Microsoft : Insight’s Matt Jackson on the potential of an AI-filled future

Matt Jackson has always been passionate about building things: forts as a kid, video games in high school, then software in his early career. Now, as vice president of digital innovation at Insight, he helps others build up their companies. Every day, he and his team construct innovative technology solutions so Insight's clients and their employees can be more productive, whether that's a chatbot to update customers on their stock portfolios or an algorithm to help a hospital with staffing.

His role at Insight didn't even exist a few years ago, but Jackson seems made for the title. Though the solutions he creates can involve everything from machine learning to the intelligent edge, it's about more than just helping companies choose the right technology. He also helps clients see the bigger picture and strategize how they can continue to innovate and evolve.

Jackson's ability to dream big is one reason why Insight was named the 2018 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Partner of the Year at Inspire, Microsoft's annual partner conference. We spoke with Jackson at the event about how AI can work behind the scenes to make our lives easier, what he envisions for the future of tech and how he landed his dream job.

TRANSFORM: Did you always know technology was something you wanted to do?

Oh no, I evolved. I like to build things. Ever since I was a kid, I used to build forts and Legos and stuff. When I came out of college, I started by building software, and I loved it-it was a very creative exercise. Over the years, I realized what I was really passionate about was building companies. So I went from building things to building software to helping build a company, BlueMetal, which was acquired by Insight. I still think of it as, 'I just build things.' There's a common theme there-roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, and at the end of the day you have something to show for it.

TRANSFORM: VP of digital innovation is a job title no one even imagined a decade ago. What is that role and why is it so important to your company?

JACKSON: From a company perspective, it's about understanding the technology landscape and making sure that we're always ahead of the curve. Most of my job, though, is focused on helping our clients innovate. Our clients know their business better than anybody, but they haven't innovated hundreds of times.

Not only do we know the technology, we know the process of how companies can transform, so we bring the experience of that journey. They know they need to go down that road, whether because of competitor pressure or wanting to bring a new product to market, and they can probably imagine the end of that journey, but they don't know what it's like to actually go on that digital transformation journey.

TRANSFORM: Tech companies are becoming more specialized, but Insight embraces a holistic approach. How do you balance range and depth?

JACKSON: I think there's power in being focused, but we have the resources to be focused in many areas. Just because a modern experience might require you to have AI and Internet of Things (IoT) as well as a great user experience doesn't mean that you're spreading those capabilities thin. We're able to bring all those very specific capabilities to build one of these holistic solutions. With scale, we have the ability to create many areas of focus.

TRANSFORM: Many superheroes are better than one.

JACKSON: Yeah, we're not just a single-superhero movie! That's a good analogy.