“What’s next and how do I get ahead of it?”
That’s the question everyone in the IT channel is eager to find the answer to. And with a seat in the center of the channel, TD SYNNEX is uniquely positioned to accomplish exactly that. We’re incredibly fortunate to have a roster of talented leaders and IT experts who are equipped to identify, monitor and predict the trends that are shaping the IT channel.
The 2026 elephant in the room: AI. Making a 2026 technology predictions list that didn’t include AI wouldn’t be able to paint the full picture of where the channel is today. AI is having such a profound impact on not only what we sell, but also how we sell it. Portfolios are being shaped by the way AI is woven into the fabric of the entire IT stack and operating models are being shaped by the way professionals are integrating AI into their everyday workflow.
Without further ado: our 2026 predictions.
1. Agentic AI Becomes the New Channel Operating Model
2026 becomes the era of Agentic AI emergence, where there is an official shift from generative AI pilot projects and concepts to self-driving agentic solutions that we see and use every day. As agentic workflows become a reliable enterprise standard capable of managing entire supply chains and business ecosystems, there will be a fundamental modernization of IT infrastructure operating models..
“Agentic AI won’t just assist, it will be self-driving IT capable of planning, reasoning, and executing complex workflows end-to-end without constant human intervention.”
— Dawn Khan
“Instead of humans configuring supply chains, pricing, or vendor alignment, AI agents will negotiate, transact, and orchestrate entire ecosystems autonomously.”
— Barbara Koch
“Unlike traditional human-generated network traffic, AI workloads generate continuous, high-volume data flows that strain existing infrastructure.”
— Sergio Farache
“AI agents will become more reliable, widely adopted & streamlined in the enterprise.”
— Jessica Yeck
Organizations will stop looking at AI agents as novel concepts and start to look at agents as an action-oriented resource and commodity
“2026 will see the start of AI agents being treated as organizational resources, similar to payroll or SaaS licensing.”
— Reza Honarmand
“AI agents for end users will become commoditized, moving from premium differentiators to baseline functionality.”
— Jan de Kok
“2026 marks the shift to structured deployments of agentic AI; systems that act, not just from an answering perspective.”
— Tracy Holtz
All of this agentic AI deployment means opportunity, opportunity, opportunity upstream to channel vendors, and downstream to channel partners. By embracing agentic AI as the backbone of the platform experience, the channel will
“Customers will look for solutions to deploy and manage AI agents.
— Helio Guimaraes
Partners that include AI agents in their service offer will grow faster than the average
Vendors will deploy Agentic AI embedded in their solutions.”
“We will see multi-service agents feel less like tools and more like a trusted support facilitator. Partners who embrace these agents as the backbone of their customer experience will lead the next era of frictionless, innovation-driven ecosystems.”
— Tim Bynarowicz
“AI will play an even bigger role in the platform experience, with agents supporting each stage of the deal cycle.”
— Meredith Payne
“Enterprises will rapidly adopt composite AI, combining predictive, prescriptive, generative, adaptive and agentic intelligence.
— Derick Fluker
Ultimately agentic AI moves from experimentation to execution, from transactional tools to full partner experiences. Partners and vendors that are embedding agentic AI into platforms, services and all customer experiences will become the trusted facilitators that are positioned for the next era of scalable, frictionless growth.
2. Security Becomes a Battle of AI Threat Actors vs. AI Predictive Response
Organizations boosting their cybersecurity defenses aren’t the only ones benefitting from the rise of AI. Threat actors are strategically implementing AI into the sophistication of their attacks. 2026 will prove to be a digital arms race where organizations look to keep up with attacks through continuous identification, response and predictive threat prevention. It becomes a true battle of good vs. bad, offense vs. defense, threats vs. resilience.
“As the good guys are getting smarter with how to achieve real business outcomes with AI, unfortunately, the bad guys will get even smarter as they don’t live by the same rules and guidelines. Agent good guy vs. agent threat actor. Perpetual identification, protection, detection, response and recovery in real time.”
— Kristie Grinnell
“AI‑driven attacks will outpace traditional defenses and force a complete rethink of how organizations protect themselves. Cybersecurity shifts from being a cost center to becoming the fastest‑growing profit engine in IT, with demand for autonomous, self‑healing security systems.”
— Barbara Koch
“We will see efforts to build resilient and secure platforms to predict and prevent breaches even before they occur.”
— Anand Chakravarthy
“AI-driven cyber defense systems, capable of detecting, responding and neutralizing threats.”
— Mike Allers
Most of our experts recognize that while security will always remain foundational, in 2026, it levels up to serve as a critical growth engine across many markets and through cross-functional technologies. Partners embedding advanced security across these technologies can get ahead of rising global compliance pressures.
“Security will become predictive and AI-native. Partners who fail to integrate AI-driven security will face existential risk as compliance and cyber insurance requirements tighten globally.”
— Reza Honarmand
“The proliferation of AI introduces complex security challenges, prompting a shift toward networks with embedded observability, segmentation, and automated threat detection.”
— Sergio Farache
“We’ll see a rapid increase in cloud migration and the need for advanced security solutions at every stage of the digital transformation journey.”
— Ron Brinckerhoff
Another factor that will play a role in security is quantum computing. Quantum computing will introduce a new layer of security complexity, which will trigger the need for quantum-resilient, next generation croptographic resilience.
“Advances in quantum computing and AI will create an upsurge in new and more powerful cyber-attacks. We will see some major breaches in 2026 of companies whose security posture was previously believed to be strong.”
— Matt Fox
“Quantum-resistant cryptography really takes off. A breakthrough in practical quantum computing; quickly it would be deployed everywhere and would change how we think about Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) immediately.”
— Mike Allers
In 2026, cybersecurity becomes a high-stakes digital arms race, as AI-powered threat actors attempt to break through autonomous, predictive and self-healing AI-powered defenses.
3. Energy, Power and Sustainability Become Strategic Growth Levers
AI and quantum computing take up a significant amount of power which requires the IT channel to play a balancing act between two concepts:
- Recognizing the ethical impact on environmental sustainability and taking steps to reduce impact
- Recognizing the market opportunity to expand an energy-efficient power grid capable of supporting AI data centers.
“With the rise of data centers, energy will become the new gold.”
— Haley Woods
“Data Center power and energy management infrastructure: Energy will start to become a competitive differentiator.”
— Anthony Greenhalgh
Beyond just the power element of the data center, distributors like TD SYNNEX will find that energy consumption models and new energy tech will start to emerge.
“By 2026 we are not just distributing software consumption but also energy consumption.”
— Barbara Koch
“We could see major breakthroughs in energy sector in things like fusion and/or next-gen battery tech.”
— Mike Allers
Partners that meet and optimize always-evolving sustainability compliance requirements will find their bottom line can grow while simultaneously connecting the circular economy.
“Sustainability will transform from a compliance requirement into a profit engine. Carbon‑aware cloud services, circular hardware supply chains, and energy‑optimized data centers will become decisive growth drivers.”
— Barbara Koch
“Power and Power resiliency will become an enterprise priority, making power & compute a unified procurement strategy. Those who prioritize their power strategy and secure reliable, efficient, and scalable energy to unlock AI before their competitors will far outpace their competition.”
— Jessica Yeck
In 2026, energy becomes the new gold, accelerating the demand for power efficiency and creative sustainability compliance. Organizations that that treat energy as both a strategic resource and a sustainability opportunity can experience a decisive competitive advantage.
4. Data Center Infrastructure Experiences the Largest Reset in Decades
AI needs computing power. A lot of computing power. It’s igniting the largest infrastructure modernization since the introduction of cloud computing. To date, legacy data centers have largely been able to support the rise of AI, but at its current pace, networks, data centers and architectures will be expected to handle AI-ready, high-speed, compute-intensive workloads.
“AI will drive the largest infrastructure refresh cycle since the birth of the internet and cloud.”
— Ed Morales
“Enterprises will initiate a major network overhaul to meet the surging demands of AI-driven workloads. AI readiness will drive the evolution of infrastructure toward intelligent, secure, and scalable architectures.”
— Sergio Farache
“AI capabilities will drive demand for IT Infrastructure, especially in data centers, fueling growth for servers, storage and hybrid cloud infrastructure.”
— Helio Guimaraes
“AI will drive significant modernization of IT infrastructures, enabling faster and more intensive processing capabilities.”
— Otavio Lazarini
To maximize existing infrastructure for AI performance, 2026 will focus on retrofitting existing facilities into optimized hybrid data centers, where both legacy and AI workloads can coexist. Successful implementation of a hybrid data center strategy can reduce costs, improve the efficiency of hardware utilization and unlock new growth potential.
“Make what’s old new again. This includes modernizing base infrastructure to ensure data centers are built for hybrid workloads.
AI will continue its meteoric rise, driving sustained demand for GPUs. I expect a sharp pivot toward capacity optimization of existing infrastructure, creating a hybrid model where AI and conventional workloads coexist seamlessly.
Partnerships between IT architects and builders will become critical, creating a new ecosystem where technology and construction converge. 2026 will be about a hybrid data center strategy that maximizes hardware output, reduces lifecycle costs through circular practices, and taps into new markets.”
— BaLinda Nelson
“Hybrid computing will continue to expand, leveraging the strengths of the individual environments.”
— Haley Woods
AI is driving the most significant data center refresh cycle in decades, forcing a complete overhaul of existing networks and architectures to support and sustain compute-intensive AI workloads. By retrofitting legacy facilities into a modern, hybrid environment, the channel will see a unique convergence of old and new working together efficiently.
5. The Organizational AI Gap will Widen, Increasing Reliance on Hyperscalers and Distributors
The meteoric rise of AI has created a divide int he market, but cloud platforms and hyperscalers like AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure will emerge as natural beneficiaries. Distributors (like TD SYNNEX) play a critical bridge-building role to maintain those relationships to make them more accessible than ever to channel partners. However, there will be a growing AI gap between those that capitalize on these relationships, and those who struggle to move beyond AI and cloud experimentation..
“The gap between organizations with mature AI capabilities and those still stuck in PoC mode will widen dramatically. We’ll see AI-driven enterprises significantly outperform laggards in operational efficiency and customer experience metrics.”
— Reza Honarmand
“The importance of distribution for hyperscalers will continue to rise, expanding the total addressable cloud market for the channel.”
— Otavio Lazarini
Hyperscalers and distributors like TD SYNNEX will play a pivotal role in democratizing access to high-level compute and AI progress. Partners who leverage ecosystem enablement will finally break free from proof-of-concept paralysis.
“With the massive amount of data and scalability, Cloud computing is the way to go.”
— Judith Schreibmayer
“With hyperscalers, neoclouds and hosting providers now providing a vast array of options that are optimal for different types of workloads, the benefits of hybrid cloud are greater. Advanced technologies will make dynamic hybrid cloud optimization accessible to smaller organizations.”
— Matt Fox
“Cloud FinOps & Optimization will drive efficiency and interoperability to reduce costs and improve data sharing.”
— Lisa Schroeder
AI Systems Integrators will emerge as a new and most influential channel, bridging cutting-edge AI technologies with real-world enterprise workflows.”
— Hugo Graca
Success, especially with Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), will hinge on partnering with solution aggregators who deliver more than IaaS resale (AI‑enabled consulting, managed services like FinOps, global reach, and true marketplace enablement).
“Long‑tail ISVs will evolve from “direct‑to‑cloud hyperscaler” models to distribution‑anchored growth strategies. This shift will redefine how ISVs scale across regions and monetize innovation.”
— Anand Chakravarthy
“We’ll see platforms evolve as key differentiators across all technology and we’ll see differentiated ISVs rise to the top, creating more partnerships with hyperscalers and TD SYNNEX to tailor their stacks for industry-specific use cases.”
— Meredith Payne
“Partner communities and collaborative ecosystems are going to matter more than ever before. Partners cannot possibly be experts at everything so the need for specialized enablement is the most effective way possible to win.”
— Kristi Kirby
This shift makes hybrid cloud a viable reality for midmarket companies who previously were locked out of the benefits of dynamically distributing workloads across diverse environments because of the operational complexity of management in production. In 2026, the channel makes flexibility, efficiency and performance accessible to all.
6. AI-Driven Automation and Process Efficiency will Officially Become Second Nature for Workforces
AI is quickly becoming an invisible, everyday utility becoming embedded in life as seamlessly as the telephone and internet. By the end of the year, humans and autonomous agents will work side-by-side in nearly every professional role.
“Just like the revolutionary advancements that came before it – the telephone, the lightbulb, automobiles, computers and the internet – AI will become seamlessly woven into everything we do.”
— Ron Brinckerhoff
“We will be working humans alongside agents in almost every knowledge worker role by end of year.”
— Kristie Grinnell
“AI becomes accessible, not just an aspiration. Automation will close gaps that previously limited growth.”
— Jessica McDowell
Channel partners who lead the shift toward autonomous processes and multi-service AI agents for workplace efficiency will begin to redefine the channel’s role as an enabler of innovation. Autonomous agents will grow beyond simple assistance to supporting entire business strategy.
“Organizations won’t scale through experiments; they’ll scale through repeatable, proven workflows that deliver measurable business results from day one.”
— Ed Morales
“Enterprises will continue to adopt AI boldly and build autonomous systems with the least human intervention.”
— Anand Chakravarthy
“AI will autonomously orchestrate entire IT ecosystems creating a self‑driving economy of technology distribution.”
— Barbara Koch
“Expect AI agents acting not just as assistants but allowing workers to accelerate business strategies.”
— Tracy Holtz
Specifically, AI-assisted coding, low-code, no-code and “vibe coding” methods make project testing and experimentation significantly more efficient.
“AI-assisted coding will become a standard across enterprise software development. Vibe coding, a conversational, AI-first natural language prompt approach will emerge as the dominant method for rapid application creation.”
— Sergio Farache
“2026 marks the shift from “trying AI” to operating differently because of it. Low-code/no-code automation, AI-assisted development, and digital self-service will begin scaling across cloud, security, and collaboration practices.”
— Sandi Stambaugh
As a distributor, TD SYNNEX will evolve its portfolio from distributing products, services and solutions to also distributing intelligence to many different sectors.
“Organizations that modernize their workflows around automation and digital tools will see real gains in productivity, customer experience, and cost-to-serve, while others may still be experimenting. AI will be widely available, but RevOps maturity will determine who actually turns it into growth.”
— Sandi Stambaugh
“The financial services industry will embrace AI-driven automation that turns compliance and risk into invisible, predictive processes.”
— Tim Bynarowicz
“Expect initiatives around AI-enabled endpoint refresh programs, predictive analytics, and automation for decision-making and service delivery.”
— Lisa Schroeder
In 2026, AI-driven automation becomes second nature across the workforce, with embedded AI operations becoming fundamental in how work gets done. By transforming complex tasks into invisible, predictive processes, the channel can move beyond distributing products to distributing intelligence that drives the global economy.
7. Edge and Endpoint Devices will Finally Experience their Own AI Revolution
Last year, we weren’t shy about predicting an AI PC surge… while being equally transparent in our mid-year reflection about it being slower than anticipated. 2026 is the year for AI PCs (and many AI devices) to have their spotlight.
“We’ll see a major shift in 2026 where many endpoints will be running lower power NPUs and AI silicon to drive AI capable experiences: AI glasses, AI wearables and AI imaging devices.
PCs will feature new form factors, fresh designs, more AI capability and a powerhouse for even more edge compute for workplaces, consumers, students and specialist creators.”
— Stephen Nolan
“AI PCs will evolve into autonomous digital assistants capable of orchestrating entire workflows locally: real-time decision-making, predictive analytics, and cross-app automation without cloud dependency.
Copilot+ PCs will become the AI hub for every workflow. AI PCs will trigger the death of traditional software licensing.
AI PCs will become edge AI nodes. Copilot+ PCs will act as decentralized intelligence hubs, reducing latency and enabling secure, distributed AI networks that reshape data flow and decision-making.”
— Brandon Lieberthal
“Premium smartphones, especially AI-driven models will feature real-time translation, advanced photography and on-device intelligence will resonate with consumers seeking productivity and personalization.”
— Dawn Khan
However, there is some hesitation about an AI PC revolution, a sentiment that mirrors more than 1,400 partners’ insights in the fourth annual Direction of Technology report.
“Enterprise AI PC adoption will hit a wall. Despite the hype, adoption will stall due to high costs, unclear ROI, and regulatory hurdles around on-device data processing—creating a gap between innovation and deployment.
AI PCs will Spark a new cybersecurity crisis. On-device AI models will become prime targets for sophisticated attacks, forcing the industry to rethink endpoint security and invest heavily in AI-specific protection.”
— Brandon Lieberthal
“Uncertainties could come from the upcoming components supply shortage – this is going to be a real challenge in our computing and PC business with product supply constraints.”
— Judith Schreibmayer
Putting It All Together
Taken together, these seven predictions point to a single reality: 2026 will be the year the IT channel moves past the era of experimentation and into an era of profound transformation. Navigating autonomous complexities, utilizing agentic platforms, implementing predictive security standards, installing energy-aware infrastructure, capitalizing on AI at the edge. Those in the channel who act decisively will be well-positioned to lead what comes next. Happy New Year!
