News in the Channel - issue #42

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Issue #42

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AOC E4 Series: Professional Displays from the Brand Behind the World’s No.1 Gaming Monitors When the world's No.1 gaming monitor brand brings its expertise in performance, visual quality and user experience to the business market, the result is the new AOC E4 Series.

Designed for today's evolving workplaces, the E4 Series is a comprehensive range of professional displays created to meet the needs of SMBs, education providers, public sector organisations and hybrid workers. Whether deploying monitors across a large office, equipping classrooms or supporting employees working from home, the E4 Series offers a solution for every workspace and budget. The portfolio spans a wide choice of screen sizes, resolutions and feature sets, from everyday productivity displays through to premium collaboration monitors and ultrawide solutions. Models across the range offer modern business features including USB-C connectivity, integrated webcams, Windows Hello™ support, microphones, speakers and ergonomic stands, helping users stay connected, comfortable and productive throughout the day. With single-cable connectivity simplifying desk setups and collaboration-focused models enhancing virtual meetings, the E4 Series has been built around the way people work today. Available in Full HD, QHD and ultrawide formats,

these displays provide the flexibility organisations need as workplace expectations continue to evolve. The range is also backed by an upgraded 5-year warranty, giving IT decision makers and procurement teams confidence in long-term reliability while helping reduce total cost of ownership. Combining performance, functionality and value, the AOC E4 Series delivers a complete professional display solution — powered by the expertise behind the world's No.1 gaming monitor brand. Looking to refresh your display strategy? Whether you're supporting hybrid workers, modernising classrooms or rolling out monitors across your organisation, the AOC E4 Series provides a display solution for every user and every workspace. Discover the full E4 Series and find the right monitor for your organisation at: www.aoc.com/business

AOC E4 Series – Ready for Work. Built for Everywhere.

COMMENT

Tipping point AI continues revolutionise how businesses work, with increasing numbers taking up AI functionality of some sort. This means that resellers and MSPs must be fully conversant with AI – including in their own operations – to be able to provide the services their customers expect.

News in the Channel is approaching its fourth birthday, but it seems odd to think that back in 2022, AI was still talked about as a technology mostly of the future. But now, businesses of all sizes and in most sectors are using it in their everyday working routines. This means that resellers

threat might be relatively well known, the volume continues to increase – with hundreds of thousands of businesses experiencing a breach last year. Of course, AI also provides some of the answer to how to defend against these threats. Read more on p42.

Dan Parton

With increasing reliance on AI, it also means that businesses are ever-more reliant on powered devices, and those devices being always on. Any power outage – even for a very short period – could spell disaster for a business,

and managed service providers (MSPs) must offer AI functionality to

customers. Indeed, as the Global Technology Industry Association’s (GTIA) State of the Channel 2026 report for

especially an SMB. This means that demand for uninterruptable power supplies is increasing from SMBs – and this provides opportunities for resellers. Read more on p34. As always, I hope you enjoy the issue. News in the Channel is for everyone working in the channel, so if there is a topic you would like to see covered in a future issue – or you have a news story or opinion piece you would like to submit for consideration for publication – please drop me a line at dan@newsinthechannel.com. News in the Channel will be taking a short summer break in August but will be back with the usual mix of news, interviews and features in September. n

the UK and Ireland, stated, the channel is at an AI inflection point – those that don’t get on board with AI risk being left behind, and quickly. Carolyn April, vice president, research and market intelligence at the GTIA, says that businesses are moving quickly from experimentation with AI to execution – and wanting value from it, which the channel needs to be on top of. But she also warns that if resellers are to be the trusted advisors their customers want, they must adopt AI themselves. Read more on p18. AI is also helping to turbocharge the number of cyberthreats that businesses of all sizes must face. While the type of

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CONTENTS

News You should know p8 Product review AOC E4 series p12 Product launch HP PCs p16 Interview GTIA p18 Profile Inflection Point p22 Laptop chargers p26 Stockies 2026 p29 UPS for SMBs p34 AI security p42 Cover story Acer for business p48 Outdoor WiFi p50 Collaboration in the hardware components space Kingston Technology p54 Thought leadership MSP priorities p56 BI Fantasy laptop league p60 People on the move p62

Interview: GTIA – p18

The GTIA’s recent State of the Channel 2026 report said the channel is at an AI inflection point – and this means businesses in the channel need to act now or risk being left behind.

Laptop Chargers – p26

In April, the EU brought in common charger rules, which means new laptops ship without a charger included and every laptop sold in the channel now carries a charger attach opportunity for resellers – and there are plenty of options available.

AI Security – p42 AI is revolutionising the number and scale of cyberthreats businesses face, but it is also a vital part of the fightback against it, and resellers must ensure they remain at the cutting edge to keep customers safe.

Product launch

Product review

HP PCs – p16

AOC E4 series – p12

HP has debuted PCs built for the next wave of Windows PC experiences powered by NVIDIA RTX Spark. The unified portfolio delivers preconfigured tools and secure local processing to accelerate AI workflows for creators, developers and gamers.

AOC’s E4 series of monitors targets the SMB market, aiming to provide users with enhanced comfort and increased productivity and reassurance to buyers with a five-year warranty.

CONTENTS

Profile: Inflection Point – p22

Managed service provider Inflection Point has grown quickly in recent years and has ambitions to continue that through the cutting edge with AI, but also traditional values of good customer service and building long-term relationships with clients.

UPS for SMBs – p34

Publishing Director Justin Penn 07816 573 186 justin@ newsinthechannel.com Editorial Dan Parton 07941 979 845 dan@ newsinthechannel.com Advertising Sales Martin Jenner-Hall 07824 552 116 martin@ newsinthechannel.com Market Analyst Wickus Bester wickus.bester@ stockinthechannel.com

With the UK experiencing ever-increasing extreme weather events, from heatwaves to flooding, it means that power outages are a concern, especially for SMBs where even a relatively short break in power can cause huge problems.

Outdoor WIFi – p50

Demand for outdoor WiFi applications is growing in the UK across a variety of sectors as connectivity beyond traditional buildings is increasingly valued in a range of sectors and this provides opportunities for resellers.

Thought leadership – p56

Published by: In the Channel Media Ltd Company registration number: 14363401 Registered office address 14-18 Heddon Street,

Cover story: Acer for Business – p48 As UK businesses weigh up their next fleet refresh, Acer is putting its money where its warranty is. News in the Channel looks at the TravelMate AI PC range, the certainty behind the Acertainty name, and why it's worth a business quote.

Brendan White, EVP, Service Operations at Thrive, explains why MSPs must pivot toward delivering cost-predictable, secure, and unified hybrid-cloud environments.

Mayfair, London, United Kingdom, W1B 4DA In conjunction with:

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NEWS

TSG acquires Creative Computing Solutions TSG has acquired Creative Computing Solutions, a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner known for its work with the likes of Hat Trick Productions. The move will see Creative Computing Solutions’ existing customers and

employees they know to ensure a seamless transition and continuity across day-to-day operations. At the same time, customers will gain access to TSG’s wider expertise and services across cloud, infrastructure, business applications, managed IT services, cyber security, data and AI. Headquartered in Gateshead and employing about 300 people, TSG delivers customer support to businesses using Microsoft Dynamics, Sage and Pegasus business applications, and broader Microsoft technologies in industries including professional services, healthcare, food and beverage, education and manufacturing. The multi-million-pound deal forms part of TSG’s continued growth trajectory. The acquisition is set to double TSG’s Business Central practice, increase the company’s headcount by c8%, and enhance the business’s technical expertise, specialist sector knowledge and Microsoft solutions capability. n

tsg.com

employees benefit from TSG’s broader managed IT services capability, expertise and resources as a leading Microsoft partner. Based in Maidenhead, Creative Computing Solutions has c100 customers and offers a particular specialism in the production and media sectors. The acquisition will see Creative Computing Solutions’ CEO, Justin Farmiloe, step into the TSG management team as CTO, while the business’s existing contracts, support arrangements, and the intellectual property of all bespoke customer solutions will remain unchanged. Customers will continue to benefit from the expertise of the management team and

creative-computing.co.uk

TD SYNNEX introduces Vawlt Multicloud Storage in Europe

TD SYNNEX has announced a pan- European distribution agreement with Vawlt Technologies, a multicloud storage provider focused on secure, sovereign data solutions, to bring Vawlt’s full portfolio of secure storage capabilities to TD SYNNEX partners across Europe. This agreement enables resellers and service providers to expand their storage offerings with solutions that are secure, compliant and designed to reduce costs and improve flexibility. “As demand for secure, sovereign data management grows, partners need flexible ways to deliver multicloud storage across environments,” said Sam Paris, vice president, Security, Networking and Communications, Europe. “Bringing Vawlt into our portfolio gives our partners a

practical, innovative way to address these challenges while creating new service opportunities for their customers.” An initial focus under the agreement is Virtual NAS, a ready-to-deploy solution that enables partners to extend or replace traditional storage while accelerating customer adoption of multicloud environments. Ricardo Mendes, founder and CEO of Vawlt, added: “Businesses today are generating more data than ever, and they need solutions that keep it safe, accessible, and compliant. Our partnership with TD SYNNEX will make it easier for organisations across Europe to benefit from multicloud storage, whether they are looking for more data protection, compliance or agility.” n

Ricardo Mendes

vawlt.io

NEWS

Redsquid launches AI services

Redsquid has launched Redsquid AI Services, a strategic AI transformation practice designed to help organisations move beyond experimentation and embed artificial intelligence securely into everyday business operations, delivering measurable business outcomes. The launch marks a significant step in Redsquid’s ambition to become the UK’s most trusted AI-enabled managed service provider and AI transformation partner. The launch is further strengthened by the appointment of Angela Ginis as head of AI transformation and enablement. Bringing extensive experience in AI strategy, organisational change and digital transformation, Angela will lead Redsquid’s AI strategy and customer enablement practice, helping organisations successfully adopt AI at scale. Building on Redsquid’s established capabilities across Microsoft technologies, cloud, cybersecurity and managed services, Redsquid AI Services supports organisations throughout their AI journey from strategy and readiness assessments through to Microsoft 365 Copilot deployment, AI-powered automation,

Angela Ginis

intelligent agents, governance, security and ongoing optimisation. “Artificial intelligence represents the biggest shift in enterprise technology we’ve seen in decades,” said Sohin Raithatha, group CEO of Redsquid. “Organisations are moving beyond asking whether they should adopt AI and are now focused on how they do it securely, responsibly and in a way that delivers measurable business value. At the same time, the role of the traditional managed service provider is evolving. “Customers need more than a partner that simply manages technology, they need one that enables business transformation.” That’s where Redsquid is investing. By combining deep Microsoft expertise, market-leading cybersecurity, managed services and AI enablement, we're giving organisations the confidence to embed AI into everyday operations, unlock new opportunities and transform the way they work.” n

Sohin Raithatha

redsquid.co.uk

Most SaaS accounts have more guest access than licensed users Trust is the primary source of risk within modern IT environments, according to Kaseya’s 2026 SaaS Security Report . Threat actors have abandoned perimeter attacks in expand, everyday operational conveniences like unmanaged guest

accounts – which now make up 69% of all monitored accounts – persistent third- party access and externally shared data are creating massive security liabilities for small and mid-sized businesses. The rush to adopt AI has triggered a sprawl of third-party OAuth integrations that use persistent tokens instead of credentials, granting attackers permanent data access even after password resets. Consequently, non-human service principal logins now account for 20% of critical security alerts. Simultaneously, attackers use AI-driven automation to

favour of softer targets like identities, OAuth integrations and collaboration workflows, leaving a trust gap most small and mid-sized businesses can’t see, let alone close. The report analysed more than 27.6 billion SaaS security events across over 50,000 SMB environments, including 5,400 MSP partners and 6.2 million end-user accounts. The data highlights a critical reality: as SaaS ecosystems

kaseya.com

CONTINUED

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NEWS

CONTINUED

instantly locate and exploit dormant guest accounts, weaponising these forgotten entry points faster than manual defences can react. Legacy controls like geolocation blocks are also failing as attackers route traffic through trusted cloud hosts and VPNs. Outside North America, 44% of unauthorised logins originated from trusted infrastructure and outsourced hubs – including 7% in the UK – allowing intruders to blend into normal business traffic. Once inside, they exploit massive identity gaps: 56% of accounts lacked

active MFA, and only 27% of SMBs enforced organisation-wide MFA. This exposure, combined with a rise of file sharing, allows attackers to silently exfiltrate data from within the network. To counter these evolving threats, organisations must transition from rigid perimeter defences to active, identity-first governance frameworks. Bridging the modern trust gap requires businesses to move away from static event tracking and instead prioritise automated behavioural monitoring that can flag anomalous activity inside trusted accounts. n

Vertiv expands power portfolio with new compact desktop UPS Vertiv has introduced the Vertiv™

350VA to 900VA, 230V Reliable, affordable desktop power protection for PCs, workstations and essential electronics. Vertiv™ PowerUPS 100 Standby Series Product brochure The series prioritises long- term usability and system management. vertiv.com lifespan and reduce maintenance costs, while compatibility with Vertiv™ Power Assist software enables automated, graceful shutdown of connected systems during extended outages to help protect against data loss and equipment damage. Featuring four VRLA models ranging from 500 VA to 900 VA, as well as one lithium- ion model in 350 VA, the Vertiv™ PowerUPS 100 Standby Series offers capacity options for a range of applications. Models are backed by a three-year warranty for Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid (VRLA) configurations and a five-year warranty for lithium-ion models, providing reliable power protection for critical electronics. n

PowerUPS 100 Standby Series, a new generation of compact uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems designed to help maintain continuity in distributed

digital environments, and reduce the impact of unexpected power

interruptions on everyday digital activity. In EMEA, the 230 V series is available with lithium-ion and VRLA models across a range of capacities to support desktop and small office applications. The Vertiv PowerUPS 100 Standby Series delivers dependable battery backup and surge protection in a sleek, space- saving design for personal computers, gaming consoles, smart devices, wireless networks, retail point-of-sale equipment and AI PCs. The UPS includes up to eight outlets with a combination of battery backup and surge protection, allowing users to safeguard multiple critical devices simultaneously. Integrated USB-A and USB-C ports provide convenient charging for mobile devices, while the compact, wall-mountable design enables flexible placement in space- constrained environments. The series also prioritises long-term usability and system management. User- replaceable batteries help extend product

Vertiv™ PowerUPS 100 Standby Series,

NEWS

Westcon-Comstor becomes Cloudflare’s EMEA-wide distributor Westcon-Comstor has announced a

addition to our EMEA vendor portfolio and a powerful opportunity for partners,” said Daniel Hurel, senior vice president, Westcon EMEA Go-To-Market at Westcon- Comstor. “By combining Cloudflare’s Connectivity Cloud platform with our value-added services, we’re giving partners throughout the region a clear path to land quickly, expand strategically and drive long-term, high-margin revenue. “We’re excited to welcome Westcon- Comstor as an authorised Cloudflare Distributor,” said Tom Evans, chief partner officer at Cloudflare. “Their deep technical expertise and extensive resource network are exactly what we need to supercharge our EMEA partner ecosystem. Through this collaboration, we’re enhancing our ability to support partners with the tools, resources and enablement they need to drive transformative results for their customers.” n

distribution partnership with Cloudflare, Inc, which will see Westcon-Comstor offer Cloudflare solutions to channel partners across the EMEA market and extending its existing Cloudflare relationship in Asia-Pacific. The strategic collaboration unlocks opportunities for partners through Westcon- Comstor’s established regional presence and go-to-market execution across EMEA, with investment in professional services and a dedicated Cloudflare team to support partner enablement, build pipeline and scale delivery. The Connectivity Cloud platform supports a highly repeatable, subscription- based revenue model with strong margin potential and clear land-and-expand opportunities, helping partners grow long- term customer value over time. “Cloudflare represents an exciting new

Daniel Hurel

westconcomstor.com

cloudflare.com

Identifying AI agent failure difficult, research finds Organisations can identify the failures of an AI agent, but spotting them in a multiagent environment is almost impossible, according to new research from Kore.ai. In a survey of over 400 IT business

some 15% of respondents simply relied on end users to report problems as the primary detection metric. On top of issues created by customers finding problems first and reporting it, 53% of organisations reported running agents they don’t fully trust or understand. Once teams have gone through all the above, found a problem, identified it, 79% of respondents said that consequential autonomous actions required a manual reversal and 93% of them said those reversals were costly and disruptive. “The findings suggest that enterprises are accumulating a form of 'governance debt,' where delays in identifying and containing agent failures allow recovery costs to compound long after the initial incident occurs,” said Raj Koneru, CEO and founder at Kore.ai. n

leaders, with 2,000 or more employees, 70% said they could identify a failure occurred but could not determine which agent in a multi-agent environment caused it. The time it takes to detect an agent- related issue is as low as one to four hours for half of the organisations. However, 33% needed four to eight hours to detect a failure. The top three metrics for detecting a problem were 39% real-time dashboards, 29% automated threshold alerts, 17% log analysis and pattern detection. However,

Raj Koneru

kore.ai

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PRODUCT REVIEW AOC E4 SERIES

Monitoring the situation AOC’s E4 series of monitors targets the SMB market, aiming to provide users with enhanced comfort and increased productivity and reassurance to buyers with a five-year warranty.

during extended work sessions. Physical comfort is equally prioritised to prevent the posture-related strain associated with modern desk work. The E4 series features versatile Height- Adjustable Stands designed to adapt the monitor to the user, rather than forcing the user to adapt to the screen. The stands offer a 150mm range for 24” and 27” models and an expansive 180mm range for the 34” ultrawide, alongside full tilt and swivel adjustment, with pivot functionality available on the 24” and 27” models. This helps employees maintain a healthy posture and supports a more sustainable, comfortable workflow for the modern hybrid office. Long-term view AOC also provides E4 models with TCO Certified Generation 10 status, together with a five-year manufacturer warranty. This standard supports long- term operational security and reflects a commitment to hardware durability, ensuring that professional investments remain reliable for the duration of their lifecycle. TCO Generation 10 also raises the bar on materials and circularity. The housings across current models available on the market use a minimum of 85% post- consumer recycled plastic and carry EPEAT Gold and Climate+ certification. Streamlined connectivity One thing that hybrid working does of created is cluttered desks with separate docks, multiple cables and various peripherals. But the E4 series aims

For hybrid workers in SMBs – and their employers – monitors are crucial pieces of equipment, and they have several priorities for them, namely comfort in use, simple operation to ensure maximum productivity and long-term reliability. AOC’s E4 professional monitor series aims to provide all three. Prioritising workplace wellbeing Employee health and long-term productivity are inseparable. To address this, the E4 series is engineered with TÜV Rheinland Eye Comfort certification, providing a professional-grade safeguard against visual fatigue. In addition, AOC’s Hardware Low Blue Light technology reduces harmful short-wave blue light emissions at the panel level. This ensures that professionals maintain perfect colour accuracy and visual clarity without the eye strain common

PRODUCT REVIEW AOC E4 SERIES

to address this challenge directly by integrating a full docking station into the display to simplify modern workstations. Selected models including the 24E4CV, Q27E4CV, and CU34E4CW, feature USB-C connectivity with 90W Power Delivery, enabling laptops to charge, transfer high-speed data and video signals through a single cable. By consolidating power and data into the monitor, these USB-C solutions reduce hardware complexity and eliminate the need for external adapters. For professional-grade reliability, these docking models also include an integrated 1 Gbit/s RJ45 Ethernet port, ensuring a stable and secure wired network connection directly through the display. On the 34-inch ultrawide models, the AOC CU34E4CW and CU34E4CV, a built-in Smart KVM switch provides seamless multi-device functionality. This allows professionals to toggle between connected devices, such as a corporate laptop and a personal computer, while sharing a single monitor, keyboard and mouse setup at the press of a button. To ensure fluid performance across all professional tasks, every model in the E4 lineup delivers 120Hz refresh rate, providing smoother visuals and reducing motion strain during long working hours. Daisy chain sync Many workers now use two – or more – monitors to reduce window switching and improve efficiency, and the E4 series

has also been designed for this with daisy chain support allows easy pairing between two monitors via DisplayPort MST, enabling scalable and efficient multi- screen setups without desk clutter. By consolidating docking and connectivity directly into the primary monitor, these solutions streamline workflows while maintaining a clean desk environment. n

Editor’s view Employee wellbeing is – or should be – a priority for all SMB owners and managers. Monitors are key to this, which means solutions such as the E4 series are an ideal solution. The USB-C docking which can help to reduce desk clutter will always be welcome – many a desk is a Spaghetti Junction of wires, which isn’t not an ideal working situation. Finally, the five-year warranty should give buyers peace of mind that the monitors provide a long-term reliable solution. That it has been built with many nods to sustainability will also be appreciated in the race to achieve ESG goals. n

Dan Parton

www.newsinthechannel.co.uk

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PRODUCT LAUNCH HP PCS

PCs designed for the AI era HP has debuted PCs built for the next wave of Windows PC experiences powered by NVIDIA RTX Spark. The unified portfolio delivers preconfigured tools and secure local processing to accelerate AI workflows for creators, developers and gamers.

The company’s portfolio now ranges from IT- managed, high- performance workstations to self-managed, off-the-shelf devices available at retail.

Demands on PCs are ever-increasing from their professional users, be they creators or developers, especially as more are now utilising the power and potential of AI functionality. This means PC manufacturers are racing to launch new devices that can deliver what users need now and in the future. The latest to announce new devices and solutions is HP Inc, which is releasing a raft of products designed to enable developers of all types to create new experiences using AI. New solutions include the latest notebooks and desktops powered by NVIDIA’s RTX Spark platform. RTX Spark is designed for creators, gamers and AI

developers, bringing NVIDIA’s full-stack AI platform and suite of RTX technologies to slim laptops with all-day battery life. Beginning later this year, HP will bring RTX Spark to its HP OmniBook Ultra 16 and HP OmniBook X 14 laptops, and will be the world’s thinnest RTX Spark, built for powerful performance. HP is also planning to expand its RTX Spark offerings with a compact desktop, bringing new choice to creators, AI enthusiasts and developers. Intelligent edge platforms powering AI innovation HP also unveiled a new class of developer PCs for the agentic AI era: systems designed not just to use AI, but to help developers build it. The company’s portfolio now ranges from IT-managed, high-performance workstations to self- managed, off-the-shelf devices available at retail. These PCs are designed to support practical AI development and creation across Windows and Linux, with systems

PRODUCT LAUNCH HP PCS

tuned for local agents, hybrid AI workflows, open-source tooling and fast setup. By pairing compact, powerful hardware with pre-packaged developer environments, command-line workflows, OpenClaw-based starter kits, and support for agent frameworks such as Hermes, HP will make it easier for developers to move from idea to working agent without stitching the stack together from scratch. The new HP OmniDesk Mini Desktop PC is the world’s first Mini AI PC with Thunderbolt™ Share. Powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 processors and built-in AI capabilities, it replaces bulky towers with a sleek footprint and enables seamless workflows with support for controlling two PCs with a single keyboard and mouse, plus fast file transfers between projects. Build the ideal desk setup that allows you to do your best work with versatile ports, including two Thunderbolt™ 4 connections and support up to four 4K displays. HP is also expanding its advanced compute offering by bringing the latest AMD Ryzen™ AI PRO 400 series processors to the HP Z2 Mini G1a and integrating the validated AMD Ryzen™ AI Halo developer software stack, featuring the Ryzen™ AI Developer Center, AMD ROCm™, pre-installed AI frameworks, models and guided playbooks, so developers can start building and running advanced AI workloads instantly. Expected to be available in select retail channels later this year, this workstation

will provide everyday developers with powerful, accessible tools.

Fast and flexible HP’s latest launches are aimed that those taking advantage of AI. “Developers are moving from experimenting with AI to shipping agentic applications, and they need PCs that are as open, fast, and flexible as their workflows,” said Samuel Chang, senior vice president and division president, Consumer Personal Systems at HP Inc. “Our expanded portfolio pairs compact, powerful hardware with pre-configured environments and open-source toolchains to eliminate setup friction and accelerate the path from idea to execution. Whether it is a device optimised for hybrid Windows workflows, creators, gamers or AI practitioners or powerful workstations for edge development, we’re giving builders a clear, practical path to run local agents and scale hybrid AI with confidence.” Jim Nottingham, senior vice president and division president, Advanced Compute and Solutions, HP Inc, added that more than 70% of enterprise PCs run Windows. “Our customers have asked for AI supercomputing power that can seamlessly integrate into their existing environments,” he says. “We plan to add support for Windows in the HP ZGX Fury GB300 and remain committed to expanding our portfolio to meet evolving customer needs through strong collaboration with our partners.” n

Samuel Chang

“

Developers are moving from experimenting with AI to shipping agentic applications, and they need PCs that are as open, fast, and flexible as their workflows./

”

Beginning later this year, HP will bring RTX Spark to its HP OmniBook Ultra 16 and HP OmniBook X 14 laptops, and will be the world’s thinnest RTX Spark, built for powerful performance.

Jim Nottingham

hp.com

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INTERVIEW

The state we’re in

The GTIA’s recent State of the Channel 2026 report said the channel is at an AI inflection point – and this means businesses in the channel need to act now or risk being left behind.

GTIA

AI has quickly become an everyday part of working life for many businesses in the past couple of years and it is clear, as the technology develops, it is not going to be a passing fad – and channel businesses need to embrace it if they are not to be left behind. But many have yet to fully do that. Indeed, the Global Technology Industry Association’s (GTIA) State of the Channel 2026 report for the UK and Ireland, stated that, analysing the results of a survey of 130 ITSPs, the channel is at an AI inflection point: while respondents identified AI services as the top revenue driver for the coming months, only three out of 10 providers have fully embedded AI into their business models. According to the research, 35% of UK and Ireland ITSPs currently generate between 11% and 25% of their revenue from AI-related services, with many selling a mix of existing and newly developed AI products and services. This contrasts with those heavily focused on AI: 7% said that over half of their revenue now stems from AI-related products and services. “The channel now is at a point where we have to move quickly,” says Carolyn April, vice president, research and market intelligence at the GTIA. “There are still companies in the very early experimentation phase with AI and not rolling it about in any formal way. Those companies need to move to execution quickly.” By execution, Carolyn means having AI formally rolled out within the organisation in a way that it is governed and has formal oversight from the IT team or an owner or leader within the organisation that is responsible for AI initiatives so that employees are on the same page and there is a mission that’s well communicated around AI. “The second piece, and probably most important after that, is how they execute on monetising AI – selling it to customers and helping them to write their own AI

story,” she adds. “We are right in the thick of that now.”

Inflection point While the GTIA reports that AI is at an inflection point, Carolyn admits that, while many customers are excited about the potential of AI, there is also some wariness too. “When they talk to their MSP, they want a business case for the value of AI,” she says. “It’s not simply that you need to roll out AI because it’s cool. It’s important for the MSP to understand their customer’s business. This is not new news, but when it comes to AI, getting deeper knowledge around the vertical industries that their customer operates in, whether its healthcare, manufacturing or retail, will allow them to translate what the AI value is going to be to that particular industry. “We’ve always talked about the importance of specialising in some verticals, but when it comes to AI, that vertical knowledge is even more useful, and will give channel businesses a competitive edge. But you need to have the value proposition behind that.” Understanding Carolyn adds that MSPs and resellers need to really understand AI and have it embedded in their own business before they can deliver effectively to the customer.

Carolyn April

gtia.org

“

There are still companies in the very early experimentation phase with AI and not rolling it about in any formal way. Those companies need to move to execution quickly.

“Do not go to market with AI until you have mastered AI in your own

organisation,” she warns. “The rollout of AI within your own internal operations is incredibly important. That’s ensuring the workforce understand how to use the technology – everyone that’s going to be using AI in any way must be trained on it. “We’re finding AI is less a product itself and more of part of the infrastructure layer, the enabling layer of everything within a tech environment. It’s going to become embedded into everything that you do. “I see a lot of mistakes out there with companies that go to market and talk to customers as though they are an AI expert

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and can help them figure out how they should roll out AI when they have not done the due diligence in their own company and then it doesn’t provide value.” Lack of expertise Another problem with the growth of AI is that there are not enough people in the market with the skills that are needed to exploit it and drive the technology. “We asked a question about the biggest drivers for positive movement in the channel in the year ahead, and then the biggest negatives, what’s potentially going to drag the channel down,” says Carolyn. “In the UK, workforce and skills challenges is the number one drag they identified – the only region that identified that as number one. Workforce is up there in the other regions, but it is not the number one. “Nearly four in 10 UK channel companies said that workforce and skills challenges is going to be their biggest inhibitor to success. And you can apply that to AI and to the more advanced cybersecurity needs that they have.” Carolyn adds that there are localised reasons for this. “I talked to some people, and anecdotally, there’s a lot of evidence that Brexit has screwed up the workforce situation because there’s less easy movement between Europe and the UK in terms of getting skilled workers over from other parts of Europe in some of these technology areas. “If you cannot hire anew, that becomes a real problem. It’s going to be incumbent upon a lot of UK channel firms to invest in training for their existing employees. They need to identify those employees that are most capable and will be able to upskill to the level that they need them to be at. In the coming years, a focus on internal training is going to be important for some of these companies. “This will extend to customers too who will certainly need the help, even if there’s not a macro challenge with workforce and skills. But many customers don’t have a

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In the UK, workforce and skills challenges is the number one drag they identified – the only region that identified that as number one. Workforce is up there in the other regions, but it is not the number one.

big internal IT department themselves, they’re looking outside for help. That’s an opportunity for the channel. They can help guide customers. “That’s something a lot of the channel has latched on to: rather than selling specific AI products being more of a consultant to their customers and help them figure out the best way to apply AI to their company.” Hybrid models GTIA’s research also indicated that AI will bring a shift in business model for many channel businesses, as well as different pricing models for customers. “The old margin-based pricing models based, if you’re an MSP, on per user or per device are going to change when AI is fully adopted across organisations and more agents are used and that sort of thing,” says Carolyn. “There is going to be more outcome-based pricing and those are not easy to do. But the channel is not there yet – most customers aren’t either – that’s going to take some time to roll out. Vendors will also have to change the way they downstream work with their channel partners. “For years, we’ve been predicting that the channel would move 100% into recurring revenue. That hasn’t happened. What we see across most channel companies is they run a hybrid business model where they have managed

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GTIA

using AI bots behind the scenes? There are going to be a lot of hurdles and that is going to keep us in a hybrid business model for some time. “Another part of why hybrid is going to stay is you are always going to have customers that will need you to sell them products such as hardware-based infrastructure, and that’s a transaction.” Future Carolyn is confident about the channel’s future. “I’ve been in this channel business for quite some time, and I have sat in more conferences than I can count where a keynote speaker all pumped up on the stage told us that the demise of the channel is right around the corner,” she says. “When the cloud came along, it was like ‘we won’t need the channel anymore. We’re just going to do business directly with the vendors through the cloud’. Well, none of that has played out. My faith in the channel and its continued existence is strong.” She adds there is a bifurcation of the channel currently. “There are companies that would describe the channel as relevant and changing rapidly and those tend to be in high-growth mode. They’re embracing AI and new technologies, looking at new business models,” she says. “Then there is another half that describe the channel as relevant and healthy but stable. A lot of those tend to be smaller companies that continue to make money and grow at a minor pace, but enough for them. They’re often lifestyle businesses and they’re perfectly happy staying in the lane they are in. There’s nothing wrong with that type of business model and they continue to have a very viable business. “I’m bullish on the health of the channel and the future of the channel. But companies must be smart and can’t ignore things that are happening right now. AI is going to be important whether you’re a high growth company embracing it or one of those stable companies, you still need to account for AI.” n

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There are companies that would describe the channel as relevant and changing rapidly and those tend to be in high-growth mode. They’re embracing AI and new technologies, looking at new business models...

services as part of their business but also sell products in the traditional way, along with project work and consulting. “We used to talk about the hybrid business model as a transition, but it is the business model for most channel companies and for the foreseeable future.” Carolyn says it will be a long time until channel businesses move to a 100% outcomes-based revenue model. “It’s a complicated metric, getting paid on an outcome. It makes sense if the outcome was to increase your customer’s general revenue by X% based on some rollout of technology, or increase the success of a marketing campaign for your customers based on the use of AI in that marketing campaign. “But say the outcome you want is cost savings. You want to save a customer 30% on X with this project or this use of AI. Now, the customer then saved money. What’s the payment structure there? There are a lot of questions around that. Pricing models get complicated if you start to use agents to perform tasks as an MSP. Say all your level 1 support is done by agents instead of humans. Customers are used to paying prices that would support human payroll within your organisation. Agents are going to be a lot less expensive than human payroll. So how do you justify the current pricing structure that you have with your customers when they know that you’re

Then there is another half...

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INFLECTION POINT

Point of difference Managed service provider Inflection Point has grown quickly in recent years and has ambitions to continue that through the cutting edge with AI, but also traditional values of good customer service and building long-term relationships with clients.

For any managed service provider (MSP) around the UK, AI is one word that crops up in almost every conversation with customers today. The technology is rapidly developing and many businesses are looking to explore its potential. For Southwest-based MSP Inflection Point, these conversations are relished, as the company has embraced AI and has a wealth of experience in its ranks. “We work strategically in partnership with our customers to drive ambitious technology change,” explains Iain Godding, managing director of Inflection Point. “We major on AI automation and business process improvement along with cybersecurity and all the usual things that you would expect from an MSP.” Inflection Point focuses on businesses with 50-300 staff, either with or without an internal IT function, providing standard MSP services, from outsourced IT to delivering internal technology projects, enhancing cybersecurity to digital

transformation. Where Inflection Point provides a point of difference is its expertise in AI and automation. “We’ve got software developers and AI and automation experts, and we lead with that for our customers,” Iain says. “If they can do more with less and be more efficient, then we’re really adding value in that MSP space. “I’m acutely aware that AI is coming, and the day will come where there’s a Copilot agent on Windows devices that can do most of the stuff that technicians do at the moment. That sort of service desk element is going to reduce, which is where the consultative strategic vision, helping businesses drive forward, is important. And that’s where we’re pivoting to. “Within the MSP space, there’s talk of MIPs, or managed intelligence providers, and the pivot that mid-market MSPs like Inflection Point are doing is driving in that direction. We’ve got a good position on that with the investments we’ve made in development and software.” Building relationships Iain says there is a mixed picture among clients when it comes to AI adoption currently. “Some have used ChatGPT or Claude and they’re unimpressed, and closed the lid on AI,” he says. “But others have done more work, perhaps they’ve got AI doing elements of their marketing or finance and they get so far and then run out of talent internally and need somebody who can tie different systems together. As an MSP we are uniquely positioned with our clients

Iain Godding

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in that we know how the telephony works, how the finance system works, how all the server infrastructure is put together, so when it comes to leveraging AI to do advanced workloads, we can quickly and easily pull all that together. We know where to point it and we can help unblock the projects that they’re running internally, or they can just give it to us and say, ‘give me the outcome, I want it to do X, Y, Z’.” Iain adds that Inflection Point is also helping clients to see the benefits of AI beyond things like Copilot or transcribing meetings – something other MSPs may not do. He says this is down to the relationships that he likes to build with clients that go beyond being purely transactional and more to being trusted advisors. A key part of this is how Inflection Point is structured. The company has a lean management structure, with Iain at the top, which means decisions can be made quickly. It also gives consistency for customers too, as they get to know the people they deal with over time. “There’s no private investment, it’s one person at the top, and I can make the choices and changes,” explains Iain. “We can be very agile and come up with clever things for our customers quickly that some bigger MSPs or MSPs that are grouped together through private equity just can’t do. We’ve steadily

grown because of driving that technical focus forward and partnering with our customers and listening to them. “We have customers that have been with us a long time because we’re not transactional, it’s a relationship. We do the right thing. This is complicated stuff we do and it doesn’t always go smoothly, but we’re honest with our clients when things don’t go the way we hoped that they would and always work with the client to put it right.” It is the value of old-fashioned customer service that still goes a long way. “Our account managers are technical, they used to be engineers or service desk folks, so they understand what we’re doing, and they don’t have targets or quotas, it’s about what is the best thing for the client,” says Iain. “That’s always driven our growth, we’ve not had to sell at all costs. “It’s about finding the right solution for the right customer, and different customers need different things. We account for that with our way that we relate to them.” Keeping on top of tech With customers increasingly demanding AI-based solutions, it is important to keep on top of technological developments, and Iain is confident Infection Point does this. “We’ve embraced a business operational structure called EOS – Entrepreneurial Operating System,” he explains. “It allows me to fulfil that visionary role. I can fire up a sandbox, do some development on solutions. If something works for us internally, we can then have conversations with our clients about that and take that learning and pass it on to the development team. They can productise it or stress test it, and then we can take that into products and services that we then sell. “Our customers are open to ideas that means we can try things, and if we can turn it into something that works for them, then that’s great and if it doesn’t,

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We can be very agile and come up with clever things for our customers quickly that some bigger MSPs or MSPs that are grouped together through private equity just can't do.

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