NEWS
GTIA research shows AI is becoming main growth driver in the channel
The Global Technology Industry Association( GTIA) has released its State of the Channel 2026 report for the UK and Ireland, highlighting current trends, opportunities and challenges facing IT service providers( ITSPs) in the region.
The survey amongst 130 ITSPs finds that the channel is at an AI inflection point: While respondents identified AI services as the top revenue driver for the coming months, only three out of 10 providers have fully embedded AI into their business models.
According to the research, 35 % of UK and Ireland ITSPs currently generate between 11 % and 25 % of their revenue from AI-related services, with many selling a mix of existing and newly developed AI products and services. This contrasts with those who are heavily focused on AI: 7 % said that over half of their revenue now stems from AI-related products and services.
Carolyn April, Vice President of Research and Market Intelligence, GTIA, said:“ AI hype is fast turning into AI reality, making this a crucial time for providers who must make important decisions about their business strategy. We are well past the experimentation phase. The key differentiator now is how strategically and operationally mature a provider’ s AI usage is. Those who can successfully adopt and monetise AI will be best placed to navigate this sea change.”
Westcon-Comstor enables channel to accelerate global marketplace-led growth through Microsoft REO
Westcon-Comstor has announced its global involvement in the Microsoft Marketplace resale enabled offers( REO) programme, helping channel partners and vendors accelerate marketplace-led growth through value-added services and technical expertise.
Microsoft REO enables software vendors to authorise approved channel partners to create and manage private offers via Microsoft Marketplace, while Microsoft handles customer billing and payment collection. Westcon-Comstor is supporting partners with onboarding, enablement, renewals and customer lifecycle management to help scale marketplace operations more effectively.
By combining Microsoft Marketplace with Westcon-Comstor’ s services, partners can unlock cloud commit budgets, accelerate deal velocity and expand customer spend while maintaining control of customer relationships and layering their own services on top.
The distributor is already supporting onboarding opportunities involving cybersecurity vendors including Palo Alto Networks and Infoblox, while also exploring future collaboration opportunities with additional vendors.
Peter Woest, Cloud Marketplace Partnership Director at Westcon-Comstor
According to Omdia, cloud marketplace software sales are forecast to grow from US $ 30 billion in 2024 to US $ 163 billion in 2030.
“ Hyperscaler marketplaces are redefining how enterprise software is bought and sold,” said Peter Woest, Cloud Marketplace Partnership Director at Westcon-Comstor.“ By wrapping Microsoft Marketplace with our value-added services and technical marketplace expertise, we’ re helping partners quickly build and scale their marketplace business.”
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