UK channel still working on AI skills

It was always going to take time for the channel to get to grips with artificial intelligence (AI), with many admitting they are still working towards getting up to speed on the technology.

Despite those concerns, the UK channel came out as overall more optimistic about AI than counterparts in Spain, Australia, Singapore and the UAE, according to research from Westcon-Comstor.

The headline finding from the latest piece of the distie’s Future Ready programme of channel analysis was that 57% of UK partners that felt they could not design and deliver AI-ready networking solutions.

As it stands, 43% of partners in the UK are currently offering advanced AI-integrated network services, which is higher than the global average. The majority of partners (52%) indicated there were in the process of developing their AI capabilities.

One of the reasons why the UK appears to be ahead of the global competition is that foundations for rolling out AI features across the network appear to be in place, with 46% of partners viewing their customer networks as optimised and ready to take the workloads generated by artificial intelligence tools.

“Our research shows that, despite some challenges, UK partners are leading the way internationally in AI readiness,” said Rene Klein, executive-vice president of Europe at Westcon-Comstor. “This confidence puts them in a strong position to seize the significant growth opportunities on offer in AI-led networking as we look to 2026.”

UK partners revealed that they were already working with customers on network transformation to prepare and support AI, with efforts made to provide security, automation and visibility tools and services to users.

Many partners have already seen investments being made by users in areas including AI-driven network automation, edge computing and distributed data routing and intent-based networking.

Customers were increasingly turning to the channel to help fill skill gaps and help design and deliver the network transformation and the AI deployments that would improve their businesses. 

When it came to identifying where investments would be made in the next year, partners provided Westcon-Comstor with a list of areas customers stated as an area of interest for spend.

Top of that list was enhanced network security analytics, which was seen as the largest potential driver of fresh revenues. Other technologies included AI-powered network observability and diagnostics, edge-to-cloud data routing and optimisation, and autonomous/self-healing networks.

“AI is changing the game, and partners have a rare window to step up as true strategic advisers,” said Patrick Aronson, chief marketing officer and executive vice-president of Asia-Pacific at Westcon-Comstor. “Customers are hungry for intelligent, adaptive networks. The partners who lean in now, build capability and get closer to the customer will be the ones leading the next wave of growth.”

The sense that the channel requires more enablement around AI is widely accepted, with one source saying that it continued to be an essential area of activity for both vendors and distributors.

“Training and technical support are some of the most engaged areas we have with our partner base,” said a marketeer at one vendor.