AI, Sustainability and the Future of Distribution Highlighted at GTDC Summit EMEA

TECHNOLOGY 03.04.2025

MADRID, ES / ACCESS Newswire / April 3, 2025 / The rapid rate of change in the technology community and evolving and increasing role of ICT distribution were critical topics of conversation at the 14^th annual GTDC Summit EMEA conference, hosted by the Global Technology Distribution Council. Speakers highlighted the latest industry and economic shifts and new research on the value of channel orchestration at this year's event and delved into a number of other notable topics impacting the IT ecosystem.

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Global distributors are committed to developing and augmenting the tools, programs and services their vendor and ICT partners need to successfully sell, implement and support innovation. Those responsibilities could grow exponentially in the coming years as the complexity of IT solutions increases. "What other organization could fill the channel orchestration role?" said Frank Vitagliano, CEO of the GTDC. "Frankly, distributors have been delivering in these critical areas for years and investing to bring you even more opportunities in the future…they are perfectly positioned to support the overall IT ecosystem."

In his opening remarks, Vitagliano emphasized core services distributors provide that will remain crucial in the future and cannot be easily replicated, including logistics, billing and credit. "Just as critical to the success of the channel are investments in cloud marketplaces and platforms that boost engagement opportunities for solution providers and their vendor partners. The transformation of business models and portfolios is a big reason distributor value is rising and expected to gain momentum over the next few years, with the channel relying even more on their collective resources and ingenuity."

Following a brief overview of how far IT distributors have come, Vation Ventures' founding partner Dave O'Callaghan joined Vitagliano to discuss the future of these critical channel orchestrators. The duo highlighted key findings from the recently introduced GTDC Tech Distribution 2030 report and other research. "Based on our research, channel executives expect the cloud and business models to continue to evolve and will require additional resources to support the changing demands of their end-customers. At the same time, the complexities of AI, advanced cybersecurity, blockchain and other innovative technologies call for deeper and more unique sets of skills. Vendors and solution providers are increasingly looking to IT distribution to provide the 'orchestration' piece that brings it all together and furthers their success."

Download a free copy of the GTDC Tech Distribution 2030 report here.

Summit EMEA Underscores Tech Transformations

Change enablement was a central theme of the 2025 European event. Presenters and panelists emphasized technology and service trends and the evolution of distribution, as well as the impact of AI across the entire IT ecosystem. Highlights of this year's discussions included:

Top distribution executives joined Vitagliano for a forward-looking discussion on the evolving demands on channel vendors, partners and other ecosystem players. Leaders contributing to the conversation included: Ali Baghdadi, SVP & Chief Country Executive, Ingram Micro; Nick Bannister, President EMEA, Arrow Electronics; Alessandro Cattani, CEO, Esprinet; andFrank Salmon, CEO, CMS Distribution Ltd.

ESG meeting thought leaders from the vendor and distribution community gathered at Summit EMEA for the latest updates on sustainability-related topics, regulation changes and best practices. Speakers shared their insight on the Digital Product Passport (DPP), EPEAT, CSRD and other circularity-related topics.

NielsenIQ's Antonio Hurtado and Zu Khoja described how AI truly works for the audience - from its origins to today's generative models - and helped everyone understand the technology's potential to drive smarter decisions, uncover new opportunities and transform business strategies. While the ramp up of these solutions has been slower than many predicted, the prospects for innovation and generating new recurring revenue streams for channel vendors, distributors and partners are extremely promising.

Emily Mansfield of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) highlighted several points of global concerns, including the volatile political environment, threats of tariffs, ongoing conflicts and uncertain monetary policies. Those uncertainties and shifts create an ambiguous global economic outlook and could temper EMEA and IT industry growth.

Watch for details on the 2025 GTDC Summit APJ and dates for future events here.

About the GTDC 

The Global Technology Distribution Council is the industry consortium representing the world's leading tech distributors. GTDC members drive an estimated $170 billion in annual worldwide sales of products, services and solutions through diverse business channels. GTDC conferences support the development and expansion of strategic supply-chain partnerships that continually address the fast-changing marketplace needs of vendors, end customers and distributors. GTDC members include AB S.A. (WSE: ABPL), Arrow Electronics (NYSE: ARW), CMS Distribution, Computer Gross Italia (MI: SES), D&H Distributing, ELKO, Esprinet (PRT.MI), Exclusive Networks (EPA: EXN), Exertis, Infinigate, Ingram Micro (NYSE: INGM), Intcomex, Logicom (CSE: LOG), Mindware, Redington Limited (BSE/NSE: Redington), Siewert & Kau, SiS Technologies (HKSE:0529), Tarsus, TD SYNNEX (NYSE: SNX), TIM AG, VSTECS Holdings and Westcon-Comstor. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Brian Sherman, CommCentric Solutions (for GTDC)
(814) 882-4432 | [email protected]

SOURCE: Global Technology Distribution Council

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