AI investment is accelerating across the IT channel, but that spending has yet to translate into meaningful revenue for many partners, according to TD SYNNEX’s fifth annual Direction of Technology report.
Based on insights from more than 1,500 channel partners across 45 countries, the report found that 66% are increasing investment in AI solutions and services, while only 21% are generating meaningful revenue from those investments. The findings highlight a growing disconnect between AI adoption and commercialization as partners navigate deployment challenges, skills shortages, and uncertain customer returns.
AI investment grows, but customer deployments lag
According to the report, only 13% of partners said most end-customer AI pilots successfully convert into scaled production deployments. Security, legal, or governance concerns (42%), an unclear business case or ROI (39%), and a lack of internal skills to manage AI after deployment (35%) are leading barriers to longer-term success at the end-user level.
However, partners that embed AI across their own operations report stronger growth, higher margins, and greater success moving customer AI projects into production.
“Each year, the Direction of Technology report highlights how the channel is responding to changing market realities,” said Jill Kermes, Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Communications and Citizenship, TD SYNNEX. “What’s particularly interesting this year is how the definition of value is shifting.”
77% of those surveyed report growth, but sustaining the perception of value is getting harder.
Compared to the prior year, revenue growth rebounded, rising by 10 percentage points. That growth, however, is outpacing profitability. 67% of surveyed resellers report improved margins, while pricing pressure and margin compression rank as the leading challenge to scaling, with 44% citing them.
Resellers continue to increase investment in cybersecurity (72%), cloud (68%), and AI solutions and services (66%) as they plan to meet customer expectations in 2027.
Distributors expand partner enablement as skills gaps persist
The findings also underscore the role distributors can play in helping partners address skills gaps and build AI services practices. 29% value their primary distributor’s pre-sales technical expertise and consultation, 26% value help building new practices in areas such as AI and security, and 28% are leaning more on distributor enablement programs to address the IT skills gap.
TD SYNNEX, like virtually every distributor, has already moved to improve its ability to enable partners in the current market. In August, the company expanded its PartnerFirst platform with lifecycle analytics, quoting tools, and a services marketplace, amongst other capabilities, to bring its partners greater visibility into their customers.
In October, TD SYNNEX followed with an MCP Connector and AI agents in PartnerFirst, both announced during its Inspire conference.
Those investments come amid broader growth across IT distribution, with TD SYNNEX and several competitors reporting gains in their latest financial results.
Customer trust emerges as a competitive advantage
Partners have begun differentiating themselves by their ability to deliver results, guide adoption, and earn customer trust as access to technology becomes increasingly commoditized.
70% say trust, not certifications alone, will define the winners: Existing relationships and trust are the leading reason surveyed resellers say they win competitive AI deals (45%), followed by the ability to translate AI complexity into plain business language (37%), and knowledge of the customer’s industry or business problem (34%).
Meanwhile, 32% cite having the strongest technical capabilities or certifications.
“The research goes beyond identifying which technologies are gaining momentum to examine what separates investment from meaningful business results,” said Kermes. “By bringing together perspectives from surveyed resellers around the world, the report provides practical insight into where opportunities are emerging, what is preventing progress, and how surveyed resellers can position their businesses for long-term growth.”
The findings suggest that as AI technology becomes more widely available, competitive differentiation for channel partners will increasingly depend on what they can deliver beyond the technology itself.
For MSPs, resellers, and other solution providers, that means translating AI investments into measurable business outcomes, helping customers move projects into production, and building the trust and industry expertise needed to turn growing demand into sustainable revenue.
WATCH MORE: Learn from MSP owners and operators as they share information about services, customer retention, and other strategic plans on Channel Insider: Partner POV.