Intel veteran Michael Green’s role as US channel chief expanded into an additional role as North American general manager of partner scale earlier this year. Green spoke with Channel Insider to explain how he approaches the Intel channel, where he sees key opportunities for partners, and how the company can adjust to new buying habits in 2025.
Intel’s channel partners and customers inspire a shift to solution-focused sales
One of Green’s self-described “top priorities” for the next year is to better meet partners where they are in terms of how they approach sales.
“The reality is the way customers work is they come to us with a problem, and we have to solution that problem, and what I want to do, truly, is move our entire working sales force to ‘how do we go address those problems’ not just sell an Intel road map of silicon,” Green said.
To Green, this means helping Intel’s sales staff understand how to approach every interaction through the eyes of the partner and customer in determining how Intel, through its extensive suite of products and service offerings, can best address a problem. That means continuing to emphasize supporting channel partners as a necessary avenue for success.
“What I’ve seen from the history of Intel is we always rely on our partners and they will always continue to be the most important aspect of our business. Without their success, we don’t have success and I fully embrace that and will continue to embrace that.”
Buying habits are affecting traditional distribution methods, too
Channel partners’ changing habits are, in some ways, reflections of the changes they see in how their customers approach technology procurement. Green highlighted the shift in marketplace consumption and direct-to-customer purchasing in which small and even mid-sized organizations turn to online retailer marketplaces such as Amazon to purchase directly with a credit card.
As many in the channel have noted, purchasing directly can often seem appealing but create confusion when IT service providers and businesses are not on the same page regarding procurement. Green said Intel will continue to focus on supporting its partners through its relationship with multiple distributors worldwide.
“And what we have to do in our commitment to distribution is making sure that that business does not transfer from them and go somewhere else because it’s healthier for the channel, it’s healthier for our relationship [for purchases to work through distributors]. When you have a purchase from distribution, you have a relationship there,” Green said.
Windows 10 end-of-life spurring PC refresh boom
One of the largest opportunities Intel sees on its horizon is driven by the upcoming end-of-life of Windows 10, scheduled for October 14, 2025. Green said many organizations have yet to begin their PC and hardware refreshes to account for the end of the still widely used operating system.
“That is our number one priority [on the client side] is how do we make sure that that’s happening as quickly as it needs to,” Green said. “And that we bring our end customers into our conversations along with our partners to understand the time it takes to refresh an entire fleet of PCs, especially in larger corporations.”
Of course, this is an element where Intel can reclaim its market share as the manufacturer looks to capture sales of its PCs, many of which now offer AI integrations as well.
“We want to give customers another reason to buy beyond the fact that they just need a new device,” Green said. “AI PCs and our vPro security are additional reasons to purchase from and through us. We want to make sure our partners have everything in their arsenal to go and sell.”
In giving partners value props to bring to conversations, Green said he often highlights the July Microsoft outage caused by a faulty CrowdStrike outage. While some remained without functioning systems for hours or even days, Green said partners and customers who utilized Intel vPro could recover systems and return to work in a fraction of the time.
“They were able to send a patch out to their entire fleet of devices and within 45 minutes were back up. Those who did not have it turned on went through some serious issues. There’s so much to the story beyond just Windows 11 that that is the central focus of [what partners can tell clients], for sure.”
Intel wants to be the best partnership in the ecosystem
Green also said he and Intel remain committed to being trusted partners in the wider channel and technology ecosystem. This means they will still focus on building and maintaining strong relationships with partner businesses through shared goals and expectations. It also means some changes are on the way.
“I’m not going to say we change our culture, but how do we change the way we engage with [our partners]. That will be a big initiative for us and our team this year because every time I talk to a partner, it becomes clear there are things that we need to improve, and I’m anxious to improve that,” Green said.
Even with adjustments in mind and an eye towards growth in the future, Green also said he hopes to see a bit more stability at Intel and in the channel more broadly next year. This comes days after CEO Pat Gelsinger announced his retirement and during a potential inflection point for Intel in its broader technology strategy. Outside of Intel, there has been plenty of change and uncertainty felt throughout the channel, too.
“Intel’s gone through major changes. Our partners have gone through major changes, and change can be good. It brings in new, fresh ideas,” Green said. “But when you have changes on a more frequent basis, you can’t get as much done. So stability to remain throughout 2025 and quite frankly 2026, so we can build momentum, is [a top wish for us all].”
As many organizations consider hardware refreshes and new purchases next year, they will likely need the support of a channel partner. Learn more about how MSPs can streamline hardware plans with Channel Insider’s guide.