The CEO of the Global Technology Distribution Council, Frank Vitagliano (pictured) has prepared the industry for an extended period of uncertain business. In the current situation, he writes, "business and the economy naturally become somewhat lesser priorities."
The IT ecosystem, however, has a unique place in society in that it historically fuels recoveries and enables efficiencies unlike any other, he says. "Distributors have always played a central role in these recoveries, demonstrating rock-solid reliability as well as the flexibility to emerge both stronger and better – and ultimately as a consistent central force in helping the ecosystem return to stability and growth."
As well as financial and resource issues on top of heightened demand for "work-at-home" solutions, distribution is facing a number of challenges, not least of which is a widening range of customers in different states of preparedness; some are in survival mode, others looking at expanding in new directions, while all are constrained by limited resources.
Partnerships profoundly matter in any crisis. "In all my years in the channel, with major vendors and a large solution provider, the central role of distributors has never disappointed. They’re in the business of long-standing partnerships that endure – and strengthen – through good times and bad. Those traits matter even more at a time like today, globally, without modern precedent," he concludes.
