Inside Crayon's AI-fuelled growth and the future after Mooney

The Norwegian reseller is leveraging Microsoft Copilot, strategic acquisitions to double business and maintain investor confidence

Inside Crayon's AI-fuelled growth and the future after Mooney

Norwegian reseller Crayon recently reported a 17 per cent increase in gross profit driven by software, cloud and AI at the forefront, says CEO Melissa Mulholland in an interview with CRN.

"From a compound annual growth perspective, we've been growing at an average of around 26 per cent per year. This growth is propelled by our software and cloud offerings, as we continue to see strong demand despite tightening budgets, economic conditions, and potentially rising inflation," she explains.

"Companies require further licensing to digitally support their customers and employees, driving this sustained demand."

Mulholland says that Microsoft Copilot has been another catalyst for Crayon's growth.

"As one of the largest Microsoft partners globally, ranking third, we are well-positioned to benefit from the AI revolution."

The partner opportunity in AI

"While Copilot itself is captivating the market, what is often not explained is the preparation required to leverage such AI technologies effectively.

"Implementing Copilot or similar solutions is not as simple as installation; it necessitates readiness through training and securing data estates."

She argues that this complexity is creating significant demand as customers navigate their AI adoption journeys.

"We are helping them navigate this complexity, further driving our growth."

Use cases

Mulholland speaks about how organisations need to adapt their day-to-day mindset and habits to reap the benefits of genAI.

"It's crucial to have distinct use cases and a well-defined business plan for how the technology will be utilised.

"Let me give you an example from a law firm we worked with in Singapore. Their goal was to create efficiencies for their lawyers, so they wouldn't have to spend time on tedious contract evaluations and other tasks that could be automated through AI.

"This would allow the lawyers to focus on more strategic cases.

"Before implementing AI, it's essential for companies to carefully evaluate their use cases.

"Adopting new technology can be costly, and realising productivity and efficiency gains requires proper planning and execution.

"This is where Crayon's differentiator lies – our customer and customer-centric business model guides and supports organisations throughout their entire AI adoption journey.

"This end-to-end support has been a significant driver of our growth."

As the company moves forward, Mulholland says its main objective is to continue supporting its clients through its software and cloud offering, helping them optimise their businesses to enable innovation.

"This translates into a focus on areas such as data and AI. Big data is a significant area of focus for the company, and I'm proud to say that we've really accelerated our efforts in this domain since the start of 2024 with the launch of Microsoft Copilot and our status as a leading Copilot partner for Microsoft's Cloud Solution Provider programme."

Read on to find out Crayon's strategy for 2024 and beyond...