The lock tech vendors have had on pricing, product allocation and partner investment in the last year may be loosening as the industry leans on channel firms to guide AI adoption.
Alastair Edwards, chief analyst at Channel Dive sister company Omdia, expects the balance of power to shift to partners in the next 12 to 18 months, with vendors becoming dependent on partner expertise around AI deployment, digital sovereignty and complex infrastructure projects.
The news should come as a relief to partners, who have seen vendors impose strict quotation terms and concentrate investment on a smaller group IT firms, rewarding specific capabilities and directing resources toward those delivering the strongest returns.
“We’ve already seen some of the largest infrastructure vendors reducing the stringency of their terms, extending quote validity, being a bit more open to helping partners as they manage these challenges,” Edwards said during the Canalys Forum Barcelona earlier this month.
HPE restored 30-day quote validity for new compute, storage, and GreenLake Flex deals in June, then removed repricing provisions on transactions below $1 million in August. Networking giant Cisco doubled its UCS compute quote protection window from seven to 14 days.
“We see the balance shifting back towards partners,” said Edwards.
The shift reflects a growing vendor reliance on the channel, according to Rob Tomlin, VP of Northern Europe at distributor Exclusive Networks. He said the situation is less about power shifting from vendors to partners and more about their growing interdependence.
“Vendors have undoubtedly exercised greater control over pricing, product allocation and program investment during periods of strong demand,” Tomlin said. “But the reality is that vendors cannot scale without the reach, technical expertise and customer relationships that the channel provides.”
Robin Uhl, senior director of channels and alliances at Ensono, said customer needs have changed how vendors and partners work together.
“Customers are asking for more complex outcomes, including AI, sovereignty requirements and hybrid estates that combine long-standing and newer systems,” Uhl said. “Delivering those takes vendor technology together with a partner who knows the customer’s environment and has the trust of the teams running it.”
The major AI infrastructure buildout over the last several years has mostly benefited larger partners, with distributors playing an important role in financing transactions beyond the reach of smaller resellers.
Smaller specialist partners may now have an opportunity, according to Edwards.
“The more specialized the partners, the more successful they’re being,” he said, pointing to opportunities in AI, cybersecurity, networking and data center infrastructure.
Tomlin agreed that such expertise gives smaller firms greater influence with vendors.
“Smaller specialists with deep expertise, strong customer relationships and differentiated services can become just as indispensable,” he said.
“Ultimately, the balance of power won’t simply shift towards partners. It will shift towards those partners that customers and vendors cannot afford to be without.”
