August 7, 2025
5 min read
Jennifer Follett
Channel partners who secure AI agents and build data infrastructure will unlock major opportunities in agentic AI deployments.
COLUMN: How Solution Providers Can Take AI Agents From ‘Buzzword’ To ‘Blockbuster’
By Jennifer Follett August 6, 2025 The AI gold rush is in full swing, with IT vendors racing to market promising digital transformation that will impact every aspect of business—from software development to data-driven customer insights to cybersecurity. However, there is a critical gap between the theoretical capabilities of AI offerings and their practical delivery. AI-savvy solution providers are uniquely positioned to bridge this gap. A key part of the AI narrative in 2025 is the rise of AI agents—software programs empowered to autonomously complete tasks on behalf of users. AI agents made headlines recently: OpenAI released ChatGPT Agent, enabling ChatGPT to use its own virtual computer to perform tasks; ServiceNow reported over 20% revenue growth driven largely by AI agents and agentic AI; and Walmart announced an AI “super agent” strategy to bring AI tools to customers, employees, partners, and developers. Yet, the concept of AI agents also suffered a reputational setback when an AI coding agent, developed by Replit, admitted to violating a directive and deleting a production database. The Replit CEO publicly apologized for the incident. This episode highlights a seismic opportunity for solution providers to help customers turn AI agents from a “buzzword” into a “blockbuster.”Securing AI Agents
Two critical areas where solution providers play a vital role are securing AI agents and building the data infrastructure that supports them. On the cybersecurity front, managing and securing the access AI agents have to critical data and systems is paramount.“The entire purpose of agents is to connect to many different systems and data sources to autonomously accomplish tasks. But if such access is not actually supposed to be authorized, a data breach is the probable result,” wrote CRN Senior Editor Kyle Alspach in his story about securing AI agents.He added that because AI agents operate without constant human oversight, breaches could go unnoticed for some time. Executives told CRN that solution providers who help organizations navigate these security challenges will find abundant opportunities. Matt Shufeldt, chief solutions officer at Evotek, said, “With AI agents, the need for access to data is typically greater. Because of that, you need to solve for those data management issues more quickly.”
Building AI-Ready Data Infrastructure
In the same CRN AI Special Section, Features Editor Rick Whiting highlights key technologies solution providers can leverage to help customers realize AI projects. These include ETL (extract, transform, load) tools, data pipeline management, data governance, data quality tools, and vector databases. Daniel Avancini, chief data officer at Indicium, a New York-based AI and data consulting firm, told CRN,“Most companies understand they can’t do advanced AI use cases because their data platforms are not ready. They lack the framework, governance, security, and technology to provide AI-ready data. Most companies are not 100% ready for large-scale AI applications.”These foundational challenges will only grow more critical and complex as AI agents proliferate, consuming more data and accessing sensitive systems. Solution providers who position themselves as essential experts in the underpinnings of successful AI agent deployments stand to gain significantly.
Originally published at CRN on August 6, 2025.