The results of the 2023 TD SYNNEX Direction of Technology survey for Latin America show the direction that channel partners’ businesses will take – based on the current situation and the trends that have the greatest impact on corporate customers.
For the second consecutive year, TD SYNNEX conducted its annual Direction of Technology survey, which presents important data for Latin America.
The objective of the research is to understand the views and expectations of the partner channels regarding their business models, performance and strategies, as well as the scenario of technology adoption by their customers, the end users.
The findings of the regional report are based on segmentation of the results of a survey conducted – in collaboration with Canalys – with 550 TD SYNNEX channel partners, covering Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, North America and Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The particularities of Latin America are reflected in the data from our survey this year. The results reveal a number of aspects, showing that partners in the region are indeed preparing for a changing reality and adjusting their priorities and offerings, like channels in other parts of the world, but in a different way, corresponding to their situation and that of their ecosystem,” said Otavio Lazarini Barbosa, Senior Vice President of TD SYNNEX for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“In our region, priority aspects for most of the channels heard in the 60 countries where the survey was conducted – such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning offerings or the importance of ESG initiatives – are outweighed by others, such as cybersecurity, networking, infrastructure and hybrid cloud.”
The most relevant information from the survey relates to eight topics:
Partners’ business models are changing, turning more towards services
- Hardware sales remain important, but their share is shifting to consumption models and the product lifecycle.
- 84% of partners in the region will increase sales of professional services in the next 3 years, and 82% will increase sales of managed services.
Security and networking are critical for most LAC partners
- As in 2022, security was the top source of revenue over the past 12 months, with 65% of responses.
- Among the top sources of revenue during this year, respondents cited security in first place (73%), followed by networking (60%) and servers and storage (53%). These results reflect the role of channels – which provide the market with more than 90% of security systems.
Hybrid cloud will be an important area of investment in the near term
- For the next 24 months, security (61%) and networking (45%) are first among the 8 most relevant technologies for customers; hybrid cloud
and server and storage infrastructure are in third place (40%); next are hyperscale infrastructure (38%), automation (35%), AI/ML (27%), and data analytics (25%).
- Four out of ten partners recognize hybrid cloud as an important environment for their investments in the next two years and 29% consider it a priority over AI investments.
Lots of challenges to overcome
- For three-quarters of business partners, increased competition and pressure on margins are the main challenges today.
- Nearly 7 in 10 say one of the main challenges is attracting and retaining talent and for 45% this will continue to be the case over the next two years.
Growth expectations highlight a challenging situation
- Over the past 12 months, revenue expectations for TD SYNNEX’s channel partners in Latin America have declined slightly – however, more than 70% expect to see some growth in 2023.
- Five percent expect this increase to be more than 10% – which is at least 13 percentage points higher than in the rest of the regions.
- The proportion of partners expecting a reduction in revenue has increased – but that’s only 14% of respondents.
Investment over the next 12 months will focus on knowledge
- Participants’ investment priorities are technology training and certification (with 77% of responses), demand generation and digital marketing (74%), and investment in cybersecurity standards (66%).
- Next are areas such as business planning, talent management and acquisition, product lifecycle management, ESG solutions, and e-commerce.
Internal business planning is gaining importance
- In 2023, 80% of business planning was done in-house by our partners.
- In addition, partners in Latin America are moving from an outsourcing model to a hybrid approach: this year, 29% of managed IT services will be hybrid, an increase of 26% compared to the previous year.
ESG is not yet a priority in Latin America
- Only 8% of partners in the region currently offer ESG accreditation and reporting solutions, compared to 33% in North America and 32% in Europe.
- Only 16% plan to offer them in the next two years.
“The technology direction survey was created to help companies better understand and take advantage of the latest trends and demands in the technology ecosystem. We are excited to share the results related to Latin America and the Caribbean, allowing our partners to reach conclusions and business guidelines appropriate to the region in which they operate and enabling them to make better decisions,” said Marcos Murata, Vice President for Supplier Management, Pre-Sales Engineering and Marketing, TD SYNNEX in the region. “We are pleased to witness the enormous capacity of our partners to adapt and respond to the future.”
This year, the survey was conducted between May and July, with the participation of 550 partners, 119 from Latin America (including resellers, system integrators, service providers, MSPs and distributors).
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