Dispatch
Research, analysis, and perspective from inside the technology channel. No vendor spin. No conference-circuit optimism.
March 2026 TSD Ecosystem Report
754 suppliers. Four distributors. 15 segments. For the first time, independent data on who carries what — and what that means for advisors, suppliers, and anyone making TSD decisions.
Read the March 2026 TSD Ecosystem Report →Latest
Analysis
With its acquisition of CCI Network Services, AppDirect owns another business supplying the services it distributes. For aggregators that rely on distributors to reach advisors, that raises some practical questions about how they'll compete.
Read Article →September 2026
Analysis
MicroAge could help advisors take on larger projects. The terms will determine how much of that opportunity they keep.
Read Article →September 2026
Analysis
Digital Realty is buying Columbia Capital. Columbia Capital owns a piece of Telarus and Bluewave. A supplier is about to inherit an equity position inside the cap table of a top-three TSD. Nobody in the channel press has said so out loud.
Read Article →August 2026
Analysis
On June 28, TPx’s parent filed for bankruptcy. The coverage will be about the debt. The number that actually decides your year is the one nobody prints: how much of your book rides on a company that just lost control of its own balance sheet.
Read Article →June 2026
Analysis
AppDirect has built its channel business by acquiring TSDs. It also insists it is not one. A supplier portfolio analysis spanning 1,018 unique suppliers and seven years of acquisition strategy reveals why that distinction is becoming the most important question in the channel.
Read Article →June 2026
Dispatch
A 20-year independent operator joins a deliberate roll-up. What the deal signals about supplier consolidation in the channel.
Read Article →May 2026
Analysis
Charlesbank bought a supplier. It already owns the advisor. The market should be asking whether those are two bets or one.
Read Article →April 2026
Perspective
Bridgepointe crossed a billion. Charlesbank reinvested. Carlyle AlpInvest came in. The capital is the least interesting part of the story.
Read Article →April 2026
Perspective
12 advisors shaping strategy for 10,000. The math doesn’t close — and the blind spot is costing suppliers millions in misallocated channel spend.
Read Article →February 2026
Perspective
The pay-to-play model has been losing advisor trust for years. The advisors who’ve been around long enough know it. Here’s why the model is breaking — and what comes next.
Read Article →March 2026
Research
Advisors sit on a mountain of deal data that suppliers never see. Here is what that asymmetry costs both sides.
Read Article →February 2026
Analysis
The channel is talking about AI. Most of the conversation is missing the point. Here are the five most common mistakes.
Read Article →January 2026