A new TD Synnex report illustrates how the technology landscape is shifting and ‘validates the need for partnership,’ says Calhoun McKinney, senior director of advanced solutions, go-to-market strategy and enablement, at the distributor’s Insipire 2024 conference.

IT distribution giant TD Synnex Wednesday published a new report it said shows channel partners how the technology landscape is changing and where businesses are investing as a way to help those partners plan for their own investments.

The “Third Annual Direction of Technology Report” is based on a survey of over 1,000 technology channel partners from over 60 countries and was released in conjunction with the vendor meetings that kicked off the Fremont, Calif.-based distributor’s annual TD Synnex Inspire 2024 conference, being held this week in Greenville, S.C., along with a similar conference this week in Europe.

The two-day channel partner portion of TD Synnex Inspire started Thursday.

[Related: TD Synnex CEO: ‘All The Positives We Are Seeing Will Accelerate’]

The report is in five chapters, said Calhoun McKinney, senior director of TD Synnex’s advanced solutions, go-to-market strategy and enablement.

“There’s an interactive experience that comes with it from a digital standpoint that I think our partners are really going to like so they can explore each of the chapters in depth,” McKinney told CRN.

The biggest takeaway is probably the chapter on partners’ need for support, McKinney said.

“What we see is partners communicating, ‘Hey, we need support from services to continue to drive more profit. We need help with skills-building. We need guidance on navigating ESG [environmental, social and governance] policies, regulations, and the dynamic market overall that we’re experiencing,’” she said. “This really validates the need for partnership. And you’re going to see that throughout the report.”

The second big takeaway is that partners’ customers are seriously looking at AI, McKinney said.

“This past year, about 65 percent of partners who took the survey received requests for GenAI proofs of concept at least some of the time in 2024, and that 75 percent reported closing a deal involving AI,” she said. “It’s a total validation that this isn’t a trend, this isn’t a feature. It’s something to be delivered, and that’s where we’re helping partners.”

AI is hitting every aspect of every industry, said Ted Koblick, vice president of business development at Net-AV, a Westminster, Md.-based solution provider and TD Synnex Inspire 2024 attendee.

“For us, as a software, hardware and mainly audio-visual systems reseller, it’s going to be fascinating to see how AI will grow our value,” Koblick told CRN.

Koblick said his company has started using AI in its proposal developments.

“We can use it as part of our whole sales cycle to get all the right data into our systems,” he said. “We can take statements of work, PWS [performance work statements] and other documents from the government and convert them into our proposal with ChatGPT, and then enhance the proposals.”

Koblick said his company has not yet talked much about AI with its customers.

“We focus on audio-visual systems,” he said. “Once we get them set up, they can run pretty much automatically and we can also manage them remotely. But we definitely need to get more active in AI.”

The first chapter of the report looks at the need for channel partners to navigate economic uncertainties such as changing disclosure mandates, McKinney said.

“They need evolving skills that are going to help with that regulatory expertise and flexible spending solutions,” she said.

The second chapter focuses on the need for a strong foundation to drive innovation, McKinney said.

“When we see this huge need to continue to evolve,” she said. “Partners are saying, “Hey, there’s a desire for AI, and not only is this where we’re trending, this is really here, and we’re seeing it come to life with 75 percent of closed deals in the U.S. involving AI in 2024.”

The third chapter is on the need to leverage essential solutions for a complex world, particularly on how products at the intersection of security and innovation are driving the success of the channel and broader marketplace, McKinney said.

“Partners called out security as the top profit generator in the ecosystem, followed by networking, endpoint devices, AI and hyperscale infrastructure as top revenue drivers,” she said.

The fourth chapter is on prioritizing collaboration coordination and consolidation, which McKinney said connects to her earlier comments on the need for partners to work together.

“Just under 75 percent of respondents said IT spend is being driven by reseller partners in 2024. and it’s really validating that need for collaboration,” she said. “The chapter also looks at the increased consolidation in the channel.”

The fifth chapter looks at the need to meet regulations and mitigate risk, McKinney said.

“This chapter focuses on how partners are navigating things like climate change and all of the uncertainties related to the economy, the need for corporate governance, and so on happening throughout the world,” she said. “We’re seeing that changing regulatory and risk landscape across all industries, so we’ll be having a big focus on things like DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] metrics, for example.”