Category: Trends and Insights

Windows 10 End of Support – Seize the Opportunity

Posted on October 21, 2024 by Serena Jivan - Trends and Insights, Case Studies

Is your business ready for the Windows 11 migration surge?

The countdown is on, and with less than a year to go businesses are racing to upgrade to Windows 11.

The IT channel is primed to capitalise on this transition. The question is: Do you have the right strategy in place to make the most of this opportunity? Whether you’re already offering services to support your customers or are looking to break into this critical upgrade market, we can help you stay ahead of the competition and meet demand head-on.

Why now?

Windows 10 is going end of support on 14^th October 2025. Businesses still running Windows 10 or older after this date are at risk as Microsoft will stop releasing monthly security updates which are vital to protecting from vulnerabilities. But it’s not just about remaining compliant. Windows 11 opens up a whole host of opportunities and features designed to increase performance, productivity and employee experience.

Encourage your customers to beat the rush, avoid supply chain issues and start taking advantage of the benefits before the end of support deadline.

How Agilitas Can Help You Succeed

Fill the gaps in your current offering

If you’re already supporting Windows migrations but face challenges like regional coverage issues or limited resources during peak demand, we can provide scalable, expert support to bridge those gaps:

Complement in-house resources: select the services you need when you need them, from warehouse and logistics, staging and configuration or engineering and migration support to full project management.

Global coverage: we support customers in regions you may not cover.

Roll out faster: increase the number of projects you can facilitate and recognize revenue faster.

Agilitas Customer Support Team Answering Phone

Offer a complete Windows 11 solution

If you’re not currently offering Windows 11 upgrade services, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Our turnkey Windows 11 solution is designed for IT partners like you, allowing you to offer a complete upgrade service under your brand.

We’ll take care of:

Readiness assessment and planning
Staging and configuration
Deployment and installation
Post migration support
Circular economy through our repair, rework, reuse model
Ongoing maintenance

Get your free Windows 11 Readiness Audit

To make sure you’re fully prepared for the surge in demand, we’re offering eligible channel partners a FREE Windows 11 Readiness Audit in partnership with Camwood.

This audit will give you a clear view of your current capabilities and identify opportunities to maximise your sales potential during this critical upgrade period.

Request your free audit today.

Windows Support Form

Agilitas Partner Choices Report – ‘Blurred lines between suppliers’

Posted on September 30, 2024 by Serena Jivan - Research Reports, Employees & Culture, Trends and Insights

Channel Leaders confident in the industry’s ability to build collaborative partnerships –

**Agilitas launches its ‘Blurred lines between suppliers’ Report**

Leading global channel services provider, Agilitas IT Solutions, has today announced the launch of its ‘Blurred lines between suppliers’ report. This guide is the first instalment in its Channel Trends Report series, which continues to provide actionable, free-to-view market insights.

The report, which explores the findings of the latest research commissioned by Agilitas, discusses the importance of building strong alliances, partnering for innovation and customer experience, as well as meeting ongoing sustainability targets.

A key takeaway from the report is how Channel partnerships have become less transactional, with responsiveness, flexibility and strategic enablement high on the agendas of those across the sector. The Technology Channel is largely transitioning into a service-based industry, therefore the potential benefits of these partnerships depend on who businesses choose to partner with.

It has been encouraging to see that Technology Channel decision-makers have shown optimism for the future, with partnerships being a key component of successful operations, allowing companies to expand their market reach, strengthen their relationships with customers and increase their visibility.

View Partner Report Here

Through Agilitas’ annual research, it was identified that partnering for growth, improved customer experience and sustainability will become more prominent over the next 12 months

Another area highlighted was the importance of delivering a good customer experience, with 85% of the Channel businesses surveyed agreeing this was a high priority. Looking deeper at the data revealed that 42% of respondents are currently using third-party support to help enhance their customer experience, with a further 29% stating that they will implement this in the next 12 months.

It’s no secret that sustainability continues to be prominent metrics in business development across the Channel, with sustainability partnerships playing a crucial role in helping businesses address social or environmental problems. More often than not, these partnerships are not just focused on reducing a company’s carbon footprint, but launching new sustainability initiatives to meet long-term goals.

Respondents remain confident in the Channel’s ability to build collaborative partnerships that balance profit with social consciousness, with an average result of 7.7 (around 80%). In addition to this, when looking at the results by business type, it was promising to see that over 66% of MSPs and VARs are very confident in the Channel’s ability to balance profit and purpose when building partnerships.

“The Technology Channel has made significant strides in choosing the right partners, selecting those whose values not only align but also offer longevity,” said Sara Wilkes, Chief Operating Officer at Agilitas.

“Confidence has remained high but did vary across companies of different sizes, meaning partnering with like-minded organisations has never been more important for teams to leverage each other’s strengths, expertise and resources to accelerate innovation and development.

“Aligning the correct people and analysing services to tailor offerings to each customer is key, accelerating growth for all parties now and in the future, and the research results highlight that the industry is already making progress.”

View Partner Report Here

Agilitas Sustainability Update May 2024

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Serena Jivan - Sustainability/ESG, Company News, Trends and Insights

Sustainability has been in Agilitas’ DNA for over 30 years.

Our operating model enables customers to remove themselves from hardware ownership, take advantage of our circular economy and extend the lifecycle of the tech that both they and their customers use.

However, in 2021, we recognised that we needed to go further so we pledged that we would reduce our carbon emissions with the aim of becoming a Net Zero business before 2050. As a business we tracked elements of our carbon footprint such as our energy consumption, our wastage and business mileage.

Our Sustainability

This led us to make some carbon and cost reduction decisions such as replacing all the warehouse lighting to time sensor LEDs, getting an electric van to transport items between our Nottingham hubs and getting a cardboard baler to reduce the number of cardboard waste collections.

We also wanted to make sure that we were accountable across our entire ESG commitment and so therefore signed up to EcoVadis and Science Based Targets. In our EcoVadis year 1 assessment we scored bronze, in the second year we scored silver and we are now going for gold as we continue to improve our ESG processes.

Our focus for the last quarter has been on expanding our data collection so that we can calculate our full operational carbon footprint across scopes 1,2 and 3. In order to establish a true baseline reporting year and to ensure we are not just marking our own homework, we have partnered with Auditel who are ensuring we capture information as accurately and honestly as possible. The data will then be verified by an external auditor.

What does this mean for our customers?

There are a lot of claims out there from organisations about being a sustainable business, but without data to back this up, it is difficult to understand to what extent.

We understand the importance for our customers that claims need to be more than just words. By tracking more ESG data, we can provide our customers with information they need to accurately track their supply chain carbon footprint too. It can help us make efficiencies in the areas that are going to make the most impact and gives us a measurable way to track our progress.

We are really excited with our sustainability roadmap and would like our customers to be a part of it too! If you would like to discuss how we can align our sustainability efforts, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Agilitas Releases 2024 Channel Trends Report

Posted on March 12, 2024 by Serena Jivan - Employees & Culture, Research Reports, Trends and Insights

Channel Leaders Reveal They Are More Confident Than Ever In Their Company’s Success

New research released today by leading global Channel services provider, Agilitas IT Solutions, reveals that confidence in the future of the Technology Channel has reached its peak amongst UK industry decision-makers, with the overall confidence score reaching 7.9 out of a possible 10.

With optimism the highest it’s been in five years, Channel leaders are focusing on the areas that matter, including embracing innovation, enhancing the customer experience, and attracting and retaining the right talent. It’s promising to see that these factors remain top of mind, in line with the introduction of a Total Experience strategy to achieve consistency across their organisation and create a better experience for stakeholders.

Like many industries, AI is transforming the ways that Channel companies improve their operational efficiencies, with 82% of respondents stating that AI would positively impact their business. However, when it comes to leveraging AI, it fell much lower down the priority list as only 74% stated that they were already adopting AI in their own business strategies.

With this in mind, Agilitas asked respondents how confident they were in their organisation’s ability to balance company culture with emerging technologies. Despite the inevitable nervousness within the workforce, Channel leaders ranked their confidence at 7.8 out of a possible 10. Interestingly, 96% of CEOs surveyed were confident, with 48% scoring a maximum of 10 out of 10. However, this fell significantly at other employee levels, with only 46% of junior managers sharing the same level of optimism.

Disconnects between CEOs and their workforce were noted across a number of factors, including delivering a superior customer experience and Channel companies’ ability to achieve a positive workplace culture. This disconnect can stem from communication gaps, differing perspectives on company goals and lack of transparency, which re-emphasises the importance of having a clear company strategy and values that employees can relate to.

The Channel has been focusing on driving its sustainability efforts for many years, but the question remains, is progress going fast enough to meet changing consumer expectations and ambitious Net Zero goals? Whilst over 77% of companies stated that sustainability will be a focus for the next 12 months, less than 1 in 5 are calculating their full carbon footprint across scopes 1,2 and 3.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult for Channel companies to prioritise their efforts, with increasing pressures related to emerging technologies, resilient company cultures, sustainability initiatives and the customer experience. Despite this, it’s promising to see many Channel leaders starting to put their strategies into action, and keep pace with the market changes. Our 2024 Channel Trends report aims to help businesses identify the biggest gains, what strategies are being prioritised, and most importantly, whether enough is being done to prosper,” commented John Hayes-Warren, CEO of Agilitas.

In partnership with leading research firm, Censuswide, Agilitas surveyed 250 respondents working in UK-headquartered Channel businesses, with an annual turnover of over £5 million. The report is designed to give Channel leaders insights into the current market trends, to aid their decision-making and strategies.

Read the Report Here

Can the Channel make money from Generative AI

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Serena Jivan - Employees & Culture, Press Release, Research Reports, Trends and Insights

In our latest research, 82% of Channel leaders felt that AI would be impactful over the next 12 months. We hosted a Q&A with our Chief Operating Officer, Sara Wilkes and her among others have share their thoughts on the future of AI.

What is generative AI?

Traditional AI relies on rules and programming to perform specific tasks, like asking Alexa for the weather forecast, or Netflix recommending the next box set you should watch. Generative AI on the other hand is all about new original content. Most people are familiar with Chat GPT and its ability to generate new human-like outputs in a matter of seconds. But almost anything that can be represented digitally can be produced using Generative AI – music, video, images. From generating countless interior design options for your living room to composing your own unique soundtracks in seconds, the possibilities with Gen AI seem endless.

Where will customers use the technology?

Most customers will be using generative AI to some extent already. A lot of software solutions have generative AI functionality built in, for example Microsoft’s co-pilot can summarise documents, write emails or minute meetings. For creative teams, Gen AI is writing copy and editing imagery. Others may be using AI to assist with analysing data and finding trends. In Agilitas’ 2024 Channel Trends research, 37% of channel businesses that we surveyed are already using AI chatbots with a further 33% looking to utilise this technology in the next 12 months.

What use cases need to emerge to generate further adoption?

Gen AI is a rapidly developing technology and there are still a lot of unknowns that exist. Generative AI analyses patterns from large data sets but the outputs are still inconsistent, can be biased or in some case wrong. I heard this great story of Chat GPT creating a research report full of statistics and when the user asked Chat GPT what the reference was, it responded with “I made it up”. Therefore, there is still a lot of human interaction required to ensure the output from Gen AI is accurate.

Another major concern affecting adoption rates surrounds security of sensitive data and company IP. Until organisations can be confident that their data is secure, I think we will see cautious rates of adoption. There is also the financial barrier to adopting Gen AI. Even if companies take advantage of open-source models, significant investment is required to ensure they are secure and trained correctly.

How can the channel make money from Gen AI?

For those channel companies that don’t leap into Gen AI, there is still the potential to make money by using AI to improve productivity levels, therefore being able to use resources to focus on other key revenue-generating areas. However, the risk-reward for those companies wanting to explore AI opportunities further could be far greater. AI Consulting services, developing custom AI solutions, providing AI integration services and offering AI training are all going to be areas in demand over the coming years.

View the full article here

Introducing the Total Experience to the Technology Channel

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Serena Jivan - Blog, Trends and Insights

An interview with John Hayes-Warren, our CEO at Agilitas IT Solutions

Tell us about Agilitas’ 2023 Channel Trends report

As a Channel focused business, listening is really important to us. The Channel Trends research we conduct each year provides additional insight, on top of the close relationships we have with our customers and partners, to ensure we are providing the best possible services to our stakeholders.

The research is conducted independently and for the 2023 report we surveyed 250 Channel leaders working in UK-headquartered Channel businesses, with an annual turnover of £5 million.

Not only is the report able to provide us with guidance on where to focus our strategies but we make it available to our customers and the wider industry as we believe that for Channel businesses to be successful, it’s really important to align and share knowledge with trusted partners.

Our 2023 Channel Trends report revealed that when asked about the future of the Technology Channel over the next 12 months, 82% of respondents ranked customer experience as the most important to their business, closely followed by company culture at 80%.

In fact, 5 key areas scored 78% and above (Leadership, Sustainability and Alliances also in the top 5) suggesting how much pressure Channel Businesses are under to ‘achieve it all’.

This demonstrates the opportunity for Technology Channel businesses to break down the silos and establish a ‘Total Experience’ to enhance employee and customer satisfaction. By improving experiences for all stakeholders and implementing this transformational strategy, Channel leaders can build more resilient business models.

The report reveals that customer experience is the most important priority for businesses over the next year. What does this mean for those operating in the Channel

In today’s turbulent marketplace, customers are being selective with their purchasing and we are beginning to see the impact this has on the industry. For the Channel, the customer must be listened to at every stage of the buying process. It is a very simple concept, but organisations often struggle to keep track of the customer experience. Those who are indifferent, which often make up the bulk of a customer base, often don’t respond. So keeping a finger on the pulse is essential to success now and in the future.

Companies in the Channel must instead focus on implementing well-developed customer strategies, but these can often be costly, meaning a business must decide what is most important to them.

Company culture is ranked as the second most important. Do you think this has become more important with the rise of hybrid working?

90% of respondents in our report stated that ‘company culture is key to a successful business’ and hybrid/remote working has been a significant factor that has placed its importance in the spotlight. The pandemic forced a lot of companies to implement hybrid and remote working strategies overnight and organisations have had to play catch up to ensure their communication and collaboration tools are effective.

The Technology Channel has adapted much better than other industries. Only 6% of those that we surveyed were not looking to implement a permanent hybrid/remote strategy and 58% felt they had successful strategies already in place.

Interestingly, encouraging collaboration across teams was the top focus for improving company culture. With employees geographically spread out across the country or even the world, there is still work to be done to ensure that synergy is achieved between on-site and remote workforces and that a thriving company culture can be achieved.

Culture goes beyond a working environment – it’s about implementing career development plans, offering benefits to families and friends, and where an organisation chooses to spend their profits through which charities they support.

In the report, you introduced the concept of “Total Experience”, how would you define this?

The total experience is a revolutionary approach that interlinks multiple experiences across the Channel including the customer, end-user and employees to introduce a more holistic experience for everyone. The total experience also considers whether the business’s footprint across multiple channels provides a consistent experience for stakeholders.

At its core, combining all the considerations for these journeys is essential in a Channel business building loyalty amongst their stakeholders, developing brand consistency and increasing overall revenue in the longer term.

Why does ‘Total Experience’ matter? And why should Channel businesses consider adopting this approach?

A Channel business should be focused on developing trust with their customers, strengthening their bottom line, and considering brand consistency. By adopting a total experience strategy, all three of these areas are within their grasp.

When employees are happy, their service toward the customer improves. Integrating a total experience can improve experiences for all stakeholders, and focus on other areas like ESG goals and recruitment. To hear feedback from customers about their positive experiences is hugely rewarding, and without happy employees and strong company culture, this simply cannot happen.

Have clear company values. Both customers and employees should know how and why the business operates, and without clear values, misconceptions about the brand and its purpose arise. Customers recognise brand authenticity, and those who stand firm in their values will become more attractive.
Embrace new technology. For employees, the right technology streamlines their work giving them more time to focus on customer-facing issues, and for customers, their journey becomes more streamlined. When customers have an easier journey (whether that is when purchasing or receiving support) they are not only more likely to recommend the business but also become more loyal to the organisation over time.
Design with intention. If a business is offering a product, it should have every element designed with the user in mind. Channel businesses should undertake extensive research behind the journey each customer faces when employing or using their services or products. Anything from ordering the product to the delivery process should be studied and reflected upon for improvement.

What tips can you give to companies using this approach to win customers and support their employees?

A Channel business needs to focus on being consistent and give its customers time to understand who they are, how it operates and see the quality of its services. By operating the best they can in all of these areas, these organisations can successfully implement a total experience approach.

What role does technology play in driving the ‘Total Experience’?

As business operations become increasingly digital, technology is essential to the total experience. This model thrives on continual improvement, and only by integrating this constant evolution are organisations able to take advantage of new technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

Whether it is customer-facing, or internal platforms, the total experience thrives when maximum efficiency is achieved. Integrating new technologies into this becomes not only preferable but essential to its success.

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and automated platforms streamline processes, and in some capacities can replace human workers, but for the total experience to be successful human input is always needed, regardless of what technology can offer. Channel businesses must focus on technology as a tool, not a replacement, and only by doing so can the total experience unlock new revenue opportunities.

View the full article here

How to Embrace AI and its Role in Channel Businesses

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Serena Jivan - Blog, Trends and Insights

Businesses are deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a variety of ways to bolster efficiencies, better utilise resources and decrease operating costs.

With ongoing advancements, this technology has quickly become a critical tool for organisations – and this is no different for companies working in the Technology Channel.

Channel businesses are experimenting with AI to improve and streamline their overall operations, and we expect to see adoption rates increase further as we move into 2024.

The role AI plays in Channel businesses today

AI is already transforming the way that companies in the Channel enhance their customer experience across all touchpoints. Research from Forbes highlighted that nearly two-thirds of business owners believe that AI will improve customer relationships, with AI-powered chatbots, customer relationship management and personalised services all examples of this.

By using AI, Channel businesses can take advantage of new ways to improve their operation efficiency. By using AI to analyse vast amounts of data, Channel businesses can redirect valuable resources toward other critical areas of the organisation, such as training and development for staff. This is vital as reports show that 86% of employees feel they need upskilling in AI best practices. AI eliminates the risk of human error and reduces the workforce needed to perform specific repetitive tasks, allowing Channel businesses to relieve pressure on more pressing parts of the business.

Risks vs. rewards

In addition to bolstering the customer experience, AI can enable Channel businesses to increase their productivity with the ability to make faster business decisions using data insights. These AI algorithms can be leveraged to detect patterns, predict customer preferences and generate quality leads that will grow an organisation’s customer base and identify new sales opportunities over time.

Data analysis using AI has risen in popularity, in fact, many industry experts now fear ChatGPT 3’s LLM (Large Language Models) might move data analysts toward a different future. Not only can AI reduce operational costs for data analysis, but it can also eliminate simple human errors. By automating processes like data analysis, Channel businesses can find potential pinch points in their sales and marketing efforts, and work to bridge these gaps with the help of their team.

The internet is littered with false information. Open source LLM scraping is indiscriminate, whether the data collected and analysed is correct is undetermined. If a Channel business decides to use AI, particularly generative AI, all information presented must be verified independently. In addition, AI platforms like Chat GPT use information input to learn. For a business in the Technology Channel dealing with sensitive information, a security breach can often manifest. Channel businesses must consider these risks before employing or inputting information into AI tools.

AI development is accelerating at an exponential rate and companies are struggling to keep pace with emerging technologies. Given its speed and cost, businesses are finding it difficult to find the resources to fund the development process. However, a bespoke AI platform can provide businesses with a first-point-of-call solution that allows them to employ human interference, only when necessary, while ensuring all information provided is verified.

Furthermore, Channel businesses can track and chart customer behaviours and preferences more accurately than ever using AI. This technology can subsequently be used to surmise the products and services that might appeal to specific customers, deploying company resources to the most viable avenues. What’s more, businesses can combine their market research with AI to ensure they offer the right services to the right people and find opportunities to upsell by bundling multiple products and services.

Whilst many Channel leaders see the benefits of using AI, there are growing concerns around transparency, accountability and privacy. As a result, companies are bringing together employees and AI tools to achieve greater performance improvements. With this in mind, businesses must consider and address the increasing concern of employees who are worried about their coexistence with AI.

Channel businesses looking to adopt new AI systems must also take into account the impact this technology can have on their wider operations. Many organisations, especially those that are technology-driven, thrive on their culture, meaning they must consider the longer-term risks. While automation and emerging technologies often create as many job opportunities as they displace, using AI for most IT and production-based tasks can leave existing workers feeling demotivated, burned out and insecure in their jobs.

AI must be approached with caution. Businesses planning to use this technology as a direct replacement will find itself without its core – a human touch. Completely dehumanising sectors like customer service and forward business planning, negate human instinct and the invaluable skills that employees offer. The world’s biggest companies were created, and led by people – replacing workers in this way discredits their work, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking capabilities. It is a Channel business’s main aim to provide a positive customer experience and utilising employees’ strengths is the best way to ensure this.

Looking to the future with AI

AI adoption is growing at an exponential rate, with the UK’s AI market valued at over $20 billion, and is expected to add $1 trillion to the UK economy by 2035. Set to reach a global economic contribution of $15.7 trillion by 2030, AI could evolve from the most talked about technology into the most important and influential one in our lifetimes. Taking into account the pace AI has gained over the past five years, it is unlikely that we can fully grasp the benefits the technology could offer to us in the future, today.

The Technology Channel, like many sectors, is open to the new opportunities AI brings. Channel leaders will likely already be informed of the impacts this technology might have, and are formulating action plans for how they can embrace it in the future. Ultimately, when used successfully, AI can enhance a Channel business’ operations. Ensuring they protect their employees’ livelihoods by safeguarding their jobs and using AI to streamline their workload, not lighten it, only then can the business move forward with using AI. Under strict control, AI makes processes quicker and leaner, but it shouldn’t be used as a lifejacket for a sinking business. By adopting the mindset that AI is a replacement rather than a tool, a Channel business only risks losing its people.

Automation: The future of smart working?

Posted on November 14, 2023 by Serena Jivan - Trends and Insights

The words ‘smart’ and ‘agile’ are becoming more intertwined in business operations by the day. As we’ve learned, introducing dynamic measures that keep workforces productive is what aids efficiency across the whole technology Channel.

Automation has become an integral part of this and according to the global Business Process Automation (BPA), market size is expected to grow from USD 9.8 billion in 2020 to USD 19.6 billion by 2026.

In a business outcome-led sector, there is now a golden opportunity to identify points of friction or areas that can be streamlined by the provision of technology. This involves the potential implementation of automation in ways that help team members work smarter in a fast-paced world, with enhancements in analytics and automatic remediation capabilities already set to refocus 30% of IT operations efforts until 2024.

This can be achieved by adopting technological solutions that reduce the operational overheads associated with traditional maintenance support. By adopting the correct workplace hardware service, businesses will see the productivity of its team members increase significantly. After years of unpredictable change, workplaces will need to prioritise how they mobilise their workforces as efficiently and effectively as possible, to ensure customer service and loyalty is maintained.

Businesses are now beginning to move away from the friction that COVID-19 imposed on working environments using a more agile and hybrid approach, and the technology Channel is no exception. Despite years of learning to adapt and implement strategies that are consistent with the needs of its workplace, team members need to take heed in how to utilise the measures built to bolster productivity and the support that automation can offer.

Customer Support Team answering the phone

Identifying efficient measures

Remote and hybrid working is here to stay, and over the past two years the technology Channel has overcome new obstacles when it comes to efficiency, collaboration, and data security. While productivity has been high in this new working model, so too are employee stress levels, leading to more job openings and not enough people to fill them. This is where automation comes in, helping to ease the UK’s ‘Great Resignation’ which has made the fight for talent amongst organisations even more fierce.

Businesses are always striving to move forward and outpace their competitors, and being in front when it comes to technology is a sure fire way to achieve this. However, when not done correctly, the measures they put in place may have a reverse effect. When implementing new technologies and digital transformation, Channel businesses need to identify these measures effectively and use automation to replace some roles. By doing this, the likes of miscommunication, human error and poor governance are eliminated.

In the technology Channel, companies are starting to mobilise smart and agile working by automating a single part of their Channel. For example, deal registration, followed by the addition of SaaS functionality. This then leads to an end-to-end automated Channel, which significantly improves productivity and accelerates revenue.

Intelligent automation is driving post-pandemic recovery and can effectively eliminate mundane tasks and create new opportunities for workers to perform higher-value and more satisfying roles. AI-powered process automation can make pragmatic decisions without the need for human intervention, allowing the technology Channel to benefit from a reduction in unstructured data and a drive-in competitive advantage.

The influence of automation

Adopting measures in the technology Channel under the influence of automation can help correct the potential issues listed above and make for a more efficient workplace. Nevertheless, it’s important to reinforce that automation shouldn’t be seen as a threat to an individual’s job, but rather to assist them in their workload. In reality, the key to powerful automation lies in finding the right balance between human intervention and digital transformation and freeing up subject matter experts to focus on the more complex tasks at hand.

Upgrading hardware will be costly in the short term, but the long-term benefits outweigh the cost implications as well as removing the risk of human error. In addition to this, automated systems can comfortably deal with high volume requests which, ordinarily, a regular employee couldn’t handle.

Before accelerating Channel strategy and scale, it is recommended that Channel leaders apply basic automation technologies to get their front and back-end systems in order to effectively future-proof their organisations. Partnerships are a key part of this, and a seamless journey can be created through embracing new shared processes and allowing workflows to scale correctly.

Working smarter not harder

Automation is here to make life easier. It helps Channel businesses work smarter so that time and resources can be directed towards strategic thinking and the processes that are weighing employees down. The pressure can then be alleviated as automation changes the way we work for the better.

As a result of a more efficient and automated workplace, employee output on more important tasks will increase. In the instance of a warehouse worker, throughout their labour-intensive and physically demanding day, their marginal output decreases as they become more tired. In a digital environment, automated software completes the same job without affecting its marginal output, therefore increasing overall performance.

Whether you’re looking to ramp up your marketing activity, enhance staff management capabilities or improve collaboration, automation could greatly enhance the performance and productivity of a Channel business in more ways than one.

While human control will always be the most important element within any modern workplace, taking the opportunity to automate what is ‘automatable’ is a vital investment. In the last two years, the decision to do so has become far less of an option and much more a competitive necessity, with those not embracing it falling behind that of their competitors and impeding their own success as digital transformation takes hold.

Channel Trends Report 2023

Posted on October 23, 2023 by Ryan - Company News, Blog, Research Reports, Trends and Insights

Sustainability, Customer Experience, Culture, Leadership, Purpose and Alliances all contribute to a business’ Total Experience and getting the balance wrong can be the difference between winning or losing in the marketplace.

Transformed from last year’s Channel Confidence Index, the 2023 Channel Trends Report delves into core aspects of Channel Businesses, from ESG and culture, to supply chain disruptions and future growth. With an increasing focus on customer experience and employee engagement, it has never been so clear to Channel firms that the adoption of total experience is the only way up.

With a rapidly changing landscape, we must gather as much information as efficiently as possible to build resilient strategies, that not only ensure the safety of our businesses, but enable them along with our people, customers, and investors to thrive.

When asking Technology Channel leaders how optimistic they were about the future success of their company in the next 12 months, they ranked 7.6 out of 10, which is down from 7.8 last year.

It can seem an overwhelming responsibility for Channel Leaders to dedicate resource to every area, but whilst businesses in the Technology Channel are understandably monitoring their bottom line, it’s important to remember that profit and purpose don’t need to be an “either-or”.

To download your free copy of the 2023 Channel Trends report, view here.

Developing an Agile Growth Strategy

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Serena Jivan - Blog, Trends and Insights

Chief Revenue Officer at Agilitas, John Hayes-Warren, reveals how the company is responding to today’s market challenges.

Tell me about Agilitas and the company’s ambitious plans for the next three years.

Agilitas is a leading global innovator of customer-driven IT Channel services. Our growing team is passionate about delivering first-class IT services on behalf of vendors, IT resellers and managed service providers to extend their service capability and improve customer satisfaction. We deliver solutions across workspaces, servers, storage and networking technologies to Channel partners in over 60 countries. Our services include maintenance services, technical support, professional services and specialist engineering resources.

We recently announced our new leadership and direction for the next three years – placing customer experience at the centre of our transformation. These ambitious plans are part of our progressive growth strategy, and we are working with our people and partners to continue to define a strong purpose, vision, and service portfolio. We are well-positioned to serve the industry and respond to today’s market challenges, making FY24 a defining year in our company history.

You mentioned that these plans will make FY24 a defining year in Agilitas’ history, how will you and your team accomplish this?

Our mission has always been to enable our customers to scale and innovate with confidence, delivering global sustainable, innovative technology services that provide the foundations for customer success and efficiency. With this in mind, we will continue to invest in the UK and international Technology Channel, focusing on partnerships to digitise their operating models. With digital transformation breaking down international barriers, we also plan to help the Channel address opportunities that allow partners to expand without geographical limitations.

Additionally, we are ramping up our investment in skills to retain and attract talent to help spearhead our organisational change. Our team is continuously working to enhance our system integration to automate workflows and evolve our proposition to enhance digital access to all services, reinforcing Agilitas’ ethos of putting customer experience at the core of everything we do.

What were the reasons behind Agilitas’ decision to put customer experience at the heart of its transformation and growth strategy?

It’s no secret that the Technology Channel faces challenges related to changing customer demands. With the democratisation of technology, we recognised that more power is moving to the consumer, and their focus is on rapid digitalisation and achieving outcomes. Whether that is based on improving customer experience or boosting operational efficiency, we need to address this and re-evaluate how we do business going forward to find the right balance between profit and purpose.

In addition to enhancing our offerings, we are continually looking for ways to improve the experience we provide throughout the onboarding process, ongoing support and at the time of contract renewal. With end customer demands changing at an exponential rate, we are set to leverage the growing portfolio of tools, integrated touch points and customer service processes to improve our customer’s experiences in the longer term.

Agilitas is known as a leading provider of global technology solutions, what are your plans to enhance the company’s offering and core competencies?

We plan to focus on three core areas, Inventory Assurance, Professional Services and Smart Logistics, which are all underpinned by our sustainability initiatives. Inventory Assure is based on our ability to maintain end-customer environments globally, with Professional Services acting as an extension of our customer’s engineering capabilities. This accelerates time to revenue with skills and resources to ultimately streamline deployment.

Smart Logistics is then centred around how we optimise warehouse, logistics and circular economy services. This enables our clients to scale with confidence knowing they have the right OPEX business model that scales in line with their business growth and allows them to invest in new capabilities to stay ahead of the curve.

Tell me more about how Agilitas’ growth strategy is already taking shape.

Despite this period of change for Agilitas and the wider Technology Channel, I’m pleased to see that our growth strategy is already taking shape with our customer base growing at speed. Agilitas brings an in-depth understanding of supply chain and skills to the market, ensuring our customer platforms remain resilient. We package these solutions ‘as a service’ to ensure clients understand their exact cost base to maintain and deliver resilient IT systems key to their operation to a high quality.

Our biggest opportunity is to work with partners and help them pivot their investments to stay ahead and develop their offerings – scaling with confidence knowing we have the right model to service and maintain their client’s hardware estates without compromise, to high service levels and with predictable cost.

Our strategy is directed at three key areas:

Developing access to our services digitally to ensure we are easy to do business with and can provide rich insights on the performance of our services.
Continual improvement of our core services and delivery, such as remote monitoring of estates to proactively ensure maximum uptime of hardware estates.
Continual investment of our people to ensure we harness the experience and ideas that will make a difference to our customers

To what extent do you expect Agilitas’ channel to grow this year/next and where will that growth come from?

Most of our channel partners are focussing their investments to increase the resilience of their business and customers alike. We are witnessing rapid progression in managed services and consumption-based service models to drive annuity to underpin longer-term confidence for investment and liquidity. This will provide a significant opportunity for a pure service business like Agilitas to underpin these efforts and maintain high levels of customer experience.

There are three trends that I’m tracking with our clients where we can specifically assist in driving growth:

Whilst there are significant headwinds of global macro and economic challenges, digitisation is removing the boundaries of the global reach of both service and logistics. We have witnessed some of our largest growth clients seeking to outsource these services to partners who can deploy services globally with ease. They in turn are becoming hugely successful as they have designed their business to meet the needs of their clients, not having internal competing organisational design structures that limit the ease and scope of business.
There is no doubt that the workplace has changed which in effect has exploded the proliferation of assets contained within an organisation to remain productive and secure. Many technology organisations benefitted from this change through COVID. It will be interesting to see how the strains on organisations to invest and advance their offerings, how they balance their costs to sustain and protect a remote workforce and what help they may need. I see an increase in workforce asset outsourcing becoming more common.
The need for end customers to outsource certain operations via Managed Services is creating an interesting dynamic. The focus on customer experience rather than the flavour of OEM will become more apparent. From our perspective, we are already seeing some winners and losers in the OEM hardware supply chain due to availability and we will need to navigate a path that enables us to support our partners accordingly.

Would you say that 2023 is a pivotal year for businesses across the Technology Channel? And what challenges do businesses in the industry face?

It’s not an overstatement to say that 2023 is a pivot point for many Channel organisations. One of the biggest influences has been the continued supply chain disruption that has massively impacted product availability, and this is set to continue into the second half of this year. This issue has led to some disintermediation of the conventional Channel value chain, meaning many businesses have been streamlining or choosing a different route to market in order to reconfigure logistics networks and delivery partners.

Additionally, we have also seen an increasing expectation around Channel businesses enhancing their sustainability initiatives and focusing their efforts on the circular economy. There is now a need for dedicated resources to back these initiatives and enable decision-makers to take the lead in terms of tracking their upstream and downstream supply chains which are associated with scope 3 carbon emissions.

To competitively position themselves for the future of the Channel, organisations need to define a strong purpose, communicate this clearly with all relevant stakeholders and demonstrate how employees and partners will contribute to the overall vision. Those who can weather the short-term pain during this moment of inflexion will reap the rewards as we move through 2023 and beyond.

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