GTDC, which aims to elevate the tech distribution ecosystem in APJ, identified 8 of the top tech distributors as their members, and outlined areas of opportunity for the ecosystem in this region.

Technology distributors will evolve to keep pace with IT requirements by the industry, because of the relationship they have with tech vendors that makes them privy to technology and industry updates. Decades of investment made, is also difficult to replicate which makes the core competencies distributors have developed in the past 40 years, extremely crucial.

These are some of the key takeaways that the CEO of the Global Technology Distribution Council or GTDC, Frank Vitagliano, shared during an online briefing in mid-November. 

Ananth Lazarus

In a separate interview, GTDC APAC Managing Director, Ananth Lazarus, further delved into the channel ecosystem in the Asia Pacific region. The 35-year industry veteran observed that distribution has come a long way since the 1930s when it was mostly about picking, packing, and shipping components if an enterprise customer wanted a mainframe in Penang, for example.

For a period of 28 years till 2018, Ananth noted the solutions era where distributors started cross-vendor solutioning.  “Vendors look to distributors to scale their enablement efforts during this period and it transpired that services are going to drive profitability for this industry moving forward.”

The ecosystem today

According to Ananth, it’s all about a tech partner ecosystem and how it co-exists via  competition, cooperation, and even co-opetition.

One example of this is distributors working very closely together with their system integrators (SIs) to manage a government tender in Malaysia.  Or you will have quite a few partners coming together as an ecosystem to address one opportunity because of its sheer complexity.”

The MD also opined that there is a huge gap to be filled because of the introduction of technologies like AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing and more. “This is why the ecosystem needs to come together.” Ananth emphasized the need for an organization like GTDC to enable this to happen.

He observed the expectation among large enterprises to have services delivered to them via cloud. That is how mainstream cloud computing as a delivery mechanism has finally become. 

And it is evolving the channel landscape as well because of the power of choice distributors can avail to their customers who typically do not want all of their assets to be sitting on one cloud provider or hyperscaler. In fact, Ananth said that most enterprises have more than 30 or 40 providers across security, across cloud infrastructure, platforms and more. 

“So, the distributor role is becoming critical. Whether I like it or not, it’s no more about point solutions, but about end-to-end solutions which I can’t buy from one hyperscaler.”

This has given rise to the digital marketplaces which Ananth admitted hyperscalers had catalyzed, but which distributors will be extremely critical for as the shift towards services gets even more aggressive.

Bringing cloud, cybersecurity and AI into the hands of enterprise users

Distributors can leverage their expertise and partnerships in several ways to provide more value-added services to their customers. According to Ananth, the following are opportunities that distributors can augment for their partners:

1. Technical expertise, support, and centers of excellence: Distributors can hire highly skilled resources in areas like AI, cybersecurity, and cloud, and make these experts available to their partner network. This allows partners to access specialized skills they may not have in-house, enabling them to build more complex solutions for customers. “I am not replacing what the partner does, but augmenting them.”

Similarly, distributors can set up centers of excellence where customers can come and test out different solutions and technologies. This allows customers to evaluate options and get hands-on experience before making investments. “Distribution is about scale; more partners, more resources. The vendors have resources and if specific proof-of-concepts have to be done, customers can do so at CoEs.”

3. Solution bundling and integration: Distributors can package and integrate multiple vendor solutions into cohesive offerings. This simplifies the buying process for customers and ensures the different components work seamlessly together. It also offers a single pane of glass to manage the entire licensing of software, manage the customers’ success, as well as their financial standing. 

Ananth explained that distributors can provide flexible financing options and credit terms to help partners and customers acquire the technologies they need.

4. Marketplace platforms: Distributors are building their own digital marketplaces where partners and customers can access a wide range of cloud, software, and services offerings. This provides a one-stop-shop experience.
5. Intelligence and analytics: Distributors are partnering with research firms to provide data and insights on market trends, customer buying patterns, and solution performance. This helps partners make more informed decisions about products and solutions they can cross sell to the relevant customer.
6. Training and enablement: Distributors can offer extensive training and certification programs to upskill partners on new technologies and solution selling. This enhances the partners’ capabilities to serve customers effectively.

By leveraging these value-added services, distributors can differentiate themselves, deepen customer relationships, and become strategic partners in the digital transformation journeys of their customers.

“So, the distributor role is becoming critical. Whether I like it or not, it’s no more about point solutions, but about end-to-end solutions which I can’t buy from one hyperscaler.” – Ananth Lazarus

The Southeast Asia region is Ananth’s first and primary focus as GTDC’s managing director in APJ. “I think there is a huge need to educate both vendors and the rest of the ecosystem about what distribution can do. 

“When we come together as one, I think we can advocate and influence in a much more powerful way,” he said, also adding that GTDC has partnered with research firms IDC and Context to provide valuable distributor intelligence to tech vendors by the end of 2025.