‘We’re still in business to deliver real outcomes and real returns,’ says Anthony Marino, chief administrative officer at Conduent. ‘AI has to do that, otherwise, it’s just noise.’
One solution provider executive says IT service providers need to sharpen their AI strategy, especially as more businesses are looking to see the real value AI can bring.
“Without question, in every meeting, every networking event, every company I talk to, the conversation somehow leads to, ‘What are you doing in AI?’” Anthony Marino, chief administrative officer at Florham Park, N.J.-based Conduent, told CRN. “Nobody wants to be last. There’s a real fear of missing out, and now boards are demanding to know, ‘What’s your AI strategy?’”
Businesses, however, still struggle with how to apply it. That gap is what Conduent is trying to close by focusing less on theory and more on practical use.
“What we’re trying to do is help companies step back and ask, ‘What are the business processes we really care about, and where can AI actually help us do those better?’” said Marino (pictured above).
[Related: Conduent Exec On AI For SMBs: ‘You Can Apply AI to Everything, But It’s About Return’]
But instead of sweeping transformations, he said the most successful projects tend to start small and revolve around customer experience or repeatable operational processes. Businesses that rush in with massive, expensive initiatives typically find themselves disappointed by the return.
“You can spend a lot of money and not get much back,” he said. “We’re seeing much better outcomes when companies focus on very specific problems they already have.”
Anna Sever, president of government solutions at Conduent, ranked No. 29 on CRN’s 2025 Solution Provider 500, sees the benefits of AI in the public sector. Her teams support a wide range of government programs, from Medicaid and EBT cards to unemployment insurance and child support services.
She said AI has become critical as government agencies face policy changes, funding constraints and increased fraud attempts.
“In just the last eight months, the pace of change has been incredible,” she told CRN, adding that she’s seen the biggest impacts across detecting fraud and abuse. “What used to be very manual is now largely automated. We can ingest far more data, flag high-risk cases and get investigators involved much earlier. That has completely expanded our ability to protect benefits and make sure they’re going to the right people.”
AI is also helping government programs learn across silos, she said, something that historically has been difficult.
“If we see fraud patterns in one program, we can now apply those learnings to others, like Medicaid eligibility,” she said. “Over time, those artificial barriers between programs are going to come down, because we’ll be able to analyze data around people, not just programs.”
Both Sever and Marino agree that being “smart and practical” is a strategic approach to delivering on the value of AI.
“We’re still in business to deliver real outcomes and real returns,” Marino said. “AI has to do that, otherwise, it’s just noise.”
