As part of the prestigious 12th edition of the DT Partner Summit, a high-impact panel discussion titled “The Future Ready Channel: How AI, Services & Solutions Are Redefining Partner Growth in 2026 & Beyond” brought together leading industry voices to decode how artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, infrastructure demand and regulatory frameworks are reshaping the channel ecosystem.
The panel brought together some of the brightest minds and most influential leaders from India’s IT, storage, networking, cybersecurity, distribution and enterprise solutions ecosystem. Against the backdrop of rapid AI-led disruption, the discussion focused on how partners can unlock new growth opportunities while navigating rising complexity in compliance, infrastructure demand and customer expectations.
Held amidst a gathering of system integrators, distributors, OEM leaders and channel influencers, the session explored how AI is redefining hardware consumption cycles, accelerating networking upgrades, and pushing cybersecurity compliance to the center of business strategy.
Moderated by Rajeev Ranjan, Editor & Publisher, Digital Terminal, the panel addressed the evolving AI-driven landscape and its impact on partner business models, solution selling and long-term ecosystem transformation.
A Powerhouse of Industry Thought Leaders
1.Vidit Shankar Gaur, Zonal Manager, Mid-Market and Channel, AMD India
2.Dr. Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Among World's Top 4 Cyber Lawyers
3.Alok Gupta, President, PCAIT
4.Rajesh Khurana, Country Head- Consumer BU, South Asia, Biwin Technology
5.Sumith Satheesan, Vice President, Enterprise Solutions, TP-Link India
6.Vikash Hisariya, Director, Vishal Peripherals
7.Irfan B Shah, Country Sales Manager – AI & Security Iris Global Services Ltd.
AI Reshaping Storage and Memory Demand
Opening the discussion, Rajesh Khurana of Biwin Technology noted that “AI is enabled by the hardware and on the hardware side, storage is very critical,” explaining how demand patterns have shifted dramatically with LLM growth. He said, “What happened in the last few months is that LLMs consumed huge amounts of DRAM. The vendors could not deliver the material that was actually being used for training, and suddenly we saw DRAM getting short-supplied.”
He further added that the cycle is only intensifying, stating, “Now that the models are trained and moving into real-time inference, data has to be stored somewhere. That is where the next shortage will happen, in SSDs. So be ready for the next six months where both DRAMs and SSDs will go into short supply.”
He also highlighted the scale of performance evolution, saying, “We are talking about Gen 5 SSDs delivering 15,000 MB per second, and even 256 GB DRAM modules are already in demand. This is no longer futuristic, this is already in the market.”
Cybersecurity Becomes a Legal and Business Mandate
Delivering a strong legal perspective, Dr. Pavan Duggal stated, “All channel partners become intermediaries under the Information Technology Act because they deal with third-party data,” adding that “once you become an intermediary, you are legally required to adopt reasonable security practices and procedures.”
He emphasized compliance as protection, saying, “If you adopt ISO 27001 parameters, to a large extent it will be accepted that you are following reasonable security practices. My advice is very simple, follow documented cybersecurity compliance because the attack is going to come from everywhere.”
He described the current threat landscape as, “today, channel partners are standing in the center of the digital Kurukshetra where attacks can come from all directions, state actors, non-state actors, and now AI-driven attacks as well.”
He warned, “If you do not have documented compliance, you are exposed to unlimited liability under the IT Act and penalties that can go up to hundreds of crores. Documentation is not optional anymore, it is your legal shield.”
Networking Evolution Driven by AI and Connectivity Upgrades
Sharing insights on networking transformation, Sumith Satheesan of TP-Link India said, “AI has opened up a lot of things, faster processors, faster memory, and now faster networking. Wi-Fi 7 has already been launched and with the opening of the 6 GHz band in India, access speeds have increased significantly.”
He added, “Networking is no longer just connectivity. It is now part of the AI infrastructure stack. Minimum 2.5 to 10 Gbps speeds are becoming necessary to support AI workloads. Any incident now has to be reported within hours, and that creates an entire opportunity around perimeter security, edge security, and compliance-driven networking.”
He further added, “There are plethora of opportunities for partners across networking, security, and compliance. There is no shortage of growth areas.”
Channel Must Evolve from Products to Solutions
Representing the association perspective, Alok Gupta of PCAIT emphasized “First, you have to upgrade yourself with respect to technology. You cannot remain a box mover anymore. You have to become an advisor. In today’s market, storage cycles, AI cycles, everything is moving fast. Don’t hold stock unnecessarily because it will create pressure across the ecosystem.”
He further stated, “You must continuously explore new opportunities because every system integrator already has a fixed customer base. The growth lies in adding new portfolios and new technologies into that base. You cannot wait for 365 days to change. You have to start now.”
AI Monetization Through Full-Stack Thinking
Vidit Shankar Gaur of AMD India highlighted, “If we talk about monetizing AI, we should not look at it in silos. AI in PC, AI in servers, AI in networking, AI in storage, all of it has to be seen as a holistic delivery model. Customers today don’t want fragmented solutions. They want end-to-end AI capability, and that is where channel partners have a massive opportunity.”
He added, “The second big opportunity is AI services and consulting. Customers know AI exists, but they are stuck on ROI, implementation, and where to start. That is the gap partners must fill. You have to become a trusted advisor. That is where the real monetization will happen.”
AI Security as a Lifecycle Requirement
Irfan B Shah of Iris Global Services Ltd emphasized that AI security is no longer a standalone category. He said, “We should not look at AI security as a product category. It is a lifecycle requirement now. Enterprises are now talking about scalability, compliance, and reliability along with AI deployment. That shift is creating a new wave of opportunity.”
He further stated, “AI security managed services will be the real differentiator because that is what will create long-term sustainable businesses. The future is convergence. Cybersecurity, cloud, AI, everything is merging into one enterprise conversation.”
Retail Transformation Driven by AI Awareness
Vikash Hisariya of Vishal Peripherals said, “Today we need to be very fast and adaptive because customers are already using AI tools and coming with knowledge. If we are not updated, we cannot respond. We started AI experience centers five years back where customers can actually see AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA ecosystems in action. We don’t just show products, we work on solutions.”
He further noted, “Customer expectations are rising because they are already getting answers from AI platforms. That is why we launched our app and will soon integrate AI into it for product comparison and visualization. We constantly learn, adapt, and deliver. That is the only way to stay relevant in this ecosystem.”
Final Thoughts: Convergence Defines the Future
The panel collectively emphasized that the future of the channel ecosystem will be defined by convergence-led infrastructure adoption, compliance-first operations and solution-led advisory models.
Across all perspectives, a unified message emerged — AI is no longer a future trend but a present-day transformation reshaping infrastructure demand, customer expectations and business models simultaneously.
Event Photo Gallery: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NEFLdWAYm8oDdo8c6
Watch the Complete Event: https://www.youtube.com/live/Pp2HCQyKDWA
Closing Perspective
The panel collectively emphasized that the IT channel is entering a phase where “AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, compliance, networking, and services” are converging into a single growth ecosystem.
The consensus was clear: partners who evolve into “solution providers, advisors, and integration experts” will lead the next phase of growth, while legacy models of transactional selling will lose relevance.
Digital Terminal continues to drive such critical industry conversations that shape the future of India’s IT channel ecosystem.
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