Distribution poised for growth after evolving for the digital future
The Global Technology Distribution Council has wrapped up it 2019 Summit with plenty of upbeat messages for the channel
Distribution has evolved and is well positioned to exploit the growth opportunities that are emerging around cloud, AI and other emerging digital technologies.
According to the recently appointed head of the Global technology Distribution Council (GTDC) those that question the prospects in distribution have clearly not been following the advances that have been made in that tier of the channel over the past few years.
“Technology distributors are in a much different position today,” said Frank Vitagliano, who was appointed CEO of the GTDC in April and was speaking at the GTDC 2019 Summit.
He used his keynote at the summit, which had the tagline ‘new realities and emerging opportunities’, with an upbeat message about the prospects for distribution.
“They’ve successfully navigated decades of dramatic innovation and change across the industry – from all standpoints, including through the services and products they offer to the adoption of entirely new business models," he said.
"In an industry poised to thrive through continuous evolution and transformation. We’re ready, connected and on top of the trends and unprecedented opportunities ahead for the channel and technology distributors," he added.
During his keynote Vitagliano shared figures showing that there were expectations from a majority of the market that distribution would keep growing at double digit rates over the next five years.
The next five years should also see plenty of opportunities in what he dubbed the 'digital era' with demand high for cloud and Xaas marketplaces, AI and machine learning analytics and emerging technology solutions.
The Summit also included sessions analysing the opportunities for the channel with it clear that although the future included more cloud-based services there were going to plenty of opportunities in the hybrid environment.
Distribution is increasingly playing a supportive role for both vendors and resellers looking to come up with solutions that can meet customer needs.
In one panel session Linda Rendleman, senior vice president, product marketing, endpoint solutions at Tech Data, stressed that the role of the distie was to be an enabler and to "solve, rather than sell".
