The $7tn AI buildout is not driving an immediate “trickle down” to channel partners, a new Omdia poll suggests, with a majority of partners expecting weaker Q3 results. Omdia found 51% of channel partners expect their Q3 operating profits to fall, while 36% predict a double-digit decline; only 35% expect profits to grow.
Computacenter’s market value has nearly doubled in 2026 amid its success selling AI infrastructure to US and European hyperscalers, neoclouds and enterprises, but Omdia Chief Analyst Jay McBain wrote on LinkedIn that the wider channel is failing to cash in on AI. ‘The $7tn buildout of AI that we hear about constantly in the consumer news – the tech industry growing at double-digits, massive IPOs hitting the streets, trillionaires being minted – isn’t having an immediate ‘trickle down’ effect to channel partners,’ he wrote.
AI channel outlook and profit data
Omdia warned in May that a rebound in channel sentiment in Q2 — fuelled by forward purchases — may be short-lived as the memory shortage fallout unwinds. The poll results for Q3 underline that many partners expect the momentum to slow rather than translate into higher near-term margins across the channel.
Agentic AI seen as sales support
McBain said vendors should be employing agentic AI to help channel partners sell more. When Omdia asked where an AI agent would be most beneficial in a vendor’s partner programme, some 57% of respondents pinpointed sales, while just 11% chose marketing. ‘Partners need to grow, plain and simple,’ McBain wrote. ‘Partners need the sales tooling and AI-related investments to recover this negative Q3 into a great Q4 to finish the year strong.’
