Guest column | How AI is reshaping vendors, distributors and channel partners

MUMBAI: As artificial intelligence reshapes how businesses buy, deploy and manage technology, vendors, distributors and channel partners are being pushed to rethink where they create value. Selling products and ensuring availability are no longer enough as customers seek integrated solutions, specialised expertise and measurable business outcomes. In this guest column, Rajveer Shah, global chief strategy officer, Mitsumi Distribution, examines how AI is changing the roles of each player in the IT channel, why partner enablement and skills development are becoming critical, and how India’s regional partner network could shape the next phase of AI adoption.

Every few years, a technology shift forces the IT channel to ask a hard question: where does real value sit? Cloud raised it. Cybersecurity raised it again. Now AI has made it impossible to put off. Around the world, vendors, distributors and partners are rethinking their roles, and India is moving faster than most.

From selling products to delivering outcomes
For decades, the channel ran on a simple chain. Vendors built products, distributors moved them, and partners sold them to customers. That model rewarded scale, availability and credit. It worked well when technology was bought as a box or a license.

AI does not fit that pattern. Customers are not asking for a model or a server. They are asking for results: faster decisions, safer data, lower costs. Delivering those results takes infrastructure, software, security and skills working together. No single player in the chain can provide all of it alone.

The pace adds pressure. AI tools and platforms evolve in months, not years. Customers hear bold claims daily and struggle to separate substance from noise. That puts a premium on trusted guidance. Whoever helps customers cut through the noise will earn a lasting place in the value chain.

What it means for vendors
Vendors are the first to feel the change. Their products are more complex, and their customers expect outcomes, not features. As a result, partner programs are shifting. Vendors now look for partners with real capability: people who can design, deploy and support AI-ready solutions. Certifications and sales targets still matter, but depth of expertise matters more.

This also changes what vendors expect from distribution. Reach alone is no longer enough. Vendors want help building a capable partner base, and they want it at scale. That is hard to do directly, especially in a market as large and varied as India.

What it means for partners
Partners face the toughest decision. Reselling hardware and licenses will keep getting harder as margins tighten and customers ask for more. The partners who will thrive are those who move toward advisory, integration and managed services. They need to help customers choose the right use cases, connect AI to existing systems and govern it responsibly.

This is not easy. Many partners sell well, but their AI skills are still maturing. They need training, tested solution designs and a clear path from interest to delivery. They also need to avoid the trap of chasing every new trend. Focus and credibility will count for more than speed.

From connectors to enablers
This is where distributors must change the most. For years, we have been intermediaries. We linked vendors to partners, and partners to markets. That role remains essential, but it is no longer sufficient.

In the AI era, distributors must become enablers. That means curating portfolios so partners see how products fit together, not just a long price list. It means building skills through training, certification and hands-on support. It means helping partners package solutions, structure deals and manage lifecycles. And it means reducing complexity, so a partner in a smaller city can offer the same quality of solution as one in a metro.

Our experience across the Middle East and Africa has reinforced this. In markets with uneven access to skills and infrastructure, partners value a distributor that does more than ship product. They rely on us to share knowledge, simplify choices and stay engaged long after the sale. The same lesson applies in India, where the opportunity is large and the partner base is diverse.

At Mitsumi, this shift shapes how we work with partners. We take a multi-solution approach across cybersecurity, cloud, AI, infrastructure and software, backed by enablement that helps partners move from interest to execution.

The India opportunity
India offers a unique setting for this change. Enterprises are investing in AI. Demand is growing well beyond the largest cities. Government and industry are pushing for stronger digital infrastructure. Partners in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, in particular, will decide how far AI reaches beyond early adopters. A broad network of regional partners sits at the center of this growth. If that network is well enabled, India’s AI adoption will be faster and more inclusive. If it is not, the gap between large and small markets will widen.

A shared responsibility
AI will not replace the channel, but it will reward the parts that add real value. Vendors must invest in partner capability, and partners must build skills and move toward outcomes. Distributors, in turn, must step up from connecting to enabling. The channel has always worked best when each tier strengthens the others, and AI makes that principle more important, not less. Those who adapt together will lead the next phase of growth.