Will AI Replace Jobs? 17 Job Types That Might be Affected

20 Tech Companies Hiring In The IT Channel: July 2025

20 Tech Companies Hiring In The IT Channel: July 2025

Ahead, Bulletproof, World Wide Technology, Armada, Vercel and Kaseya were among the tech companies making key executive hires and moves in July 2025.

This month, Ahead, Bulletproof and World Wide Technology are among the solution providers to list open positions while Armada, Vercel and Kaseya are among the vendors to list open positions for channel-related roles.

CRN has looked at open listings on LinkedIn that would bring talent into the channel either by working with a partner or by working at a vendor to support partners.

[RELATED: 20 Tech Companies Hiring In The IT Channel: June 2025]

Open Jobs In The IT Channel

Open channel roles include:

A Microsoft alliance manager who can make at least $172,000 a year at Armada

A senior partner manager who can make at least $213,000 a year at Vercel

An account manager at Kaseya

An observability technical consultant who can make at least $100,000 a year with Ahead

A global marketing vice president at Bulletproof

A strategic engagement manager who can make at least $90,000 a year with WWT

The U.S. Added 147,000 jobs in June, exceeding most estimates, according to Bloomberg. Public education employment masked a slowdown in other sectors, with private payrolls rising by 74,000 in June, the least since October and largely due to health care employers. The unemployment rate was 4.1 percent.

Here are some of the latest job openings in the channel.

Darktrace

Darktrace has an opening this month for a channel manager, according to a LinkedIn account.

The England-based security vendor wants this manager to "develop, implement, and manage targeted and measurable partnership strategies and campaigns to generate new business opportunities as well as upsell opportunities with channel partners, according to the listing.

Candidates should have a minimum of five years of experience, plus an "ability to build lasting relationships with stakeholders across all organizational levels through open, honest, two-way and frequent communication."

Darktrace has more than 500 partners worldwide, according to the company.

Its top channel goals for 2025 include increasing the overall percentage of company revenue that comes through the channel, according to CRN's 2025 Channel Chiefs.

Mimecast

Job seekers interested in a role as a channel account manager making at least $86,000 a year might consider this opening at Mimecast.

The England-based email security company wants this CAM to "develop and execute Go-To-Market business plans with key focus partners" and "accurately forecast partner opportunities in coordination with direct sales teams," according to the LinkedIn post.

Candidates should have "experience selling cloud solutions, particularly Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)" plus "thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and adapt to changing priorities."

Mimecast also has a listing for a senior channel solutions engineer who can make at least $100,000 a year.

The engineer will "lead technical strategy, drive scalable partner enablement programs, and foster a thriving technical community across our partner ecosystem," according to the listing.

Candidates should have "experience in sales engineering or technical support, preferably in cybersecurity or SaaS" and "deep knowledge of cybersecurity, email technologies, Microsoft 365, and complementary solutions like CrowdStrike, Netskope, and OKTA."

Mimecast has about 4,000 channel partners worldwide, according to CRN's 2025 Channel Chiefs.

Exabeam

Exabeam has an open role this month for a senior director of global channel marketing who can make at least $200,000 a year, according to a LinkedIn post.

The Foster City, Calif.-based security company wants this director "to lead the design and execution of our next-generation partner marketing engine" and "architect a global partner marketing strategy aligned to Exabeam's channel vision and GTM goals," according to the post.

Candidates should have "10+ years in global partner or channel marketing, with a strong background in enterprise SaaS or cybersecurity" plus at least a bachelor's degree.

Exabeam has about 1,000 channel partners worldwide, according to CRN's 2025 Channel Chiefs.

Kaseya

Kaseya has dozens of job listings this month that may appeal to people looking for new work in the channel.

The Miami-based MSP tools provider's openings include:

Senior account executive who will "own both inbound and outbound sales motions, identifying new business opportunities and deepening relationships with existing partners"

Senior software engineer who will "design and build our SaaS Protection & Backupify products"

Senior sales operation analyst who will "develop custom analyses to interpret business challenges related to our customer base and support strategic initiatives"

Senior payroll manager for the Americas who will "lead end-to-end payroll operations across three countries, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and operational excellence"

Corporate finance analyst who supports "key financial processes across the organization, with a focus on headcount tracking, human capital planning, and operational financial reporting"

Account manager who will "proactively engage with current customers to identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities, leveraging Kaseya's full suite of products to drive revenue growth"

Pentest operations engineer who will "work closely with our Development, DevSecOps, and Penetration Testing teams to ensure that automated penetration tests initiated through vPenTest are consistently executed as expected — even across complex infrastructure and edge cases"

Senior quality assurance automation engineer who will "assist in reproducing bugs reported outside of QA and triaging them with Product Management"

Kaseya has about 50,000 channel partners worldwide, according to CRN's 2025 Channel Chiefs.

LaunchDarkly

An opening for a system integrator partner development manager in the Americas who can make at least $199,000 a year is available this month at LaunchDarkly.

The Oakland, Calif.-based developer operations (DevOps) tools vendor wants this manager to "serve as a subject matter expert in SI and GSI partnerships, applying deep domain knowledge and leadership to drive partner engagement, enablement, and joint go-to-market initiatives," according to the LinkedIn post.

The manager will "lead the development and execution of global partnership strategies with top-tier GSIs (e.G., Accenture, Deloitte, Cognizant, etc.), ensuring alignment with LaunchDarkly's business objectives and customer success goals."

Candidates should have "8+ years of experience in partnerships, alliances, or business development, with a focus on enterprise software and systems integrator partnerships," according to the post.

ConnectWise

This month, ConnectWise seeks a senior software consulting specialistwho will be "responsible for interacting directly with partners for consulting and implementation needs."

The Tampa, Fla.-based MSP tools provider wants this specialist to work "in partnership with cross-functional teams to ensure clients have the necessary support needed as they become more integrated with ConnectWise products," according to the LinkedIn listing.

Candidates should have a "bachelor's degree in related field or equivalent business experience" and "4+ years of relevant experience."

ConnectWise has about 45,000 channel partners worldwide, according to CRN's 2025 Channel Chiefs.

Laserfiche

Laserfiche has an offer this month for a partner marketing manager who can make at least $100,000 a year.

The Long Beach, Calif.-based digital transformation platform provider wants this manager to play "a pivotal role in developing, promoting, and expanding Laserfiche's Channel Partner, Strategic Partner, and Technology Partner programs," according to the LinkedIn listing. "This role will manage all marketing aspects of the partner programs, including recruitment, enablement, co-marketing, and communications."

Candidates should have "7+ years in channel and partner development with 5+ years of experience in B2B marketing."

Laserfiche's top channel goals for 2025 include increasing partners' customer satisfaction ratings, improving partner technical skills and increasing the amount of recurring revenue going through partners, according to CRN's 2025 Channel Chiefs.

Vercel

An opening for a senior partner manager who can make at least $213,000 a year is available this month at Vercel.

The San Francisco-based front-end development platform vendor wants this manager to "lead Vercel's global alliance with key strategic partners and their broader channel ecosystems," according to a LinkedIn listing. The hire will "craft joint go-to-market motions that leverage market trends, product synergies, and whitespace opportunities within partner ecosystems to drive revenue growth."

Candidates should have "6+ years of experience in Sales, Partnerships, or Business Development, preferably in the SaaS or developer tooling space."

Vercel has more than 70 solution partners worldwide, according to the company.

Armada

This month on LinkedIn, Armada has an opening for a Microsoft alliance manager who can make at least $172,000 a year.

The San Francisco-based edge computing startup wants this manager to "serve as the central liaison between Armada's sales organization and Microsoft's partner and field teams, working to align joint selling efforts, managing deal registrations, and accelerating pipeline generation and deal closure for all deals where Armada partners with Microsoft," according to the LinkedIn post.

Candidates should have "5+ years of experience in partner/channel management, business development, or enterprise sales, preferably in the tech industry" and "proven success in managing co-sell motions and influencing partner-led revenue."

UiPath

UiPath has an opening this month for an enterprise account executive who sells to global systems integrators.

The New York-based agentic automation vendor wants this AE to "sell to large (GSIs) for their internal business consumption" and "develop trusted relationships with local partners and global systems integrators to cultivate new opportunities and drive successful customer implementations," according to the LinkedIn listing.

Candidates should have "7+ years solution/value selling experience" and "3+ years Enterprise Accounts experience," according to the listing.

UiPath's top channel goals for 2025 include increasing the amount of professional services going through partners, according to CRN's 2025 Channel Chiefs.

Net at Work

LinkedIn this month shows a handful of job openings at Net at Work.

The New York-based company–No. 246 on CRN's 2025 Solution Provider 500––has listings on LinkedIn for roles that include:

Private equity channel director who can make at least $165,000 a year and "be responsible for identifying, building, and nurturing relationships with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies–driving growth for our Fractional CIO & Advisory practice and creating pathways to expand the broader Net at Work offering where appropriate"

Technical operations director who can make at least $145,000 a year and "will oversee mission-critical development projects, including the design, development, and rollout of a customer portal, as well as the migration of core business applications—such as CRM and project management systems—to a unified platform"

Acumatica manufacturing consultant who can make at least $100,000 a year and "plan, design, develop, and launch efficient information systems and operations systems in support of core organizational functions as well as assist with upgrades, training, and support for the Acumatica solution"

Technical sales recruiter who can make at least $100,000 a year and "utilize various recruitment tools to actively source, identify, and pre-qualify specific skill sets of professionals for priority positions as determined daily/weekly"

Ahead

Ahead has a variety of job openings that should interest job seekers in the channel.

The Chicago-based company–No. 27 on CRN's 2025 Solution Provider 500–seeks the following among its open positions:

Platform success manager who can make at least $100,000 a year and "proactively engage with customers to understand their needs and ensure continuous value from the Hatch platform"

Principal data center advisory consultant who can make at least $175,000 a year and provide "onsite, hands-on client engagement management which involves the day-to-day running of the engagement portfolio"

ServiceNow senior technical consultant who can make at least $140,000 a year and "lead development and testing activities on ServiceNow"

Client director who can make at least $50,000 a year and "maintain a high level of knowledge about specific AHEAD solutions and will be tasked with individual and group sales objectives"

Modern data center specialist solutions engineer (SSE) who can make at least $150,000 a year and "support the sales teams during engagements by providing advice and solutions or proposals optimized to meet customer technical and business requirements"

Senior financial analyst who can make at least $90,000 a year and provide "financial reporting and analysis that is used for strategic and tactical decision making"

Network specialist solutions engineer who can make at least $150,000 a year and "will be focused on Networking technologies, including switches, routers, firewalls, and other products used to manage and secure networks"

Observability technical consultant who can make at least $100,000 a year and has "experience implementing solutions such as Datadog, Dynatrace, New Relic, Splunk ITSI, Elastic, Grafana, and/or LogicMonitor"

Computacenter

Computacenter looks to boost its employee base this month with a wide variety of channel roles, according to dozens of LinkedIn job listings.

Job seekers interested in working for the England-based company–No. 19 on CRN's 2025 Solution Provider 500–might want to look at the following unfilled positions:

Purchase order coordinator who can be "managing contractor and third-party purchase orders, ensuring smooth processing from issuance to completion"

Solution director who can "take an active role in supporting key opportunities by providing guidance for the Solution Sales and Sales team using their professional knowledge and experience, as well as drawing on best practices"

Junior inside sales representative who will be "responsible assisting in the delivery of all products and services to customer specifications and meeting the contractual service level agreements (SLA) with the customer"

Customer engineer who "will provide a range of hardware, software, and network technical support, that include troubleshooting, staging and configuration, and resolving tickets for internal and external customers"

Hardware renewals team manager who can "ensure vendor support opportunities with manufacturer(s) are monitored and maintained to maximize capture of recurring revenue and soft margin while providing value to our customers"

Enterprise account executive (AE) who can "identify opportunities within their current customer base or benefit from the many marketing activities sponsored by Computacenter"

Solutions specialist who can be "acting as a technical sales lead driving opportunities and deals including bringing in the right people and expertise"

Junior buyer who can be "responsible for the procurement of materials, services and supplies by following up with vendors to confirm orders and make necessary changes"

Junior vendor partner manager who can be "promoting Computacenter US (CCUS) as the preferred route to market for our vendors and reverse selling CCUS's capabilities into vendor partners"

Junior material master coordinator who can be "responsible for the proactive and reactive creation and maintenance of material master records in SAP, as well as other supporting activities"

U.S. Process optimization owner who can be "leading innovation into the process which impacts results, increases our customer satisfaction, heighten efficiencies, and contributes to the business in order for it to meet business objectives and goals"

Enterprise architect who can "work closely with our technology strategic partners and business leaders to create a compelling vision, strategy and roadmap for your domain, and work closely with our Solution Architecture function deliver the desired outcomes to the business areas"

First level analyst who "will provide technical support for our contact center systems that underpin the Global Service Desk business to handling technical activities performed through Application and Infrastructure Incident, Problem, Request, Change and project tasks"

Account associate who will "work with internal departments as well as external vendors building customer satisfaction, assisting in sales opportunity growth, thereby enabling the sales pod to pursue new, strategic accounts"

Synergy IT Solutions

Synergy IT Solutions seeks a level one service desk analyst who can provide "effective diagnostic evaluation of end-user customer needs," according to a LinkedIn post.

The Cheektowaga, N.Y.-based company–a member of CRN's 2025 MSP 500–wants the analyst to be "identifying, researching, and resolving technical problems, timely responses to telephone calls and email requests for technical support," according to the listing.

Candidates should have "1-2 years of experience in a Help Desk environment" and "knowledge of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure Admin portal."

ePlus

ePlus is growing its team in a variety of ways this month, according to LinkedIn posts.

The Herndon, Va.-based company–a member of CRN's 2025 MSP 500–is recruiting for roles that include:

Account executive who can make at least $80,000 a year and "achieve growth objectives through prospecting, lead response, and relationship building with Mid-Tier and Fortune 1000 companies"

Customer success manager (CSM) who can make at least $75,000 a year and "will be accountable for managing the customer experience and satisfaction of Services delivery to client accounts, within a defined area of the customer base"

Business development executive who can make at least $85,000 a year and will serve as the "primary territory liaison responsible for driving objectively measured incremental growth of ePlus Managed Services"

Principal technologist who can make at least $180,000 a year and "serve as a customer-oriented liaison between sales, pre-sales engineering and customer stakeholders"

Level one service desk analyst who can make at least $16.83 an hour and "will be responsible for answering technical support calls and responding to emails from our customers, providing Level 1 technical assistance directly to the ePlus customer base"

Warehouse expeditor who can make at least $24.04 an hour and "oversees all warehouse requests from initiation to completion, including monitoring progress, follow-ups, and escalating issues when necessary"

Order management lead who can make at least $70,000 a year and "will manage all orders for assigned enterprise customer(s), ensuring all defined customer expectations/SLAs are met"

Senior systems engineer who can make at least $80,000 a year and "will support and scale infrastructure for AI/ML workloads across hybrid environments that include NVIDIA DGX, HGX, and Nutanix"

Distribution operations coordinator who can make at least $21.63 an hour and "will primarily be responsible for administering all invoices for warehouse operations and reconciling/tracking all freight invoices"

Service provider solutions architect who can make at least $110,000 and will do "customer presentations, onsite whiteboarding sessions,Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and platform selection, BOM creation, and drafting Statements of Work (SOWs) for professional services engagements"

Network solutions architect who can make at least $120,000 a year and will "design, implement and troubleshoot software-defined network (SDWAN, including Palo Alto SD-WAN) architectures such as Cisco ACI and traditional NX-OS architectures such as vPC, OTV, etc."

Lead technical converged packet optical architect who can make at least $125,000 a year and "will be responsible for research, design and development of complex Routing/Optical designs for Critical Infrastructure projects"

Valorem Reply

Valorem Reply has room for multiple new workers, according to LinkedIn job postings this month.

The Kansas City, Mo.-based company–No. 372 on CRN's 2025 Solution Provider 500–seeks the following among its open roles:

Senior AI engineer who will be "consulting with stakeholders to identify opportunities for AI integration, advising on best practices, and tailoring AI strategies to meet business objectives"

Microsoft 365 consultant who can make $98,000 a year and who will be "creating Modern M365 solutions using Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online and other Office tools"

Developer operations (DevOps) engineer who "will deploy and automate identity orchestration flows using Ping Identity's DaVinci platform"

Data + AI team manager who "will mainly focus on building modern data platforms using Microsoft cloud technologies and Databricks for our customers"

Medicus IT

Medicus IT has several openings this month for channel job seekers, according to LinkedIn posts.

Among the available positions this month at the Alpharetta, Ga.-based company–No. 371 on CRN's 2025 Solution Provider 500–are:

Level two technical services engineer who will "spearhead the implementation of customer-facing cloud environments, on-premise infrastructure, and telephony systems"

Sales executive and health care transformational consultant who "is tasked with leading new logo sales pursuits for Medicus IT aimed at enhancing operational efficiency, supporting clinicians, and improving patient care"

Resident on-Site technician and level one engineer who "will be an initial point of contact for resolving or triaging client requests and providing a world class client experience daily"

World Wide Technology

World Wide Technology has dozens of unfilled positions available for channel job seekers this month.

The Maryland Heights, Mo.-based company–a member of CRN's 2025 MSP 500––lists the following among its open roles on LinkedIn:

Client manager who can make at least $125,000 a year and "lead WWT sales efforts with local Fortune 500/Enterprise level customers across all verticals"

Truck driver and warehouse operatorwho will be "operating Powered Industrial Trucks (PIT), applying and scanning labels to endure product is properly tracked, ensuring all product is safely and securely loaded or stored"

Lead project manager who can "be responsible for leading complex IT programs and projects across multiple Business, Infrastructure, Security, Supply Chain, Finance, and Application Development teams utilizing Agile or Waterfall methodologies as best fit"

Level one production technicianwho can make at least $18.50 an hour and "perform tasks related to building and cabling racks as well as cabinets, or communication equipment"

Strategic resourcing consultant for telecommunications and media clients who can make at least $100,000 a year and is "charged with driving and growing the strategic staffing business within the Central Region by leading the services sales process for assigned accounts and regions"

Strategic engagement manager who can make at least $90,000 a year and "will be responsible for developing a strategy and plan to handle future growth in the various technical verticals through capacity planning, training, and process improvement"

Senior engineer "responsible for Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform configuration and life cycle management in development, testing, and production environments"

Lead network engineer who will provide "cleared resources with a global reach to federal civilian, Department of Defense (DoD), and intelligence community markets"

Campus and branch technical solutions architect who will "own development and delivery of executive-level presentations for SD-WAN, switching, and complementary wireless solutions"

Senior Microsoft support engineer who "will serve as a top-tier escalation point for Azure and M365 service incidents, leading technical support cases from initiation through resolution"

Bulletproof

Bulletproof, a GLI company, has multiple openings this month, according to LinkedIn listings.

The Fredericton, New Brunswick-based company–a member of CRN's 2025 MSP 500–seeks the following among its unfilled positions:

Senior IT administrator who can "act as the primary point of contact between our company and our MSP/MSSP"

Global marketing vice president who can "drive pipeline generation in North America through ABM, creates brand awareness and customer engagement on a global scale"

Technical consultant who can "assist the Bulletproof sales team and Director of Operations with pre-sales questions and accompany them to meetings as a technical resource to drive sales"

Operational technology security specialist who can "lead the design, development, and implementation of the SOC OT security monitoring service from the ground up, including defining architecture, selecting technologies, establishing processes, and ensuring alignment with industry best practices and organizational requirements"

Cyber Advisors

Cyber Advisors has an opening this month for a purchasing agent.

The Maple Grove, Minn.-based company–a member of CRN's 2025 MSP 500–wants this agent to be "responsible for sourcing and procuring materials, equipment, and services essential to the company's operations," according to a LinkedIn listing.

Candidates should have an "associate's or Bachelor's degree or relevant business experience" plus "proficiency in Microsoft Office and familiarity with ERP systems."

The Seventh Wave: How AI Will Change The Technology Industry

The Seventh Wave: How AI Will Change The Technology Industry

Forrester

My professional career has spanned six major tech changes: minicomputer, PC, internet, social, mobile, and cloud. Each of these revolutions brought a wave of new providers and destroyed swaths of legacy companies. Now comes the Seventh Wave of major tech change, driven by AI in its modern forms — generative and agentic.

In the '80s and '90s, when faced with a new wave, the legacy tech companies would freeze in the headlights or double down on their suddenly obsolete business models. This allowed new players to gain traction and redefine industries. So the mainframe players largely crumbled in the face of minicomputers, and the minicomputer industry was decimated by the PC. Executives back then were not learning-mindset thinkers, and they defaulted to stonewalling and then responding, but too late. Yes, Wang Laboratories and Digital Equipment did build PCs, but the new market had already been formed. Schumpeterian creative destruction held court.

Then came Clay Christensen and "The Innovator's Dilemma" — a book that succinctly stated how legacy companies get stuck in their old expensive business model and are bypassed by cheap newcomers. The incumbents protect the fort until the fort is worthless (cliche cf. Kodak).

The new tech guard read Christensen's book. Starting around the turn of the millennium, they began to deploy four legacy defensive strategies when faced with a paradigm change: 1) Buy the interlopers (cf. Instagram, WhatsApp); 2) Block the new wave with regulation, pricing, packaging, consortia, and partnerships (cf. Partnership on AI); 3) Pretend that you are part of the new era (cf. Agentforce); and 4) Link existing dominant products with new offerings to keep challengers at bay (cf. Embedding Copilot in Office). These strategies are not always successful, but they are far more effective than the old "Deny and die" stance of the previous generation of executives.

Will these strategies work for the legacy tech companies as the AI revolution intensifies? Here's my take on what lies ahead.

The Enterprise Software Business

Before AI ever showed up, this tech sector had three problems:

Post-Covid there have been drastic price increases, irritating buyers and stretching user budgets. The VMware/Broadcom mess is the poster boy of this dynamic.

The beauty of the software business for investors (once buyers are in, they can't get out) is ugly for users. They feel trapped and exploited — it's not a square deal.

For CEOs who seek agility and adaptability in their businesses, enterprise software is often seen as an inhibitor of change and an ossifier of outmoded business process. Inflexible systems of record have made it difficult for companies to build systems of engagement for increasingly more demanding customers.

Against this sour backdrop comes AI, which offers three threats to the software industry:

Cheap code. TuringBots, using generative AI to create software, threatens the low-code, no-code players.

Cheap replacement. Software systems, be they CRM or ERP, are structured databases — repositories for client records or financial records. Generative AI, coupled with agentic AI, holds out the promise of a new way to manage this data, opening the door to an enterprising generation of tech companies that will offer AI CRM, AI financials, AI database, AI logistics, etc. These systems offer the promise of being much more adaptable, learning focused, easy to deploy, and lower cost to deploy.

Better functionality. AI-native systems will continually learn and flex and adapt without millions of dollars of consulting and customization. They hold the promise of being up-to-date and always ready to take on new business problems and challenges without rebuilds. When the business and process changes, the tech will learn and change.

Will buyers listen to these pitches? CEOs and business leaders certainly will — they are desperate for more agility. But development staffs and CIOs who have staked their careers and skill sets on legacy systems will resist. Business is ready to move on; technology teams will drag their feet.

So the enterprise software business won't change quickly, especially as the incumbents deploy their typical arsenal of weapons to defend their positions — Buy, Block, Pretend, and Link. But the promise of AI computing is going to make this old vs. New battle very hard fought.

The Impact On Other Tech Sectors

While software will be most changed by AI, there will be impact across the breadth of the industry.

AI needs cycles, so the hardware segment will get a very big boost from this wave. Yes, there will be a transition away from CPUs to GPUs, and the NVIDIA stranglehold will take another 12 to 15 months to break, but systems from cloud to laptops will be vastly stimulated by this change. Expect this business to grow in the 8%-10% range per year over the next five years.

Technology services, which has been under massive pressure since 2023 due to over-expansion in the 2021–22 timeframe, will experience whiplash from AI. On one hand, the legacy software systems that PwC, Deloitte, and others have implemented for decades and that comprise much of their expertise, will be challenged in the short term and shrink in the long term. Simultaneously, there will be massive demand for expertise in AI. Cognizant, Capgemini, and others will be called on to help companies implement AI computing systems and migrate away from legacy vendors. Forrester believes that the tech services sector will grow by 3.6% in 2025 — I believe that rate could increase to 5% to 6% per year from 2026 to 2030 — driven by AI.

Forrester has telecommunication and communications equipment growing 1.5% and 0.8% globally in 2025. These growth rates could be doubled in the upcoming years by the movement of prompts and answers between users and AI data centers. Yes, there will be good distilled systems sitting on laptops and in edge computing, but at least 70% of AI computing will run off private and public clouds. The Seventh Wave will require and will stimulate communications and network investments and infrastructure.

The Cool Kids

How will AI impact the big five consumer tech companies?

Alphabet/Google. Indexed search is dying, and Google is struggling to reformulate its advertising business to operate in the Seventh Wave. Advertising is like Keith Richards and cockroaches — it will never go away — it evolves and persists. So yes, the surveillance business model will be recreated in the AI world and Google will pull out all stops to retain a portion of its hegemony in that space. Look for Alphabet to deploy the Buy and Link defensive strategies — vacuuming up promising AI advertising startups and offering discounting and packaging deals to extant search customers that want to experiment with the Google AI advertising platform. Three advantages that the company will attempt to leverage are its cloud position, extensive training data, and its deep expertise in generative (remember that Google invented the transformers that make this technology possible).

Meta/Facebook. The images and data that users dump into Facebook on a daily basis give Meta a big training advantage. And Meta AI, because it is embedded in Facebook (and other properties), has over 1 billion users — more than any other LLM. But the company's platform will be challenged by newcomers introducing AI social solutions that will steal users and reformulate the rules of social media — bringing higher trust, faster learning, escape from the Facebook algorithm, better summarizing of daily and weekly content, and better automated moderation. Expect Meta to use all four defensive strategies to defend its citadel — with an emphasis on linking its existing advertising offerings to prevent advertisers from migrating to new AI platforms. The "Move fast and break things" culture at Meta will engender a particularly chaotic and at times desperate posture as it subordinates customer interests in favor of gaining strategic high ground in the new era.

Amazon. As the Seventh Wave e-commerce world emerges, Amazon will use its hyperdominant retail and cloud position to attempt to aggressively box out challengers. AI commerce will bypass the Web in favor of direct-to-consumer apps and hyperpersonalization, but expect Amazon to attempt to obsolete itself and lead that revolution. Look for the company to deploy the Buy, Block, and Link strategies in the face of challengers and, most importantly, to use its dominance in cloud to finance innovative forays into new AI ground.

Microsoft. Coupling its strong positions in cloud and software, Microsoft will do well in the new world, with the threat of "Microsoft fatigue" the only real factor that could impede its Seventh Wave prospects. The company has already deployed its Buy and Block strategy, taking a large position in OpenAI (Buy) and engaging in partnerships (Block) to freeze out newcomers. Microsoft's leadership is as fanatical as Meta's in its determination to not fall into the Innovator's Dilemma. So watch for seemingly irrational behavior and erratic tactical moves, as leadership is unafraid to confuse customers and take outsized capital risks.

Apple. An AI phone? Apple is clearly the biggest AI laggard of the cool tech kids. Complex software is not the company's forte, so it is vulnerable, as has been evident in its AI fumbling (cf. Apple Photos). Tim Cook is going to have to use the company's massive cash hoard to buy its way into AI as its internal efforts fail to generate adequate innovation. I would watch this space for a very large deal to acquire one of the independent LLM companies such as Mistral or Anthropic.

Conclusion

Tech CEOs, from Satya Nadella to Marc Benioff to Sundar Pichai, are scrambling. Their products and services are about to be challenged by a new way to do work, and they are determined to not be swept away (or be made zombies) in the Seventh Wave.

It will be a good time for the incumbents to deploy the Buy, Block, Pretend, and Link strategies, as the current administration in Washington will likely loosen antitrust oversight. But given the first six months of this administration, there may be more unpredictability than expected on that front.

Another factor that could help the legacy players is the state of the private equity and venture markets. They are currently holding many illiquid assets (companies) from the pre-AI period — they will have to sell these depreciated assets before they can raise new capital to invest in the Seventh Wave challengers. Confusion in capital markets will work in favor of the incumbents, as will their very large cash reserves.

What are the best strategies for CIOs? 1) Beware legacy vendors bearing AI gifts — they are faking it until they can make it, pretending that their platforms can transition to the Seventh Wave; 2) Increase your artificial intelligence quotient (go here if you are a client, summary if not) so that you and your team can sort the reality from the fantasy that will be assaulting you from your legacy suppliers and from startups; 3) If you can afford to delay, you may want to put off big software changes until AI finance, AI CRM, and AI ERP offerings become available from AI-native vendors. That won't happen until late 2026 and 2027.

This post was written by Forrester CEO George Colony and it originally appeared here.

The Real Cost Of Silicon Valley's Rush To Market: Why AI Safety Can't Be An Afterthought

JoAnn Yamani is a Senior Fellow of Future 500.

getty

The recent report revealing how major tech companies prioritize AI product development over safety research should serve as a wake-up call for an industry that has historically prided itself on responsible innovation. As someone who has guided technology companies through critical transformations for over two decades, I've witnessed firsthand how the pressure to maintain competitive advantage can lead organizations to make shortcuts that ultimately undermine their long-term success and societal impact.

The statistics are sobering: AI models are becoming "more likely to be good at bad stuff," according to cybersecurity experts, while companies slash safety testing times from months to days. Major tech companies have deprioritized fundamental research units in favor of product development, executives have urged teams to stop building overly cautious products, and leading AI companies have admitted to making "the wrong call" by releasing models despite expert concerns. This isn't just a technical problem—it's a communications and leadership crisis that threatens to erode the trust technology companies have built for decades.

Having navigated communications strategies during product recalls at a major electric vehicle company, leadership transitions at multiple organizations and complex merger integrations at technology hardware companies, I understand executives' intense pressure to deliver results quickly. However, the current AI rush represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how sustainable competitive advantage is built in technology markets.

The False Economy Of Speed

The notion that companies must choose between thorough safety testing and market competitiveness represents a false dichotomy that reveals short-term thinking. During my time helping transform a technology company from a patent enforcement entity to a respected technology innovator, we learned that authentic market positioning requires substance, not just speed. The partnerships with major retailers and cloud providers that followed weren't the result of rushing products to market—they emerged from building genuine technological credibility through rigorous development processes.

Similarly, when I guided an electric vehicle company through multiple crises, including product recalls and missed earnings calls, the companies that maintained stakeholder confidence weren't those that moved fastest, but those that demonstrated consistent commitment to user safety and transparent communication about their processes. The brands that survive and thrive during turbulent periods prioritize trust over temporary market advantages.

The Communication Imperative

What's particularly troubling about the current AI landscape is how companies handle communication around these safety trade-offs. Major AI companies have released models without proper documentation—essentially launching products without telling users or the industry about their limitations and potential dangers. This isn't just poor product management; it's a communication failure that signals to stakeholders that the company either doesn't understand the risks or doesn't respect users enough to be transparent about them.

Effective crisis communication, which I've practiced across industries from automotive to semiconductors, requires avoiding problems rather than reacting to them. Companies cutting corners on AI safety testing are creating the conditions for future crises that will be far more damaging to their reputations and market positions than any temporary competitive disadvantage they're trying to avoid.

Learning From Adjacent Industries

The technology industry can learn valuable lessons from other sectors that have grappled with the tension between innovation speed and safety protocols. In my work with automotive companies, I've seen how rigorous safety testing accelerates long-term market acceptance by building consumer confidence. The automotive industry's systematic approach to safety validation hasn't slowed innovation—it's enabled the rapid adoption of technologies like electric vehicles and autonomous driving features because consumers trust the development processes.

The pharmaceutical industry offers another instructive parallel. While drug companies face intense pressure to bring treatments to market quickly, those that maintain rigorous clinical trial standards ultimately achieve better market outcomes because regulatory approval and physician adoption depend on demonstrated safety profiles.

The Path Forward

Technology companies need to reframe AI safety not as a barrier to innovation but as a competitive differentiator. Organizations that develop robust safety evaluation processes and communicate transparently about their approaches will ultimately command greater market trust and regulatory confidence. This requires several key shifts:

First, companies must invest in communications strategies that help stakeholders understand why comprehensive safety testing serves everyone's interests. The current narrative that positions safety measures as obstacles to progress fundamentally misrepres