By Louise Taute – If we wind back a few years, IT distributors operated behind the scenes facilitating transactions, managing stock levels, and ensuring products moved efficiently from vendors to partners, essentially acting as the middleman.
That approach may have worked in a hardware-driven world. But today, with digital transformation, cloud-first strategies, and Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS) driving the future of IT, customers aren’t buying stock from inventory lists they expect agile, scalable solutions. And value, lots and lots of value.
It has also ushered in a change in demand from resellers, partners and systems integrators, who in turn need their distributors to be more than just a supplier; they need a true strategic enabler that can help them navigate complex cloud models, provide technical expertise, and support business growth.
According to our most recent research, in South Africa 89% of channel partners see developing a cloud practice as a priority, yet nearly half say they lack the skills to meet customer needs. For distributors, this raises an unavoidable question: What role do we play in this new era?
Distribution Can’t Afford to Be Passive
For years, distribution was about availability. Today, it’s about value. It’s about empowering resellers, managed service providers (MSPs), and systems integrators to build sustainable, cloud-driven businesses. That means stepping up in areas where partners feel the pressure most. Cloud skills shortages are holding businesses back, even as demand for specialised expertise continues to rise. Nearly three-quarters of partners in South Africa struggle to make sense of cloud pricing models, making it difficult to provide customers with cost clarity.
Many also feel they aren’t fully leveraging vendor programs, not because they lack interest but because they don’t have the time or resources to optimise them. At the same time, competition is relentless, with 40% of partners under pressure to deliver faster, more sophisticated solutions to maintain their market position. These challenges are not theoretical. They are immediate and, if left unaddressed, will define who thrives in the channel and who fades into irrelevance.
The takeaway from this for distributors is clear, especially if they continue to act as mere intermediaries they will then simply become obsolete. The modern IT channel doesn’t need passive facilitators. It needs active enablers who can help partners evolve alongside the technologies they are expected to sell and support.
A Blueprint for the Modern Distributor
The channel must shift from a logistical function to an active partner to remain relevant in cloud success. That means investing in enablement and providing the hands-on training, certifications, and technical mentoring partners that need to develop real cloud expertise. It also requires simplifying cloud cost management by offering FinOps expertise, cost optimisation tools, and practical guidance on managing consumption-based pricing.
Strengthening security and compliance support is just as critical, ensuring that partners can confidently address the increasing complexity of hybrid and multi-cloud environments. The growing importance of cloud marketplaces also means distributors must provide seamless access to vendor programs, financing options, and lifecycle services that make it easier for partners to deliver comprehensive solutions.
By embedding these elements into their core offering, distributors transform from traditional supply chain facilitators into strategic enablers of cloud success. The difference between those who take on this role and those who don’t will determine the future of distribution in the IT channel.
No More Hiding
The way technology is consumed has changed – and so must distribution. This is no longer about moving products but strategy, enablement, and delivering measurable business value. Westcon-Comstor’s research is clear: partners want to embrace the cloud but need the right support.
What we have seen in our own business is that once we started offering training, financial enablement, and technical expertise, we became a true trusted advisor to our partners. I believe that those players who remain passive will be left behind. The channel is moving forward, and hiding is no longer an option.
Louise Taute is the MD of Westcon-Comstor Sub-Saharan