Automation and artificial intelligence are reshaping sales processes across the IT channel. Technology distributor Climb Channel Solutions pushes back on the notion that AI makes distributors, partners and their staff dispensable, citing five reasons why human expertise is becoming more, not less, important in the AI era.
For years, vendors, distributors and partners have been pushing to automate their sales processes, and generative and traditional artificial intelligence now offer a powerful tool for doing so. International technology distributor Climb Channel Solutions (Climb) is pushing back against the idea that AI will displace people from the channel or make the channel model obsolete altogether. According to the company, human relationships, distributors and partners are becoming more important, not less, in the age of AI.
Climb points to earlier disruptions in the industry: when cloud services and online marketplaces emerged, some industry observers predicted the end of traditional channel sales. Instead, resellers evolved into solution providers, integrators, consulting specialists and managed service providers, while distributors became value-added distributors. Neither role disappeared, the company says, but both moved away from purely transactional business.
With the spread of artificial intelligence, the channel is now entering its next transformation phase. AI can generate precise forecasts, develop tailored concepts and largely automate sales and project handling. According to Climb, it will not replace strong partnerships and human interaction, for five reasons.
First, AI lacks empathy and trust. It can recommend solutions, design architectures and outline options, but it cannot replace the trust built over years between companies, partners and distributors. For larger investments and strategic decisions, the company argues, no one will rely solely on an AI-generated answer.
Second, Climb distinguishes between knowledge and experience. AI makes knowledge easily accessible but can only partially substitute for practical experience. Partners and their staff, drawing on project and industry expertise from real implementations, remain needed to help assess technologies, explain the trade-offs between options and help avoid mistakes through best practices. Ultimately, companies are buying orientation in an increasingly crowded vendor market, not just information.
Third, AI itself adds to IT complexity, which in turn increases the need for advice. It places varying demands on infrastructure, requires carefully prepared data available at the right time and place, and comes in different forms, such as classic machine learning or generative AI, large or small language models, self-trained, fine-tuned or supplied with proprietary data via RAG. Add to that countless off-the-shelf AI tools and project-specific governance and compliance requirements. Without the guidance partners provide, companies can quickly become overwhelmed; partners in turn receive the necessary enablement from specialized distributors.
Fourth, implementation itself remains a human task. AI can partially automate and document rollouts, but the physical connection of systems, configuration, company-specific integrations, and the evaluation of tests, acceptance and sign-off remain the responsibility of people, who also understand implicit requirements and must weigh competing interests.
Fifth, AI cannot handle change management. Many IT and AI projects fail not because of the technology but because of unclear responsibilities, shifting job profiles or a lack of acceptance for new solutions. Such problems require communication, workshops and informal conversations to bring stakeholders on board and resolve conflicts. AI can support this work, for example by drafting communication plans, texts and training materials, and by analyzing survey results.
According to Climb, AI is making the channel more efficient and enabling it to support companies better, from quoting through project delivery to change management. Even so, human qualities remain in demand given the complexity of the subject. Specialized distributors with a carefully curated portfolio and targeted enablement support partners in this work, the company says.
Dr. Jakob Jung is Editor-in-Chief of Security Storage and Channel Germany. He has been working in IT journalism for more than 20 years. His career includes Computer Reseller News, Heise Resale, Informationweek, Techtarget (storage and data center) and ChannelBiz. He also freelances for numerous IT publications, including Computerwoche, Channelpartner, IT-Business, Storage-Insider and ZDnet. His main topics are channel, storage, security, data center, ERP and CRM.
Contact via Mail: jakob.jung@security-storage-und-channel-germany.de