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| Concept artwork on a smart city generated by Google Gemini (Nano Banana). |
The 2-Z of 2026 technology predictions continues with:
D is for distributor (and the entire channel ecosystem)
TD Synnex's Annual Direction of Technology (DoT) Report has uncovered six global trends shaping the IT market for channel players in 2025:
AI is the foundation for market leadership
Nearly 75% of partners say AI is essential to their future, making it both a competitive necessity and a catalyst for new offerings that blend innovation with core capabilities. As AI adoption accelerates, partners must differentiate by offering more advanced, impactful use cases like AI-powered cybersecurity (58.4% of partners say this will have a significant impact on their business) or AI-driven automation (54.3%).
Cybersecurity is fundamental to the portfolio
Security remains the price of entry to the IT ecosystem, with 80% of partners offering at least one cybersecurity solution. It has also emerged as the leading growth driver for endpoint solutions over the past two years, and partners are doubling down, ranking advanced endpoint security as their second-highest priority for new offerings in the year ahead.
However, challenges remain top-top-of-mind as partners identify emerging threats like AI-driven attacks (49.2%) and data breaches (41.9%) as top concerns.
Specialisation beats scale
Industry expertise and consultation is the No. 1 factor that end customers look for in a partner, with exceptional customer service following closely behind. Partners are already adapting to this market expectation, with 90% planning to offer support and maintenance services, 88% planning to deliver custom IT integration and 82% planning to expand managed services in 2026.
Talent shortages
Nearly 70% of leaders are experiencing talent shortages, which they say directly affects AI (43%), data and analytics (41%) as well as cybersecurity (39%) implementations. This signals an industry-wide shift in how work gets done and serves as an opportunity for partners to redesign operating models and workflows to drive efficiency for an AI-enabled future, TD Synnex said.
Growth is still possible in Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ)
Despite global headwinds, the growth outlooks remain positive in most regions with 66% of partners reporting revenue increases. Companies that combine strategic foresight with operational agility are best positioned to achieve growth, TD SYNNEX said.
Independent software vendors (ISVs) and professional service firms are pulling ahead as industry growth leaders, as demonstrated by the Net Growth Index. This is due to their efforts to build balanced portfolios, with more than half blending fast-growing capabilities like AI as well as data and analytics with core offerings.
The outlook in APJ remains positive, with significant opportunities in high-growth technologies, said Jaideep Malhotra, President, TD SYNNEX Asia Pacific & Japan.
AI, cybersecurity, as well as data and analytics are driving change across the ecosystem, and partners are investing to ensure these technologies are available to meet customer demand, he said.
"Navigating this landscape involves many moving parts, and partners need a distributor who not only simplifies complexity and accelerates go-to-market, but also orchestrates these elements seamlessly to deliver tailored solutions for today’s challenges," said Malhotra said.
Slightly over half (50.7%) of APJ channel partners cite “increasing competition” as their top challenge when scaling IT operations compared to 47.9% globally, while eight in 10 (83.4%) APJ channel partners are concerned about “increased market competition” (74.9% globally).
AI is critical for success
APJ partners see the greatest opportunities in AI, with 75.9% focusing on AI infrastructure and cloud and 70.9% on AI automation and data management. However, 54% cite talent shortages as the top barrier to adoption, underscoring the need for accelerated skills development.
Skills gaps persist
With 73.4% of partners offering or planning to offer at least one cybersecurity solution, priorities are clear: data and privacy (81%), network security (78%), and cloud/app security (77%). Yet, 48% identify skills shortages as their primary challenge, pointing to a pressing need for expertise.
Shifting to services
The region is pivoting to a service-centric model, with 83% offering consulting or professional services and 78% providing managed services. Challenges do remain, with 49% citing workforce scalability and 41.7% talent recruitment and retention as barriers to growth.
Endpoint and hardware remain essential
Despite the strong push into high-growth technologies, 68.5% of partners continue to offer devices and 57.6% provide hardware, above the global average.
Details
Read the Direction of Technology Report at https://ms.spr.ly/TDSDoT
Explore more 2026 tech predictions
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