Westcon-Comstor is marking its 40th birthday by sharing several industry trends that will shape its focus in the coming months and years as it vows to help establish a future-ready IT channel.
The distributor has published the channel trends as part of the introduction of its Future Ready project, which will enable channel partners to stay ahead of rapid technological change and growing market dynamics.
The key trends identified as driving the growth and transformation of the channel include how MSPs and specialised partners are emerging as hybrid's real winners, succeeding by building and selling services that allow them to own the ‘glue’ layer spanning automation, security, governance and data flow between platforms.
Other trends identified see cybersecurity as a business function, not just an IT concern, and the most effective channel partners will help align security with enterprise priorities.
Elsewhere, AI-driven data orchestration is redefining the role of the channel and the successful partners will be those who master the intersection of AI models, data governance and multi-environment orchestration.
Similarly, the company believes success in the cloud era requires new motions, new models and new skills and the key to success is to view hyperscalers as platforms, not suppliers or rivals.
The company also says that AI Is forcing a network rethink, and the channel holds the blueprint, and successful partners will be those who can design networks that think, heal and secure themselves.
Finally, the SMB digital wave is the channel’s next global growth engine, and Westcon believes that channel partners who deliver repeatable, scalable and automated solutions will unlock a margin-rich opportunity.
The distributor will be exploring these trends in more detail as part of its Future Ready programme through research, interviews with partners and vendors and insights from channel leaders.
David Grant, CEO at Westcon-Comstor (pictured) said: “Our Future Ready initiative will allow us to spotlight our heritage along with our forward-facing priorities and our dedication to enabling sustainable, long-term success across the channel.”