TD SYNNEX has released new survey findings showing that IT channel partners are increasing their investment in artificial intelligence, yet many still cannot translate that spending into meaningful revenue. The research, reported by Telecom Reseller, points to a widening gap between AI enthusiasm and AI monetization across the partner ecosystem.
The Details
The survey comes from TD SYNNEX, one of the largest IT distributors serving the channel. Its core finding is a disconnect: partners are committing more budget to AI, but revenue returns are lagging behind.
Several patterns stand out:
- Investment is rising. Partners are putting more money into AI tools, training, and capabilities.
- Revenue conversion is weak. A significant share of partners report difficulty turning those investments into sellable, profitable offerings.
- The gap is structural, not temporary. Spending alone is not producing returns; partners need packaging, pricing, and go-to-market clarity.
Because a distributor sits between vendors and thousands of resellers, TD SYNNEX has a broad view of channel behavior. That makes these findings more than anecdotal.
Why This Matters for Service Providers
Many MSPs and telecom resellers have spent the past two years experimenting with AI internally: copilots, automation scripts, and pilot projects. Internal efficiency matters, but it does not appear on a client invoice. The partners who close this gap will be the ones who stop treating AI as a cost center and start packaging it as a recurring, billable service with a clear outcome attached.
The common failure point is offering "AI" as a broad capability rather than a specific solution to a specific problem. Clients do not buy AI; they buy fewer missed calls, faster response times, or lower staffing costs. Services with measurable, easy-to-explain results, like call handling and after-hours coverage, are easier to sell because the value is visible. Frameworks such as quantifying the cost of missed calls give clients a dollar figure they can weigh against your monthly fee.
Speed to market also matters. Building AI services from scratch consumes engineering time and delays revenue, which helps explain why investment outpaces returns. White-label platforms let providers launch a branded offering quickly and start billing before a custom build would even be scoped.
Looking Ahead
Expect distributors and vendors to push more enablement programs, bundled AI SKUs, and margin incentives aimed at closing this revenue gap in 2027. Partners should audit their current AI spending now and ask one question of every line item: is this generating client revenue, or only internal cost?
For the full story, read the original article on Telecom Reseller.
