50 to 500 employees what ways they would like IT services providers to support them on AI adoption. The results were as follows:
49% Ensuring data security and compliance for AI implementations
49% Assisting with AI integration into existing systems
42% Providing customized AI solutions tailored to our industry
40% Offering training and upskilling programs for employees
33% Conducting AI strategy consulting and roadmap development
26% Providing ongoing technical support and maintenance for AI tools
11% None
1% Other
Ensuring data security and compliance and assisting with AI integration were pretty much tied in first place at 49%. Providing customized AI solutions ranked second at 42%, while offering training and upskilling programs came in at third place with 40%.
Key Takeaways
AI governance and security are top priorities for SMBs, creating an opportunity for IT service providers to promote their cybersecurity expertise and how they are adapting their approach to the risks created by AI. IT service firms can also emphasize their experience as systems integrators specializing in implementing AI platforms.
IT service providers should include trust signals in their marketing campaigns, such as testimonials and case studies, that illustrate how they customize AI solutions to meet industry use cases.
AI skills gaps are clearly an issue for SMBs. In response, IT service firms can present themselves as AI thought leaders with a strong knowledge base that can be shared with the staff at SMBs so they can gain ownership of AI solutions.
SMBs may lag behind enterprises in AI adoption because of a lack of resources and expertise. To gain insight into what might be holding SMBs back, we asked IT decision-makers at SMBs what the biggest data obstacles were to adopting AI agents. The responses were:
60% Data Security
52% Data Governance and Compliance
51% Data Quality and Integrity
36% Context and Relevance
19% Data Accessibility and Silos
9% Not Sure
6% Other
These findings seem to align with SMBs’ needs for AI adoption support. The top three barriers to the adoption of agentic AI fall under the category of data security and compliance for AI implementations, the number one response to the previous question. The top barrier was identified as data security at 60%. Data governance and compliance came in second at 52% followed by data quality and integrity at 51%.
Key Takeaways:
When adopting agentic AI as part of an overall AI program, SMBs need help using AI responsibly. IT service providers can offer guidance in data security and governance in the storage, transmission, and analysis of data used to train AI models, including those for AI agents. To conduct AI-assisted operations effectively, SMBs need to work with complete, current, and accurate information.
To track trends in AI adoption for SMBs, we asked them which AI foundational areas were priorities for them over the next 12 months. Understanding AI priorities helps IT service providers anticipate what support SMBs will need as they explore new initiatives. The AI foundational priorities ranked as follows:
53% Integration of Systems
42% Building AI Agents
40% Data Integration
33% Deploying AI Applications
18% Improving Database Platforms
15% Implementing a Data Lake
14% Cloud Spend Management
6% Other
The number one priority for AI foundations was integration of systems at 53%. The number two priority was building AI agents at 42%, reinforcing the importance of overcoming the data barriers addressed in the previous question. The third-place response was data integration at 40%, again emphasizing the importance of overcoming data obstacles to AI adoption.
Key Takeaways
IT service providers can learn much about what support SMBs need for AI adoption by looking at their priorities. To carry out planned AI initiatives, SMBs need systems integration support from IT service firms. Managed service providers should also emphasize their experience and expertise in developing AI agents to meet key use cases. IT service firms would benefit from promoting their ability to address data barriers to AI adoption by helping SMBs handle and store the data that fuels AI using data lakes and database platforms.
Understanding which areas SMBs need support for AI adoption helps IT service companies craft messaging so they can find and engage the right companies to partner with. IT service firms interact with and win over AI support service customers when they develop marketing campaigns that emphasize how they can overcome barriers to AI adoption and provide expertise in AI integrations and data governance.
Contact the experts at TSL Tech Research to find out more about the tech trends that influence what companies are looking for in a managed IT services partner.