Beyond Distribution with GTDC

In episode 71 of GTDC Beyond Distribution, recorded live at the 2026 GTDC North America Summit, Sven Rathjen, Vice President of Global Strategic Channel Partners at HP, joins host Frank Vitagliano for a wide‑ranging discussion on the evolution of IT distribution and the accelerating impact of AI on the channel. 
Rathjen shares his career journey from distribution into the vendor ecosystem and explains why a deep understanding of distribution remains foundational to running a successful channel organization. He explores how distributors have evolved from logistics and fulfillment engines into digital platform providers—delivering AI‑enabled insights, subscription and consumption models, and scalable partner enablement. 
The conversation also dives into HP’s Amplify platform, AI training initiatives and data‑driven go‑to‑market strategies. How has partner adoption of these technologies advanced? What are the ROI considerations for AI?  How will artificial intelligence reshape how the distributors and vendors engage with channel partners and their customers?  
Check out this must‑listen episode for those answers and more.  

Recorded live at the April GTDC Summit EMEA, episode CEO Frank Vitagliano moderated a lively and informative conversation with top executives from the European distribution community. Each leader offered unique perspectives on the evolution of the channel, the shift from hardware- and software-led businesses to cloud subscription models, and the platform investments required for partners and vendors to succeed in an expanding IT ecosystem.  
The discussion also explored why adaptation has become a core competency for distributors.  What will it take for vendors to be digitally ready to keep pace with faster transactions and business change? How is AI reshaping the technology landscape (especially cybersecurity) as the channel demands increasing levels of orchestration?  This episode of Beyond Distribution with GTDC provides answers to those questions and hits on a number of other critical industry topics.   
Panelists included Nick Bannister, President ECS EMEA, Arrow; Miriam Murphy, President, Europe, TD SYNNEX; Jesper Trolle, CEO, Exclusive Networks; and Matthew Sanderson, EVP and President, EMEA, Ingram Micro. Check out more key takeaways from this year’s event in the 2026 GTDC Summit EMEA event recap.  

In episode 73 of Beyond Distribution with GTDC, Frank Vitagliano sits down with Tiffani Bova, Chief Strategy and Research Officer at Futurum for a timely conversation on how AI is reshaping the channel. Recorded live from the main stage at GTDC Summit North America, this face-to-face discussion addressed some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the IT industry today, including how suppliers should be preparing to offer greater support to the new agentic-first partners.  
Drawing on decades of experience spanning Gartner, Salesforce, and now Futurum, Bova shares her perspective on why the industry is moving from integration to intelligence—and why that shift is forcing distributors, vendors, and solution providers to rethink the ecosystem of the future. She introduces the concept of the “frontier partner,” a new breed of partners that will be built for AI-led transformations and explains why these organizations may be as disruptive as their born-in-the-cloud predecessors a couple of decades ago.  
What skills will Frontier partners possess? How will these organizations operate, and why will access to clean, actionable data be the single biggest competitive advantage in the AI era? Listen in to this episode’s conversation for answers to those questions and more insight on the future of the IT ecosystem.  
 

In episode #74 of Beyond Distribution with GTDC, host Frank Vitagliano welcomes Anthony Frot, Research Director at CONTEXT, for a timely conversation on the market intelligence. The conversation explores several channel GTM topics, including forecasting methodologies and country-level insights that help distributors, vendors and their partners understand the latest trends, opportunities and concerns in the fast-moving IT ecosystem. 
Frot also provides perspective on CONTEXT’s long-standing partnership with GTDC and explains how the organization collects, cleans and analyzes point-of-sale data from a number of sources to deliver a more consistent view of channel performance. CONTEXT continues to expand coverage beyond Europe into Asia Pacific and other parts of the globe while emphasizing the importance of localized market intelligence to the IT community. 
How are distributors, vendors and analysts collaborating to improve forecast accuracy? What do current market signals suggest for the second half of 2026? Why is country-level insight so important in understanding broader regional and global distribution trends? Check out this episode of Beyond Distribution with GTDC for those answers, as well as insights on the data, collaboration and market intelligence shaping the future of technology. 

In this milestone 75th episode of Beyond Distribution with GTDC, host Frank Vitagliano welcomes back David Grant, CEO of Westcon-Comstor, for a timely discussion on the evolving role of distribution in a rapidly changing technology ecosystem. Grant shares his perspective on his company’s continued transformation, including its shift toward software, lifecycle selling and services-led growth. He also discusses the significance of a recent investment in the company and how that added financial firepower will affect the distributor’s strategic initiatives. 
Their conversation also explores several major forces reshaping the channel, including the rise of AI projects moving from pilots into production, expanding cybersecurity needs, infrastructure refresh cycles, data sovereignty concerns and growing demand for cloud and data readiness services. Grant explains why these trends are creating what he calls a “real purple patch for distribution”—one he believes will not be short-lived, but instead represents a new normal for  
How will hyperscaler relationships with distributors impact the channel? What effect do they expect cloud marketplaces and digital platforms to have on vendors’ GTM strategies. Listen in for answers to those questions as well as insight on why distribution is uniquely capable of orchestrating and accelerating partner success. 

In episode #76 of Beyond Distribution with GTDC, host Frank Vitagliano welcomes back Larry Walsh, CEO and Chief Analyst at Channelnomics, for a timely discussion on the evolving role of distribution and its growing importance in the IT ecosystem. The conversation explores key findings from the latest research from GTDC and Channelnomics examining how technology innovation, shifting customer expectations and rapid market change are reshaping the responsibilities of vendors, solution providers and distributors. 
Walsh explains why customers increasingly need guidance, orchestration and business outcome support—not just access to new technologies. The duo also discusses the widening capability gaps between customer priorities and what vendors can deliver without collaboration partners, especially with AI, cybersecurity, cloud and digital platforms accelerating demand for more integrated solutions. 
How can distributors help bridge those gaps? Why value opportunities do distribution provide today’s channel vendors? What role will distributors play as hyperscalers and marketplaces continue to gain traction? Listen in to this episode of Beyond Distribution with GTDC for those answers and more insight on why distribution remains a vital aggregation point—and the connective tissue holding the modern IT ecosystem together. 

In this episode of Beyond Distribution, guest host Kavita May of GTDC is joined by Julie Simpson, Founder and CEO of ResourceiT Consulting, and Jacquie Rives, Senior Director, Women of the Channel Community & Programs at The Channel Company, for a timely conversation on how artificial intelligence is reshaping leadership, opportunity and inclusion. This conversation is a preview of a key topic of the upcoming Women of the Channel Europe event. The group explores the opportunities and threats associated with AI and the increasing value of human-centered leadership skills such as judgment, empathy, communication, and adaptability, as well as why women need equal access to AI tools, training, mentorship and high-visibility projects. 
Julie and Jacquie also share practical perspectives on responsible AI adoption. How do prompting and questioning AI outputs factor into the equation? What are the risks of bias and misuse? Which new leadership paths (i.e., customer insight, automation, community engagement, ecosystem orchestration, partner enablement) offer the most promise?  
Their messages are clear: organizations that benefit most from AI will be those that combine innovative technology with diverse perspectives, inclusive leadership and a commitment to helping women lead from the start—not just participate after the fact. Hear why and gain other valuable insights on this important topic in episode 77 of Beyond Distribution with GTDC.  

In episode 78 of Beyond Distribution, host Frank Vitagliano speaks with Lynn Smurthwaite-Murphy, CEO of Plugable, about why AI should be treated as a business transformation—not just another technology deployment. Drawing on her experience across the channel, distribution and vendor communities, she explains why organizations must have executive ownership, as well as clear outcomes, governance and communications to create measurable value from their AI investments. 
Smurthwaite-Murphy also shares the AI journey for her company as they began adopting the technologies out of necessity. What led the organization to begin using these solutions as part of their long-term vision? How did grassroots experimentation and practical use cases boost productivity and drive other positive outcomes?  
This conversation explores those questions and highlights the rise of local and hybrid AI models. They also take a “deep dive” into channel opportunities, with emphasis on business consultation over a more technology-driven approach. The channel has become a transformative machine with AI following many of the same principles as other innovations — only faster and broader. Check out the complete conversation in this insightful new episode.

AI is moving from experimentation to practical business outcomes—and creating significant new opportunities across the channel. In this episode of Beyond Distribution with GTDC, host Frank Vitagliano speaks with Maurits Tichelman, general manager of Intel’s EMEA partner sales organization, about the rapid evolution of these technologies and distribution's role in their successful adoption.
Tichelman explains why successful AI strategies must begin with clearly defined outcomes rather than technology alone, and how the channel can take advantage of these opportunities. He also highlights the readiness issues that can stall deployments—from data quality and infrastructure to security, sovereignty and regulatory compliance.
Distributors are the orchestrators in this ecosystem, connecting silicon providers, ISVs, cybersecurity specialists, systems integrators and solution providers. He suggests that their local knowledge and ability to scale and help assemble complete solutions make them critical to helping customers navigate complexity and adopt next-generation technologies. The complexity and increasing business value of AI creates true opportunities for the IT community—with the channel sitting firmly in the center.
How can local AI processing improve security, reduce latency and control costs today? Why are data readiness, infrastructure, governance and compliance essential to successful deployments? Check out Episode 79 of Beyond Distribution with GTDC for a forward-looking conversation on these topics and more.