State of the Industry He notes that competition has raised expectations. “Te
bar on service levels has been raised – both within the channel and in terms of the service the industry delivers to end-user customers.” For Barron, this is a positive development. Strong service becomes a differentiator in a crowded market, and the constant emergence of new technologies ensures that opportunities will continue to arise for those who stay focused on customer needs.
Terry Storrar, Managing Director at Leaseweb UK, sees
sovereignty as a primary focus for the channel. Customers want assurance about where their data is hosted and under which jurisdiction. Channel companies are looking for partners with a global footprint and expertise to deliver this assurance. Storrar also notes that the hype around AI has slowed, giving organisations space to evaluate real-world applications and weigh productivity gains against cost. He believes MSPs are moving away from reliance on
hyperscalers in favour of hybrid models, driven in part by high-profile downtime incidents. Customers are concerned about cost and budget creep, and the channel can add value by opening up choice and helping them spread workloads across multiple partners. Robert Daigle, Global AI Lead at Lenovo, reinforces
From theory to execution Data is becoming a critical differentiator for channel partners. Atul Damani, Chief Data Officer at Westcon Comstor, says the shiſt is already well underway. “Our research confirms that data-driven development is now embedded as a critical driver of AI growth and differentiation for channel partners.” In the era of lifecycle selling, he argues, AI-powered data and analytics help partners save time, uncover targeted opportunities and focus their energy where it will deliver results. Rene Klein, Executive Vice President for Europe at
Westcon Comstor, adds that the UK is leading the charge. “Nearly half [of UK channel partners] are prioritising analytics to fuel growth in 2026. It’s a clear sign that the UK market is setting the pace for smarter, insight-led strategies that unlock new opportunities and deliver real competitive advantage.” Tis shiſt reflects a broader trend: the channel is moving
from transactional engagement to intelligence-driven value creation. Data is no longer a byproduct of operations; it is becoming the foundation of strategy. Data sovereignty is moving from a theoretical concern
to a practical priority. Chintan Patel, UKI CTO at Cisco, believes 2026 will be the year digital sovereignty “shiſts from theory to execution” as tighter data localisation laws take hold. Nations and blocs are asserting control over their infrastructure, data and technology stacks, reshaping the digital landscape. Patel expects the push for sovereignty to extend to AI,
accelerating investment in domestic capacity, sovereign compute, and AI factories trained on sensitive regional data. Demand for sovereign cloud solutions will rise, along with renewed interest in on-premises or air-gapped data centres. While a complete overhaul of global infrastructure is unlikely, selective migrations and diversified cloud strategies will become the norm.
www.pcr-online.biz January/February 2026 | 17
the importance of data sovereignty in AI workflows. “By 2026, data sovereignty will become a top enterprise priority, regardless of whether organisations are deploying small language models or large language models.” As foundation models become commoditised, the real differentiator will be data quality, uniqueness and governance. “Enterprises that fail to maintain ownership and integrity of their data risk eroding the very asset that fuels their AI advantage.”
Protection to resilience Security continues to evolve rapidly, and the channel is adapting with it. Jamie Farrelly, EMEA VP of Channel and Alliances at Commvault, says conversations are shiſting from simple security and recovery to strategic cyber resilience. With so many components involved, prevention, detection, identity management, backups and recovery, no single vendor can meet customer expectations alone. “A partner ecosystem is essential to meeting customer expectations. No single vendor can do it alone.” Farrelly expects deeper collaboration across the
ecosystem, with MSPs becoming the primary engine of growth in the cyber resilience niche. Vendors are becoming more selective, investing in partners capable of delivering end-to-end outcomes rather than transactional resale. He sees a clear shiſt toward quality over quantity, with ecosystems narrowing to favour partners who can materially influence customer success.
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