Five Weeks, Four Events, One Clear Message: The Channel Is Shifting

In over five weeks, I’ve had the privilege of attending four industry events across the ANZ channel, from Hamilton Island to Sydney and Melbourne. Each event had its own flavour, but the conversations kept circling back to a shared theme: The channel is entering a new phase of growth and accountability.  

Here’s what I heard, what stood out, and what it means for partners heading into the second half of 2026.

The Events

TechPartner News Pipeline kicked things off on Hamilton Island in early May. Over 200 managed services providers (MSPs), systems integrators (SIs), cyber consultants, and channel leaders came together for a few days of real talk about where the market is heading. No vendor pitches, just honest conversations about margin, relevance, and what it actually takes to grow.  

Weeks later in Melbourne, at the IT Nation Evolve Peer Groups, Michael Miziarski – Manager, Solution Engineering, MSP – and I presented to multiple groups on scalable Microsoft 365 data governance. These sessions are always valuable because you’re in a room with MSP owners who are willing to share what’s working and what isn’t.  

To close out the month, Crayon Connect: Shift 2030 brought together 250+ partners, first in Sydney and then in Melbourne. AvePoint sponsored a booth and hosted roundtable lunches in each city, which turned into some of the best conversations of the entire run. I saw strong engagement around how partners operationalise growth in a changing market.

AI Is the Catalyst, But Governance Is the Conversation

Every event had AI front and centre. That’s not surprising. What’s notable was how quickly the conversation moved past “what can AI do” and into “how do we do it safely.” Partners are no longer questioning whether customers will adopt Copilot or agentic AI. The focus has shifted to how they can enable AI adoption without introducing risk.  

At Crayon Connect, Brad Twynham’s keynote challenged the partners to stop being implementers and start being advisors. GTIA’s State of the Channel 2025 – ANZ data backed it up: IT service providers in the region rank AI and cybersecurity as their top projected revenue and profit growth areas — and more than half cite operational efficiency as a primary driver of AI adoption. 

But here’s the thing. MSPs can’t advise on AI readiness if the customer’s data “house” isn’t in order. The threads that connected every event: AI readiness depends on data readiness.

Data Governance Has Left the IT Department  

At the Pipeline event, conversations were about margin pressure, vendor relevance, and future-proofing the tech stack. Underneath each was a shared realisation: Governance isn’t just a compliance checkbox anymore. It’s a business-level priority, and it’s becoming the foundation for every AI, security, and backup conversation.  

At the IT Nation Evolve peer groups, we asked partners two simple questions before the sessions. First, how are you delivering data governance today? Most said they were either relying on native Microsoft Purview or had no formal approach at all. Second, do you believe your customers are well-prepared for AI? Not a single partner said yes.  

This gap represents both a risk and a clear growth opportunity for MSPs.

Standardise or Get Left Behind 

One of the loudest themes at Pipeline was standardisation. MSPs and SIs are moving away from bespoke delivery models because they limit efficiency, margin, and long-term growth.  

This message also came through at Crayon Connect. The overarching message was that the era of one-off projects is over. Services are now the growth engine, and partners who can package governance, security, backup, and migration into repeatable managed offerings are the ones pulling ahead. 

At IT Nation Evolve sessions, we walked through what this looks like in practice. A tiered Governance-as-a-Service (GaaS) approach that takes partners from 30+ hours of manual work per customer down to around four, with better outcomes and real margins. The response was immediate because partners aren’t short on demand. The challenge is building a scalable deliver model to meet the demands.

Partners Want Shared Accountability, Not Just Licences

At Pipeline, the term “strategic partner” was called out as overused, but what partners actually want behind it is real. They want vendors who help them build better offerings, who share accountability for outcomes, and who bring technology that connects strategy to delivery.  

The conversation naturally linked governance to backup, security, and migration. Partners don’t want five separate vendor conversations. They want a platform that helps them cover the full lifecycle, from onboarding a tenant to managing it long-term, and a vendor relationship that supports them in doing it well.  

The message was clear: help us grow and standardise, build technology for where the market is going, and support AI adoption in a way that’s practical, secure, and scalable. 

What This Means for the Channel  

Here are the key takeaways to summarise the five weeks of conversations:  

• Data governance is now a business priority. It’s no longer optional or enterprise-only. SMB and mid-market customers need it too, and they’re looking to their MSP to lead.  
• AI readiness is the gateway conversation. Every partner is being asked about it, but most aren’t ready to deliver at scale. The ones who get governance right first will own the AI conversation.  
• Scalability is non-negotiable. Growth requires services that can be packaged, repeated, and delivered efficiently.  
• Vendor relationships are changing. Partners are choosing vendors who act as true partners, not just licence sellers. Shared accountability, enablement, and commercial alignment matter more than ever.  

It’s been a big month, and the energy across all four events in ANZ was genuinely exciting. The channel is shifting, and the partners who lean into governance, AI readiness, and scalable services are best positioned to lead in the next phase of growth.