The IT channel landscape in the Middle East has been marked by significant shifts in 2024. While economic pressures have eased, competition has intensified as new players have entered the market, pushing incumbents to consider expansion into new geographies as a means of growing their revenues. Simultaneously, the growing emphasis on advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), has heightened the need for the channel to demonstrate exceptional technical capabilities. Success is found in serving as the bridge between business and IT, and moving up the value chain is essentially a mandate.
Against this backdrop, channel organisations must now carefully craft their strategies if they are to be successful in 2025. It will be another year of change, presenting both challenges and opportunities. While unknowns will undoubtedly require agility, there are many factors we can already anticipate. Understanding these will give partners a decisive edge.
Focus, specialise, succeed
While the MENA region’s year-on-year spending across the tech spectrum is projected to rise at an appreciable 7.4 per cent, crossing US$230 billion next year, partners that hone their focus will fare better than those that spread themselves too thin. And of the many areas they could specialise in, an obvious choice is cyber security. The region is witnessing a rise in cyber threats. Combined with increasingly stringent data protection regulations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, cybersecurity is now at the forefront of organisational priorities. Businesses are urgently seeking advanced network security solutions, including Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Zero Trust architectures, to protect hybrid and remote work environments. For channel partners, this demand represents a significant opportunity. Those with the expertise to deploy and manage robust security frameworks will not only meet a critical market need but also position themselves as trusted advisors in safeguarding their clients’ operations.
While AI should be on every channel organisation’s agenda, here too, a more narrow focus will help. As enterprise networks grow more complex, the role of AI in network management, in particular, has become indispensable. AI-powered analytics are proving critical for proactive oversight, enabling predictive maintenance and the swift detection of anomalies. By integrating AI-driven tools, organisations can optimise network performance and reduce costly downtime. Channel partners who specialise in AI-enabled network management platforms are uniquely placed to help enterprises navigate this complexity, offering solutions that improve reliability and efficiency on a large scale.
Beyond these immediate needs, the Middle East’s evolving cloud ecosystem is shaping the future of network management. The widespread adoption of hybrid and multi-cloud architectures has sparked a growing preference for cloud-based solutions that ensure seamless integration and scalability. Managed service providers offering cloud-native monitoring, security, and management services are particularly well-suited to support enterprises and government entities in this transition. By embracing these advancements, partners can align their organisation with the region’s cloud-first ambitions, while expanding market reach.
Evolving business models
Once partners have identified tech areas of focus, they must then decide on the best way to deliver the offerings to customers for maximum impact (and bottom line). Just as box moving has been all but phased out, today, even higher value integration is now becoming infeasible as a long-term business model. A transformative shift is underway, placing channel partners under pressure to now evolve into strategic MSPs. This model reduces tool sprawl for customers, enabling them to outsource deployment, management, and optimisation responsibilities to trusted partners. In turn, MSPs must elevate their expertise in service delivery, customer support, and solution-oriented sales.
Furthermore, as MSP, partners will have an opportunity to become the consulting arms for clients, offering end-to-end solutions that enable customer teams to focus on value creation. This approach requires breaking down silos, collaborating across IT teams, and building long-term relationships rooted in trust and innovation. By doing so, channel players can deliver tailored solutions that align with their client’s objectives while positioning the organisation as an indispensable partner.
Effectively addressing the inevitability of AI
AI is reshaping the channel ecosystem, but enablement remains a critical challenge — particularly for MSPs managing sprawling toolsets across multiple vendors and solutions. While empowering customers to implement impactful use cases should be the north star, at present, an arguably greater and easier route to realise the opportunity lies in using AI to streamline integration between solutions in the partners’ own environment to enhance the organisation’s operational efficiencies.
For instance, leveraging AI-driven tools that consolidate data from disparate systems into a unified dashboard can empower channel partners to optimise resource allocation and improve decision-making. Furthermore, partners that develop generative AI models tailored to their operations can simplify tool usage through natural language queries, reducing the learning curve for employees and driving faster results. This capability will not only enhance service delivery but also create new revenue opportunities, reinforcing the channel’s role as a strategic technology enabler.
Changes in licensing
The evolution of licensing models is another critical consideration. The traditional model of selling solutions outright has given way to annual, quarterly, and even monthly billing cycles. Now, under pressure from end customers, the industry is moving towards per-user licensing — even at the infrastructure level. Companies like SolarWinds are already pioneering this shift, transitioning from IP-based models to node-based licensing that captures user activity.
For channel partners, this evolution necessitates new profit-and-loss models that accommodate user-based billing. Observability tools will be essential in enabling granular insights into per-user utilisation, ensuring accurate billing and optimised resource allocation. To succeed, channel partners must align with vendors offering flexible as-a-service models and innovative licensing structures, keeping pace with customer preferences for scalability and cost transparency.
Channelling success
As the Middle East’s IT landscape evolves, success for channel organisations in 2025 will hinge on focus, agility, and a willingness to embrace transformation. By specialising in high-demand areas like cybersecurity, AI, and cloud management, while evolving into strategic MSPs, partners can secure their role as indispensable advisors. The time to act is now — seize the opportunities ahead and partners can position their organisation to lead in this dynamic market.
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