4 Tech Industry Trends Impacting the IT Channel

As the IT landscape evolves beyond the well-known technological advancements in AI, cybersecurity, and remote work, broader trends are silently and profoundly reshaping the channel. By seizing these opportunities, channel partners can distinguish themselves in a competitive marketplace. See how you can take advantage of these macroeconomic trends to offer your customers leading-edge solutions and fast-track your growth.

1. The rise of corporate acquisitions

A growing number of acquisitions are driving innovation and market expansion across the industry. Recent high-profile takeovers highlight this trend, including Cisco’s acquisition of Splunk and Alphabet’s acquisition of HubSpot. These acquisitions exemplify how tech companies are leveraging complementary expertise to reduce time to market and share the costs and risks associated with developing new offerings.

These acquisitions present opportunities for MSPs and resellers to provide integrated solutions that harness the combined strengths of multiple tech giants to deliver greater customer innovation and value.

2. The growth of startup ventures backed by big tech

Industry-leading giants like Microsoft and AWS are investing in young startups that are driving technological breakthroughs and market-ready solutions in AI, quantum computing, data analytics, and security. Microsoft’s $11 billion investment in OpenAI and AWS’s $4 billion investment in Anthropic are prime examples. These investments enable young companies to accelerate their innovation cycles and provide big tech with access to their cutting-edge technologies.

By taking note of these ventures, channel partners can offer innovative customer solutions that expand their product portfolios with breakthrough products and services from well-funded startups.

3. The growth of the telecom cloud market

Telecom operators are increasingly migrating their operations to the cloud to enhance scalability, flexibility, and cost efficiency. Recognizing this need, leading companies are partnering to facilitate the transition. Dell’s partnership with Nokia and its more recent partnership with Ericsson exemplify this trend.

Cloudification enables telecom operators to deliver better services to customers and operate more efficiently. This trend presents channel partners with opportunities to provide specialized cloud migration services and ongoing cloud management support, helping cellular service providers (CSPs) enhance their margins and agility.

4. The demand for sustainable IT and green technologies

Sustainability is now a strategic imperative and a crucial component of most organizations’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies. Gartner predicts that by 2027, 25% of CIO’s compensation will be tied to their impact on sustainable technology. Implementing sustainable IT solutions is essential not only for meeting regulatory and stakeholder expectations but also for driving long-term business success and resilience.

MSPs can guide their clients to reduce their carbon footprint and implement energy-efficient solutions in line with their ESG initiatives. Resellers can be crucial in sourcing and supplying eco-friendly servers and recyclable hardware.

Capitalizing on emerging trends for growth within the channel

These overarching trends present significant opportunities for MSPs and resellers within the channel. By staying informed and knowledgeable about the latest acquisitions and strategic alliances, well-funded marketplace startups, and trends like telecom cloud migration and the growing demand for sustainable solutions, channel partners can thrive in a fast-evolving marketplace.

Another powerful strategy for growth is to take advantage of AI ecosystems. Find out about the various AI tools that can help you enhance your business.