News in the Channel - January 2023

NITCH 2023 PREVIEW

Jonathan Wagstaff , director of market intelligence, DCC Technology The distribution channel in the US and Europe has proven very robust over the past year and continues to see positive trends in the market data, outperforming GDP growth in most particularly through the leveraging of marketplaces and digital services.

Some trends from 2022 will continue into 2023. Recession and cost of living would be the obvious ones, but GDP forecasts vary by region. Europe is seeing a larger impact from the Ukraine situation due to energy dependencies, whereas the US is better placed to weather that storm. The main market research houses are pointing at continued growth for cloud and infrastructure, as well as AV investment to support hybrid working. Indeed, we are confident about the prospects for businesses in the channel for 2023. If you look back at 2008 during the previous recession, although the circumstances were different, the role of the main distributors in servicing the channel for resellers and vendors was key to managing costs and supply. Modern distributors have far more capabilities and services which I expect brands and partners to drawn upon.

countries. Companies and enterprises see ICT and digital transformation as a key defensive tool during recessionary periods, and as a means to exit any downturn in a better position to grow. We’ve also seen the benefits of better supply for some enterprise product previously in constraint. Consumer demand will be tempered by cost-of-living challenges; however price increases are cushioning some of the shifts in volume. Key consumer trends in 2023 we believe will include the march of online/ecommerce and in particular mobile, where the US saw record sales via that channel and device-set during the Black Friday period. The channel has a key role in enabling this trend for our partners and brands,

Jonathan Wagstaff DCC Technology

dcc.ie

Keri Gilder , CEO, Colt Technology Services There will be several key technology and

cybersecurity capabilities emerging, as vendors bring to market innovative solutions that deliver greater levels of protection against risk. AI, machine learning and the IoT will continue to play key roles in the industry’s development of sophisticated features and capabilities. It is likely that the enterprise use case for 5G will mature. PwC say 5G will reach a tipping point in 2023, with the US reaching 75% coverage. It is likely therefore enterprises will optimise this accessibility with a hybrid approach to networking, backing their private 5G networks with digital infrastructure including on-demand fibre networks. I am excited about the growth of SmartX – particularly cities, offices and buildings – which is set to accelerate in 2023 and beyond. The number of smart buildings globally is expected to reach 115 million in 2026 – its currently 45 million – according to Jupiter research, as sustainability goals, including reducing energy consumption and a drive to zero carbon emission, drive this. There’s no doubt that 2023’s going to be a game changing year for enterprises, as tech firms cross boundaries and deliver exciting intelligent technologies with smarter, faster, more powerful capabilities. It will be the year of on-demand networking; that 5G shows its incredible worth to businesses; and when the industry truly comes together to create a connected, seamless global ecosystem with customer experience at its core.

connectivity trends that will inform business and management strategy over the next 12 months. For example, The Future of Work will continue to influence technology adoption, as organisations formalise hybrid work policies and invest in the technologies they need to support their goals. Businesses will continue to invest in, and migrate applications to, the cloud as they look to generate value, boost flexibility, increase scalability and increase automation. Indeed, 73% of IT leaders are likely to spend the biggest proportion of cloud investment within two years. Building on this, multi-cloud strategies will be prevalent, with 94% of large companies expected to move to one in or by 2023, according to Statista. Industries that have traditionally been more cautious about switching to the cloud – such as financial services – are likely to move more front office applications across. The business case for the metavwerse will become more defined, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare; 71% of business executives in a recent Accenture survey said the metaverse would be good for the enterprise, while 42% believe it will be ‘breakthrough’ or ‘transformational’. In 2023, businesses are set to extend their planning for use cases of the metaverse, as a virtual testing environment, trialling new opportunities. Security will continue to be front of mind for all organisations. I expect to see enhanced

Keri Gilder Colt Technology Services

colt.net

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